The episode opens with John Barnett (Rupert Penry-Jones) piecing the broken photo frame back together when Emma Barnett (Jill Halfpenny) approaches. She expresses regret in listening to him and not calling an ambulance. He asks what will happen if Derek Abshire (James Fleet) dies. She says he will have killed him and she will be complicit. He reminds her that he shoved Derek. She insists it was an accident and believes in upholding the law. He says she also believes in getting people off. Lee Hatby (Chris Gascoyne) arrives demanding what they owe him by the end of the week. John asks what he will do if they don’t pay. Lee assures him Derek is happy that is if he is still a problem and leaves. John punches a hole in the wall. He calls Sonia Spence (Amy Nuttall) but gets her voicemail. Alan Spence (Ray Fearon) greets him from across the fence.
Beth Barnett (Megan Trower) receives a call from PC Gallagher (Jamie-Lee O’Connell). She looks out the window and sees Nick Hewitt (Alex Macqueen) staring out his bedroom window. Gallagher calls again. She calls Terry Dobson (Larry Lamb) but gets his voicemail. Nick sees Emma on the phone in front of the Abshire house. She leaves Terry a voicemail about him having their planning pulled. She rings the doorbell. Barbara Abshire (Tessa Peake-Jones) answers the door in a cheery mood and invites her in. She asks about the progress of their extension. Emma asks about her bruised face. Barbara claims to have slipped on the floor. Emma asks where Derek is. Evading the question, Barbara asks if John has found another job. Emma asks again. Barbara recalls she dislikes Derek. Emma blames him for the dead magpies. Barbara explains how she found him lying on the kitchen floor and called the ambulance. She describes it as a curious incident. Emma asks if he will be all right. Barbara asks if she really cares. Emma assures her that she cares. Barbara says Derek is unconscious and the doctors aren’t sure he will come around. Emma apologizes. Barbara asks why when she did nothing. She suggests reporting Derek for killing the magpies but again, she may not want to involve the police. Emma asks her to explain. Barbara insists she leaves.
Emma offers to drop Beth off at the college on her way. Ignoring her, Beth continues on her way. John asks what Barbara had to say. Emma tells him Derek was hospitalized and Barbara claimed to have been asleep. He asks if she believes Barbara is telling the truth. She denies believing anyone and fears they will look suspicious if they go to the police now. Lee slows down, stares at John, and drives away. A short time later, Alan finds John distracted in their unfinished kitchen. He says Sonia may be pregnant. Shocked, John asks how. Alan tells him about finding the pregnancy test in her bag. John questions why Sonia never told him. Alan suggests she fears he would get upset but he is thrilled. He describes it as a miracle because they only had sex twice in the last year. John urges him to let Sonia tell him. Alan embraces him and says he never realized what a good friend he has become.
Beth shows Terry Gallagher’s pictures of John, Sonia, and him at Aidan’s Kitchen. She asks why he met John and if he was alone. He receives a call from Emma and shows her. As she starts to leave, he asks to see all of the photos. She reluctantly hands him her phone. Scanning through the photos, he asks who took them. She says a friend. He assures her the photographer isn’t her friend. She admits to being afraid and asks him not to say anything to Emma. Emma calls again. Beth rushes out of the pub. Elsewhere, John rings the doorbell. Sonia answers the door. Forcing his way in, he tells her Alan discovered her positive pregnancy test in her bag. Shocked, she questions why he told him, not her. He asks if the baby is his. She denies owing him anything. He suggests they could… She She explains how the baby made her feel like never before. He tells Allan wanted to see his reaction because he knows about their affair. He asks if she is going to keep it. She asks him to leave.
Barbara finds a package on her doorstep. John approaches and asks how Derek is doing. She says the doctors are saying he is very sick and describes what happened to him as a mystery. He says hopefully he will get better. Smiling, she closes the door. Gallagher pulls up beside Beth walking down a sidewalk. At the park, Emma accuses Terry of interfering with their kitchen project because she refuses to underwrite his loan. He denies the allegation and any knowledge of it. She blurts out that she lost her job. He tells her that he met Beth and something has her frightened. He demands she call her. Elsewhere, Gallagher confronts Beth about walking out on her photo exhibition. Beth asks why she took the photos. Gallagher suggests her subjects were up to no good and a photo is worth a thousand words. Beth pleads to know what she is up to. Gallagher grabs her gearshift. Beth touches her hand. Gallagher slaps her across the face.
