Every season, the Drama After Dark team gathers ‘round the (still virtual) conference room table to watch the latest and greatest in all things drama. This month, I'm delighted to finally get another season of one of my absolute favorite mysteries from MASTERPIECE: Unforgotten. Each season of this twisty, fraught show covers a complex cold case with incisive devastation, and I could not be more here for it. If you haven't seen previous seasons, catch up here, and I'll be recapping season 4 as it airs on Sunday nights.
Are you ready? Are your metaphorical seatbelts fastened? Good, because as much as I think we’d all like to go back in time to 30 seconds before last week’s episode ended, Unforgotten must go on, and so must we.
As you might expect, this week starts with a shot of a horrified Sunny sprinting into the hospital, where I very much hope he’ll discover that Cassie is banged up but otherwise fine. He cuts the line at the reception desk, and once updated, gets the horrible task of calling Cassie’s kid to tell him what happened, and that he better head to the hospital.
You know, I was kind of assuming Cassie would get treated off camera, but Unforgotten is really going for it: in an exam room, the medical team starts looking at some of her broken bones, and we hear that while Cassie is stable for now, her pupillary response on one side is “sluggish” which basically means that there might be bleeding in her brain.
While Cassie goes to get scans, Boyfriend rather frantically drives toward the hospital, and Coroner joins Sunny in the hallway.
Coroner: Well, there was one witness, but they basically only heard the crash. The other driver left the scene but maybe the Eye of Sauron levels of civilian surveillance we have going on here in the U.K. won’t be for naught.
Sunny: And uh… she was ok when she left? She didn’t DO this?
Coroner: NO, she was fine: I mean, out of it, but not “deliberately drive my car into oncoming traffic.”
Look, I basically just want to find out what’s going on with Cassie right now, but we do also have a murder to solve, I guess. While most of our squad presumably frets in the hospital corridor and tries to choke down some of the worst caffeinated beverages known to man, we turn to our suspects, who all seem to be headed home to deal with the impending fallout of their actions. First up is Not Good Enough, who actually seems to be telling Nice Fiancée everything that happened (or at least one version of everything that happened).
Not Good Enough: We did a horrible thing, right at the end of training, and I’ve just been stewing in guilt for the last 30 years. That’s why I had such job-related tunnel vision. Anyway, I had to tell you because YOU gave me space to move past that and have a real life. And the crappy thing is, now I have to tell you what happened.
Nice Fiancée seems very understanding; can’t wait to see how much of that she retains once she hears about the dismembered corpse.
Back at the hospital, the medical team gets the results of Cassie’s brain scan and fast track surgery, which is never a good sign (on TV or in real life). They explain to her family that they have a great team of neurosurgeons, so while this is a big deal, Cassie is in very capable hands. Even though I can’t stand Grey’s Anatomy’s own Dr. McDreamy, I’m kinda hoping that clown appears to save the day. While the family stews in a windowless waiting room, Ladyfriend has shown up to support Sunny.
Sunny: Hey, would you marry me?
Me: WHAT THE HELL, DUDE? WEIRD TIMING!
Ladyfriend: Um, are you serious?
Sunny: Yup. So?
Ladyfriend: Yeah, I would.
Well at least SOMETHING good came out of this horrible horrible day! Anyway, DCI Suspect and Downstairs also have important stuff to discuss, so we head over to hear that.
Downstairs: So, all of my stressing the last few days has been about me, and my happiness. But I realized I was kind of being a jerk and not thinking about our actual kid. Yes, there could be some serious physical things we may need to deal with, and it’s not always going to be easy, but that’s just like a general kids thing, ya know? It’s our kid. Whatever happens with you, I want to keep the baby.
DCI Suspect starts crying, and it’s very sweet and emotional, but we don’t linger long with them. Back at the hospital, Boyfriend has arrived just in time to pull up a chair alongside Sunny (who gives him a huge hug) and Ladyfriend. All they can do now is wait. The next morning, Boyfriend returns from a coffee run to find Cassie’s son hanging out in the hallway chairs.
