The episode opens with Sonia Spence (Amy Nuttall) reminiscing about her time with John Barnett (Rupert Penry-Jones). He tells her about an intoxicated friend ringing a man’s doorbell at 2am and panicking. The old man shoots him twice with an air rifle. He claims it has been ages since he had so much fun. She says her too. He questions if Emma Barnett (Jill Halfpenny) knows who he is anymore because she is so busy with work. Sonia jokes about him being unemployed. He kisses her. Initially surprised, she kisses him back. In the present, Nick Hewitt (Alex Macqueen) repairs his CCTV camera. Across the street, John expresses his disapproval of installing a security camera outside their house. Emma reminds him of the brick thrown through their window which happened while Nick’s camera was down. He says Nick is crazy but wouldn’t do it. She insists Derek Abshire (James Fleet) is responsible because he hates them. He suggests it was a prank. She vows to question all their neighbors. Sonia takes out the trash. Emma greets her. Sonia smiles and turns to go back in. Emma asks if she is all right. Sonia says yes, goes in, and tells Alan Spence (Ray Fearon) about the Barnett’s new security camera. He says no one can hardly blame them. Lee Hatby (Chris Gascoyne) looks up from his work to see Sonia watching him. She complains about him making her nervous and questions if he killed the magpies. Derek asks why Lee would want to scare his client. She leaves for work. He calls St. Michaels, pretending to have missed Saturday’s GCSE conference. The lady tells him there was no conference that day.
Barbara Abshire (Tessa Peake-Jones) conceals her black eye with makeup. Derek informs her that the Barnett’s walls are up. She looks out the window. Elsewhere, Beth Barnett (Megan Trower) receives a call from PC Gallagher (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) inviting her to her impending photo exhibition. Gallagher has photos of John and Sonia at Aidan’s Kitchen. Beth accepts the invitation. Gallagher suggests she bring her photos to show to her agent friend. She claims to have missed her and ends the call. Nick watches security footage of Lee walking over to speak to Derek. Lee looks directly at the camera. Beth catches Emma yelling at Derek and Barbara through the mail slot. Emma tells her to jump over the fence to see if the “lunatics” are hiding around back. Beth suggests she could be the lunatic. Emma denies murdering magpies and continues to try to raise them. Nick approaches and says it is strange how they got a camera after his was vandalized. Beth leaves for college. Nick asks Emma why she got a security camera. After accusing him of violating privacy laws, Emma says it was impossible to beat him, so she decided to join him. He boasts of the Council being in his favor, regarding his parking permit petition. She asks if he is a bird lover. He claims to be an ornithologist. She says Derek is killing magpies before telling him about the dead magpie thrown through her window. He asks why she believes Derek is responsible. She says only the two of them are upset with her. He denies any connection to the dead magpie. A magpie perches on the fence.
Lee asks John for upfront payment for the plumbing and electric. John agrees to speak with Emma. Lee suggests he gets frustrated with having to get Emma’s approval on everything. John argues that they make decisions as a married couple. Lee sarcastically says whatever, Chief. John warns that he will not let him intimidate and disrespect him in his own home. Lee says he has no idea who he is. John receives a message from an unknown number, requesting they meet. Smirking, Lee nods at Pawel (Patryk Szewczyk). At the Magistrate Court, Emma prepares her client for his hearing. Ian Casey (Joel Beckett) asks to speak with her alone. She declines. He says it is about Abul Masood (Joel Kai Ali). She asks her client to wait in the courtroom. Ian shows her a video of Masood and another man in a dispute. Speaking English, Masoon goes off on the cops. Ian suggests she knew and blames her for Gallagher losing her job. Refusing to accept the blame, she calls Gallagher a racist. She says there is no evidence and enters the courtroom.
Nick scans through his security camera footage. At a café, John is waiting for Sonia when Terry Dobson (Larry Lamb) enters and takes a seat across from him. John tells him that he knows Emma has been talking to him. Terry asks about the progress of the extension. John asks why he cares. Terry apologizes for his job loss. As John starts to leave, Terry grabs his hand and says he would like to discuss Emma. Sonia enters, sees them together, and leaves. Terry asks who she is. John denies knowing her, asks him to leave them alone, and leaves. In a nearby car, Gallagher snaps photos of them. Elsewhere, Emma asks Lee to slow the project down. He sarcastically says it can end now. She ignores a call from Terry and goes out to smoke. Derek invites her for coffee. She accepts. A magpie lights on the fence. She greets it. Derek tells Emma that he is interested in redoing her kitchen shelves. She agrees to send him the blueprint. He asks who sent her the dead magpies. She confidently blames Derek. He jokes about Derek burying Marcus under the tree. He expresses concern about Sonia possibly lying to him and asks if she thinks John has been faithful. She asks if he has had affairs. He declines to answer. As she is leaving, he kisses her cheek.
