Unforgotten series four, episode two recap – will Ram cause Armageddon?

The investigation

Cassie’s mean machine of diligent rozzers really gets motoring this week and we now have a much better picture of our suspects. Fiona and Dean’s early exits from the force raise a few eyebrows, but the real bombshell detonates when the incoming chief constable of East Anglia is placed in the Ford Granada on the fateful night in 1990. What might she have to say about the witness who saw Matthew Walsh being chased by an Asian man on the night of his disappearance?

Less surprising are Walsh’s convictions for ABH, and possessing and dealing drugs, along with a warrant for skipping bail. Son Jerome never knew him and never cared to, but might be able to put Cassie in touch with Matthew’s older brother Clive. The gaffer is loving this one. There’s nothing quite like chasing a good lead.

Ram Sidhu

Two chief constable commendations, one pissed off wife and some alleged impropriety in a lift. Ram (DCI Sidhu to you) really does seem determined to have it all, good or bad. He tells his boss Paul the allegation is racially motivated and that if it continues “I and the BPA will bring Arma-fucking-geddon down on the pair of you”. A formal complaint is still lodged, and his rage only intensifies. “I’ll fucking destroy her,” he tells brother Bal and there’s every reason to believe him. He’s not above professional misconduct, and uses the PNC database to dig for dirt on his accuser.

Things aren’t much better at home when he chooses a drunken stupor over discussing the blood test that will decide the future of his wife’s pregnancy. He can point to those framed certificates all he likes – Anna isn’t in the mood to be giving out any commendations.

Liz Baildon

Liz has to roll with the punches this week – literally at first when she takes a smack in the chops from a ruffian bike-jacker. That doesn’t stop her from knocking the big interview out of the park, though. She covers her background of privileged classics student at Balliol, taking in her three years as a constable in Walsall, before concluding with her passionate belief that being a police officer is a noble calling. The panel nod appreciatively – her appointment seems a formality. Once home, though she has to eat another face slap, this one figurative, from her mother for having the gall to even go for the top job. She must have “balls of steel,” she says “given the circumstances”. Old Mama Baildon’s got a right mouth on her. I think there could be another body here before we’re done.

Fiona Grayson

A family therapist once said that if we lie to the people closest to us, it stops people knowing us or being able to understand us. We can assume then that Fiona wants neither to be known nor understood. She visits what appears to be her parents’ well-kept grave, a secret well-kept from Geoff and the kids. Bernard Grayson was a police sergeant, described as a copper’s copper on his gravestone. He died in 1991, a year after Matthew Walsh went missing. We are left wondering exactly how traumatic that final year of his life, was when his daughter followed in his footsteps.

Dean Barton

Dean wouldn’t be the first criminal to whitewash his reputation with charitable works and wife Marnie is blown away by his efforts for the upcoming event - £110,000 is on the cards. He certainly seems more at home press-ganging the wealthy than he does revisiting his nefarious past on his trip to Calais. All the moves are still there – purchasing the burner phone, picking up the white Citroën Dispatch, getting the vehicle through customs – but he’s as skittish as a hopped-up hare while doing it. He wastes no time in letting Felix know that any debt between them is now settled and that he will make him regret any further requests for favours. He should invite him to the fundraiser – it sounds hellish.

Notes and observations

• Martin wants to amend his will so that Jenny gets his half of the house. Jenny insists she has no agenda but Cassie thinks she is being disingenuous and that the Jen agenda is genuine. It’s not the first time he’s been targeted. I recall a time when a renegade cop opened and read his bank statements. Who stands for vulnerable older adults on this show?

• Below the line, Duxk wondered why Matthew’s tattoo wasn’t removed when his hands and feet were and I confess I’m stumped. I can imagine the killer had never performed a postmortem mutilation before and we would all approach our first time a little differently with the benefit of hindsight.

• “I could tell you a thing or two about our Elizabeth that would make your hair turn grey.” Come on, Eileen – spill the beans. Eugenia could use the leverage in the upcoming wage negotiations.

• Great news – John got his job! A fantastic happily-ever-after future beckons for Cassie far away from any detective drama, pottering around the garden and watching Loose Women reruns. Weirdly, she doesn’t seem that psyched about it. She is likely waiting for the full awesomeness of the prospect to sink in.

Why is Fiona lying? Exactly what happened with Ram in the lift? How long before Liz kills her mother? Let us know your thoughts below.