Boyfriend: Here’s the update: she’s out of surgery, and she’s heading to the ICU. The nurse said he thought everything went really well.
Son: Can we go and see her?
Boyfriend: He’s checking, hopefully we’ll get an update soon.
Son: Ok, I’ll let my dad know; he’s flying in.
While they worry about logistics (and wow do I really hope that’s all we have to worry about now), Sunny, ever the detective, is worried that this wasn’t just a run of the mill nightmarish accident, and so before he speaks to the rest of the squad, he calls up a colleague in the car accident office.
Coworker: Wait, you really think one of your suspects did this?
Sunny: Look, it’s a little over the top, but people act out when they’re cornered. Just check where they were when she was hit, and their cars, and any other evidence you can find.
Centering himself, Sunny rallies the troops: sure, this does suck mightily.
Sunny: But Cassie would absolutely want us to solve this case, and we always do what Cassie wants, right?
Everyone else: Right.
DS Beanpole: Ok, so Charity Auction Guy’s brother died shortly before the murder. He was stabbed to death, and while the investigation never went anywhere, the notes make it look like the family had a pretty good idea who did it, and wouldn’t talk.
Sunny: And where did the attack happen?
DS Beanpole: This specific street address near where they lived.
Sunny: Weird, that sounds familiar but I can’t figure out why.
Me, made sarcastic by stress: Oh wow, I’m sure THAT won’t be important later.
DS Beanpole: Also, everyone says that the one who died wasn’t like his brothers: quiet, not into fighting, kinda chill.
DS Grumpy: Well, Charity Auction Guy has a normal number of bank accounts, and they’re all pretty standard, but THEN, I found this funny little account he’s the signer on that’s for his “godson.” He’s always just dumped a little bit of cash in there every month, but then, nine days ago, £10,000 got added and taken out.
Sunny: What? And where did that money come from and go to?
DS Grumpy: Fun fact: the money came from just a typical bank account. But it WENT into an account owned by a gal named Grace Williams. And that, my friends, is the name of the first wife of none other than DCI Suspect.
Everyone, including me:
Sunny: Well well! Let’s keep digging into those accounts. Go all the way back, ok?
While they keep working, something actually kind of nice comes out of this whole mess. Jerome, the victim’s son, tracks down and reconnects in person (for the first time) with his uncle Clive. And speaking of family reunions, Cassie’s Dad takes this opportunity to sit at her bedside in the ICU, and apologize.
Cassie’s Dad: I got your phone calls. Everything is ok, and as soon as you’re better everything is going to be back to normal. We’re gonna just do our normal family traditions, I promise.
We don’t have time to waste (these episodes are criminally short, after all) so it’s lucky that DS Grumpy works fast: the next thing we see is the squad arriving at Charity Auction Guy and DCI Suspect’s respective offices, ready to take them in. Somehow unsurprisingly, DCI Suspect does not go quietly, literally suckerpunching either DS Grumpy or the officer he’s brought with him. Back at the office, DC Apparently Also in Season 1, the only one not out arresting suspects and potentially getting punched for her troubles, picks up Sunny’s phone to field a call from the lab.
Lab Guy: Good news: we found some info on that pen of yours!
Back in interrogation, Sunny tells DCI Suspect what they now know: a witness (Million Year Old Landlady) can positively identify DCI Suspect from the bar fight.
DCI Suspect, not backing down: It wasn’t me, she’s wrong.
Sunny: Well, your buddy Family Therapist also identified you. And she told us a lot about what went down when Matt died too. Anything you want to add?
DCI Suspect: Dead Hoarder was the one who saw Matt. I was half asleep, and he pulled over.
Sunny: Oh, ok, so you lied before?
DCI Suspect: Dead Hoarder was also the one who wanted to fight. He was in the pub that night too.
Sunny: No one else seems to remember that.
DCI Suspect: Well he was quiet. Anyway, he was there, he’s the one who saw Matt, and he’s the one who got out of the car first.
Sunny: So you got out too? And lied about that earlier? Did you also chase Matt?
DCI Suspect: I walked.