John finds Lee and Pawel (Patryk Szewczyk) tearing up the kitchen tile. He tries to stop Lee but is thrown against the wall. In a nearby apartment, Barbara is looking at a photo of Marcus when she hears the banging. John calls the police. Lee says the walls are next before leaving. Barbara approaches and tells him the doctors think Derek will recover. John calls the news terrific. She admits to seeing him leaving Sonia’s and urges him to be careful because Emma is no fool. She adds none of them are. Lee speeds away in his work van. John changes his mind about talking to the police. Nick looks at him and goes inside. Later, Alan finds a lock on the Barnett’s gate and complains to Sonia. He kisses her, rubs her abdomen, and says it should have happened years ago. As she walks away, he says John seemed a bit distracted and has a secret. She leaves John a voicemail asking to see him. Alan looks at her from the garden.
Beth is handcuffed to the stove. Gallagher suggests it best to send Emma the photo from Beth’s phone. Beth asks why she is doing all this and warns that she could go to jail. Gallagher boasts of the police believing her over Beth. She says Emma should know about her husband’s affair. Beth asks why she cares. Gallagher grabs her finger and presses it against the phone to unlock it. An incoming call pops up on the phone. Gallagher accepts the call. Emma tells her that Terry said she was frightened and asks what is going on. Gallagher ends the call. Beth says what she is doing isn’t fair to Emma. Gallagher asks if Emma getting her suspended for nothing is fair and sends the photos. Emma calls John who is with Sonia near the park. Ignoring the call, John tells Sonia they should raise their baby together. He claims to have been excited when Alan told him about the baby. He says their marriages have been rocky for some time and what they have is real.
Nick informs Emma that her security camera is broken but his camera never caught it. She starts to close the door but he stops her and asks if she thinks Derek killed the magpies. She says if there are no more magpies, it was him because he is hospitalized. He tells her about his CCTV capturing Lee and Alan in a verbal disagreement. He believes Lee is up to something and Derek had nothing to do with the magpies. She receives an attachment from Beth’s phone and ends their conversation. She looks through the photos. In a message, Beth asks to be left alone for a few days to think. Emma calls her phone, it goes straight to voicemail. As she starts to cross the street, Alan stops her and tells her about Sonia’s pregnancy. He claims John knew before him. Upset, she apologizes and runs to her car. Alan smirks as she speeds away. Nick watches via a live security feed. Barbara is washing dishes when she spots a magpie light on her tree. Barbara receives a disturbing call from the hospital.
John arrives home to find everyone out and rushes to pack his bags. An incoming call from Emma pops up on his phone. He ignores it and continues packing. During a phone call, Emma tells Terry that Beth sent her the photos. He suggests someone else sent them and urges her to contact the police. Elsewhere, Alan asks Sonia if she talked to John about their baby and didn’t tell him. Getting in her face, he claims to have known about their affair for a long time and considered having sex with Emma. She starts to speak but he stops her. He assumed when John and Emma moved, their affair would go away. He nods at Lee sitting in his van. Alan asks if she is in love with John. She doesn’t respond. He tells her to stay put and leaves. Elsewhere, Gallagher leaves Beth restrained to the stove. In the car, Emma repeatedly tries to reach Beth to no avail. At home, John descends the stairs with a suitcase to find the front door open. Emma calls but he doesn’t answer. He is shocked by something he sees.
A distraught Beth calls out for help. Barbara approaches Emma as she is getting out of her car and informs him of Derek’s death. Emma offers her condolences. Upset, Barbara walks back to her house. Emma finds two dead magpies and notes – “Five for silver. Six for cold” – attached to their door. Upon entering the house, she sees a bloody handprint and blood on the wall leading to the kitchen, where Alan is dead on the floor. A knife is sticking out of his chest. A note – “Seven for a secret never to be told” – lies next to his body. She utilizes her hand to muffle her screams.
The Feud Review
Alan knew about Sonia and John’s affair which would end when he moved away. Emma’s decision to not sell and extend the kitchen was a game changer. She only began to suspect when she saw Nick’s CCTV footage of John and Sonia in her bedroom.
Gallagher abducts Beth and sends the photos of John, Sonia, and Terry to Emma from her phone. Terry urges Emma to call the police because Beth mentioned being afraid of someone.
John and Sonia decide to run away and raise their baby together. Their plan is thwarted when Alan is murdered. The doctors told Barbara that Derek was improving but he ended up dying. The episode deserves a 6 out of 10.
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