During a phone call, Sonia voices concern about Terry knowing her. John says Emma may have suspicions. She tries to tell him about the pregnancy. Stressed, he suggests they end their affair and asks her opinion. They agree it is for the best and end the call. She breaks down sobbing. Elsewhere, Nick watches live security footage of the street. Seeing a delivery man hand Derek a package, Emma rushes over and accuses him of killing the magpies. She yells for Barbara. He blames her for Barbara’s being stressed out and in bed. She denies doing anything wrong and warns that everyone is onto him. Nick watches her leave. Barbara stares at a photo of Marcus. Derek says they are moving. At the Magistrate Court, Emma tells Terry on the phone that she will meet him at 4pm at the park. Ian calls her name. Frustrated, she says if he is there to intimidate her, get in line. He confesses to filing a complaint against her for misleading the judge. She scans the complaint which reveals she has been suspended. She describes it as madness. A staff member blocks her from entering the courtroom. As Emma is leaving, Gallagher smiles at her in passing.
Nick sees Barbara’s battered face from his study window. At the park, Terry tells Emma about his encounter with John. She demands to know what he told him. He denies saying anything but considered telling him how he helped speed up their build. She accuses her of trying to intimidate her. He says John was meeting a woman and insists he is having an affair. She says he would know because he had about 10, curses him, and returns to her car to find the window smashed. A dead magpie and another note – “Three for a girl, four for a boy” – are in the backseat. The note is on the back of a photo of Marcus and Beth. When she returns home, Derek approaches and asks what happened. She insists Derek is responsible and shows him the photo/note. She explains what it means. He offers to speak with Derek but she refuses. She asks if Sonia went to work today. He says yes and asks why. She goes inside and asks Lee if Derek has been there. He asks if she has his money. She promises to get it and starts to walk away. He grabs her arm and demands immediate payment. Lee removes Sonia’s phone from her bag and tries several PINs but none work. He puts the phone back and finds the positive pregnancy test. Emma finds the same photo of Beth and Marcus on her social media.
Beth meets Gallagher at a restaurant. Gallagher kisses her on the lips. Beth asks if her agent friend is with her. Gallagher says she will be there later. They order cider. At home, Emma watches security footage of Nick arriving home and stopping to eye their new camera. John enters and asks what happened to the car. She gives him the photo. He asks where it happened. She tells him about meeting Terry at the park and asking him to push their build application through. She says he is asking her to underwrite a loan but she refused. She asks if he was meeting a woman. He claims to have stopped there for coffee. She says Terry told her and she believes him. Lee informs them that the Council has pulled the planning due to irregularities. She knows it was Terry’s doing. Lee demands full payment. John offers to speak with Derek. She tells him he can’t do anything and walks out. Lee gives John a stern look and smirk before leaving. Emma pays Nick a visit. He suggests she is pleased that his parking zone was rejected. She asks to see his CCTV footage and claims Derek put dead magpies in her car. He throws her out.
Emma repeatedly rings Derek’s doorbell and calls him a “mad b**tard.” Derek watches from his study. Sonia also watches from her bedroom window. Nick sees Derek in his bedroom window. Unable to work on his bird sketches, he angrily breaks his pencil. Emma complains about Derek refusing to answer the door. John asks if Terry had their planning pulled. Staring at their family photo frame, she questions if any of the moments were real. She asks who was the woman at the café. He recalls they were talking about Terry. Raising her voice, she demands he stop lying to her and slings the photo frame across the room. It smashes into a wall and drops to the floor. Derek cranks up the jazz music. Elsewhere, Beth wishes Gallagher good luck and kisses her. Gallagher explains what her exhibit means and leaves Beth to tour on her own. Beth sees the photos that Gallagher took of Terry, Sonia, and John lined across the wall. At home, Emma informs John of her plan to dig up Derek’s tree. She doesn’t see Sonia standing near the trash bin. Sonia tosses the pregnancy test in the bin. Lee watches them from his work van. Sonia starts in the kitchen, sees Alan, and walks away.
The Feud Review
Terry followed John to a café intending to tell him about the planning application. John knew Emma was in contact with him. Emma told him about asking Terry to get their planning application and now, he is demanding she underwrite a loan. While at the café, Terry saw Sonia arrive and leave. He sensed an affair and shared his suspicions with Emma. She confronted John but he died everything.
Ian received a video of Masoon and another man in a heated argument. He curses the man in English. Emma lied to the judge about Masoon not speaking English. Ian reported her and she is suspended from practicing.
Emma’s car window was smashed. A dead magpie and a photo of young Beth and Marcus, with a threatening note on the back. Unable to get Derek to talk to her, she decided to dig up his tree. The episode deserves a 6.2 out of 10.
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