Sunny: You calmly walked after the guy who had recently cleaned your clock? Ok. What happened when you found him?
DCI Suspect: I didn’t. I started walking home, after almost an hour of looking for everyone; thought I might get a bus. They found me a little later, and they all seemed pretty weird, but no one would tell me what happened. Then we got pulled over like 5 minutes later.
Sunny: Well THAT sure is a different story than Family Therapist told us.
DCI Suspect: I’m not surprised; she’d want to cover her back. They all will.
Sunny: And you would too, I’m sure.
DCI Suspect: Yeah, but I’m telling the truth.
Sunny: We have THREE witnesses who said they saw an Asian guy chasing Matt.
DCI Suspect: It was dark; I blend in. A good lawyer will sort that out.
TBH, I’m not sure who to believe, but now I really want to hear what everyone else is going to say. But first, we go back to DC Apparently Also in Season 1 and Lab Guy, who are looking at a high resolution image of the pen’s serial number. Before we find out if that number turns anything up, however, it’s back to interrogation, where Sunny asks DCI Suspect about the whole “you met with one of our other suspects in the woods, or at least your cellphone did” situation.
DCI Suspect, lying aggressively now: Oh, we weren’t meeting. I went down there for a walk to clear my head; I have some personal issues I’m working on right now.
Sunny: Well that seems like one HECK of a coincidence, seeing as you both live pretty far away from this random road. But whatever, let’s talk about the huge chunk of money Charity Auction Guy sent you via your ex-wife’s bank account. Now, she said she vaguely remembers opening the account, but had no idea you still had it. Or that for about a decade in the early aughts there were big chunks of money going into that account. Also, fun fact: you called a customs officer the same day that money appeared! Care to comment?
DCI Suspect, face showing that he KNOWS he’s beat: Nope.
Sunny: Look, we’ve pretty much figured this out. Charity Auction Guy’s family is into some shady stuff; I have to assume this customs call had to do with importing drugs. And you helped him, which makes me think you were bribed. Gotta wonder why you might be bribe-able… and what Charity Auction Guy has on you.
DCI Suspect: I didn’t kill him. I found him bleeding on the ground, and I tried to save him. Ask the others — I gave him CPR.
Sunny, not even remotely f*cking around: Interesting. You know what else is interesting? We found this pen in your desk. How long have you been a fancy fountain pen guy, pal?
Uh oh! As much as I want a decisive solve this early in the episode, I have to say: I think DCI Suspect might actually have been telling the truth at the end there.
Back in the hospital hallway, Boyfriend and Cassie’s son have a heart to heart.
Son: Sometimes I’ve wanted to apologize on behalf of my mom; she’s just not been herself the last year or so. But when she’s better, and when she’s done with work? She’ll be like a different person — in a good way. But even with all this crap you’ve been making her so happy. Thank you <3
Boyfriend: You don’t have to thank me; she’s incredible. I got lucky meeting her.
So did we, Boyfriend, so did we. Before we all dissolve into a puddle of goo over everyone finally getting their crap together and talking it out, DC Apparently Also in Season 1 goes on a little field trip to the Very Fancy Pen Store, who buzz her in for what I’m sure will be a revelatory interview. First, however, we return to an interrogation room, this time with Charity Auction Guy.
Sunny: So, let’s talk about the night Matt died. Because what you told Cassie is pretty darn different from what we’ve heard since from DCI Suspect and Family Therapist. Anything you’d like to say?
Charity Auction Guy, so full of sh*t I hope he’s taking fiber supplements: Well, after I talked to your colleague I really sat down to have a think… and I remembered that I was asleep for a lot of the ride. So I said the car never stopped before we got pulled over but… it might have?
Sunny: Oh, fun! Well your friends are actually saying you got out of the car, and chased down Matt, and helped put his body in the trunk, so?
Charity Auction Guy: Well they’re either wrong or covering their butts! If someone put a body in the back of the car I didn’t know about it!
Sunny: Here’s my other question: how the hell did you get DCI Suspect, who is smart AND ambitious, to help out with your drug smuggling?
Charity Auction Guy, trying to bluff: What drug smuggling?
Sunny: This drug smuggling! Here’s all the financial paperwork, and earlier we arrested a customs officer you might know? He’s been SUPER helpful. Smoking gun, motherf*cker! Anyway, curious if DCI Suspect was just corrupt, or if maybe you had some special... leverage.
Charity Auction Guy: No comment!
Sunny: Neat. We’re taking a break.
Out in the bullpen, the squad talks over what just happened. Why didn’t Charity Auction Guy just chuck DCI Suspect under the bus like Family Therapist before him? What are they missing? While they ponder their giant whiteboard, Cassie’s Kid sits at her bedside and tries to keep the conversation light and cheery, talking about his brother’s bad dental work. It works about as well as you’d expect: not great! But we won’t dwell on the emotions bubbling up at the hospital, because Sunny appears to have just had a brainwave.
Sunny: Oh my god. Look: Matt lived super close to Charity Auction Guy. And super close to where Charity Auction Guy’s brother got stabbed.
DS Beanpole: So?
Sunny: So, what if he killed Charity Auction Guy’s brother? They both come from these messed up criminal families, and being in that close proximity? What if they were rivals? Where was the brother stabbed?
DS Beanpole: Uh… his head.
DC Babyface: So the brother was killed by Matt?
Sunny: Right, and the family knew who did it, or think they do. And they’re waiting for payback.
DS Beanpole: So when DCI Suspect saw the kid who beat him up…
Sunny: … the rest of the group didn’t realize that was also the kid Charity Auction Guy thinks murdered his brother.
DS Beanpole, saying what we’re all thinking: Cassie would be proud of you.
DC Apparently Also in Season 1, bursting in: Holy crap, I just got back from the pen store and I struck gold.
No time to waste, we take that gold back into the interrogation room to confront Charity Auction Guy.
Sunny: So there’s a SUPER fancy pen. And, well, they have serial numbers. So we can figure out who bought them, even after decades. Want to know who bought that one? The one in the evidence bag? Your brother.
Charity Auction Guy: So you’re trying to say my brother did it?
DS Beanpole: Probably not. He’d already been dead almost a year. But you knew that.
Sunny: Here’s something else you might know: Very Fancy Pen Store? They offer engraving. And this pen has YOUR initials on it, because he bought it for you, as a present. And then was murdered not too long after. The brother who supported you, and tried to help you get out, was killed by a person you found, passed out in an allotment, not long after. Based on all that, we’re ready to charge you. So this is your chance: tell us what happened.
Charity Auction Guy: I grew up in a very... violent... family. I stayed in the car for so long because I knew… Look, I don’t know how I found him first; everyone else got out long before me. He’d tripped and hit his head. I tried to stop myself but I just couldn’t; we’re just a violent family. So I did what he did to my brother; I just pushed the pen right into his wound. And that’s when I saw DCI Suspect coming, so I ran off, and hid, and then came back to find him trying to give Matt CPR. I knew it was awful; I tried to get out, but I couldn’t. I changed my name, and ran away, but I couldn’t make myself better.
Well that’s a hell of an upsetting argument to add to the ol’ nature vs. nurture debate! Given how much Charity Auction Guy is crying while he confesses, I do feel like it’s fair to say he did turn out at least a bit more empathetic than the rest of his family, but good gravy, you really cannot be murdering people, guy!
The next day, Not Good Enough explains the situation to her boss. Yes, she really did think it was an accident the whole time, but that really doesn't change the fact that they covered up a crime. She knows she screwed up, she’s accepted that she’s going to jail, and her only plan is to try and give back once she’s out. Perhaps a good egg after all? At the very least, we finally find out how much she gave Eugenia: £10,000, which does go some of the way to making up for the chronic underpayment, but doesn’t really solve the problem of who will be paying Eugenia’s salary while Not Good Enough does time.
While Not Good Enough is taken in, DS Beanpole follows up with Coworker over in the traffic department. They found the other driver, who, as far as they can tell, wasn’t connected to the case at all: just a 24-year-old car thief. He tried to brake, but he couldn’t stop: Cassie had just pulled out in front of him. I suppose it should be comforting that the suspects weren’t involved, and that the driver tried to stop, but it really really isn’t. After DS Beanpole explains the situation to Sunny, DCI Suspect is brought out of holding and formally charged, while we watch Downstairs, who doesn’t seem to know yet that her husband is going to jail, shopping for baby clothes.
Booking Officer: Do you have anything to say that might help your defense?
DCI Suspect: While I was giving him CPR, ALL I wanted to do was call for an ambulance. I didn’t think about how that would impact us, I just knew it was the right thing to do. And then I saw how they all looked at me, and I knew. I knew I was the only one they’d blame.
And yeah, you know what, he’s obviously not wrong. Over at Family Therapist’s house, we finally find out what they’re all being charged with.
Family Therapist: They said they believe we didn’t know what Charity Auction Guy did, but the rest of us are getting charged with preventing a lawful burial, and we may or may not have to do time.
Partner: What about the rest?
Family Therapist: Well they can’t prove anything about the car accident; the evidence is long gone. But I told them about my license, and my lawyer is pretty sure I’m going away for that one.
Partner: I’m floored by all of this. And I’m so mad, and hurt, that you didn’t tell me. But I’m also mad at myself for not noticing. Either way, I still love you. I probably shouldn’t? But I do. So… we’re gonna try to deal with all of this, and support the kids.
Can’t lie: that went a heck of a lot better than I expected. Not sure I would be so forgiving! While they prepare to work on their stuff, Charity Auction Guy gets booked, and we watch his wife waiting by her cell phone for news while their kids watch tv, probably oblivious to the fact that their normal middle class life is about to blow up spectacularly.
Charity Auction Guy, whilst getting arrested: Tell his family I’m sorry. I did a terrible thing and I have regretted it every day.
DS Beanpole and Sunny watch him get escorted away, crying, and then find themselves lurking in the hallway.
DS Beanpole: Well don’t hang around here — go tell her we solved it! She did it again!
Sunny, getting a little watery eyed himself, nods, but before he gets to the hospital, Cassie's whole family is escorted into a very swanky family lounge for an update from her doctor. The news is… very bad. We obviously all knew Cassie was dealing with some bleeding in her brain, but during surgery they found out it was much worse than it looked on the scan. It’s so bad, in fact, that it’s unlikely that she will regain brain function; she may not be able to even breathe independently. Unable to sit and hear any more, Cassie’s dad gets up and runs out, followed by her son and Boyfriend, who tells Cassie’s son to head back inside and look after his brother.
Unaware of the absolutely awful news that everyone just heard, a smiling Sunny, backpack in tow, appears at the end of the hall where Boyfriend has found himself a seat to process what just happened. Of course, ever the detective, it only takes one look at Boyfriend’s face for Sunny to put it all together. And then, because Chris Lang, who writes this show, wants to ruin our lives, we go outside to watch Cassie’s dad sit on a bench, replay the last message Cassie left for him over and over again, and have a breakdown. For the record, in case you want to compare notes, this is when I started crying. Next, we see Sunny holding Cassie’s hand, DS Beanpole, DS Grumpy, DC Babyface, and DC Apparently Also In Season 1 getting the horrible news, and Sunny leaving the hospital, grim, set to audio of Sunny’s police eulogy for Cassie. And yes, it's a damn good eulogy. As Sunny brings flowers to Cassie's grave, and the eulogy ends, the music swells, and that’s it for Season 4. I’m going to be real with you, this hurt me! I don’t like it! I’m not sure I’m ready for Season 5, when it eventually comes back (but who are we kidding, I’m obviously going to watch it). In the meantime, I’ll be back recapping MASTERPIECE’s new show Guilt in September. Until then, friends.
Episode 1 Recap: Landslide
Episode 2 Recap: Race Against Time
Episode 3 Recap: No Body No Crime
Episode 4 Recap: Clique
Episode 5 Recap: If I Could Turn Back Time
