Summary
One twist after another sets up a finale in which virtually anything can happen; a stellar episode of television.
This The Victim Episode 3 recap contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
First, a confession: I find Anna Dean (Kelly Macdonald) absolutely insufferable. Even as a father of two, I can’t get on board with her dopey, self-serving irrationality, and if someone doesn’t really sit down and explain to her that she’s the one on trial here I’m going to lose my mind. By leaking unconfirmed speculation online as fact, she already potentially condemned an innocent man; even now, she thinks that the best way to proceed is to double down on her assumptions and have her ex-husband kill him.
But the thing is, I watch a lot of crime dramas, and I know that The Victim is a good one. And the good ones know how an audience thinks; they know how they feel about the characters, who they suspect, who they’re rooting for and against. I can’t help but think Anna’s general detestability isn’t a consequence of sloppy writing, but an intentional way to redirect sympathy from her to Craig Myers (James Harkness). By the end of The Victim Episode 3, we have received our confirmation that Craig Myers isn’t — never was — Eddie J Turner. But have we, really?
There were two big reveals in tonight’s episode. The first was that Louise’s (Isis Hainsworth) boyfriend, Danny Callaghan (Andrew Rothney), was the one who discovered young Liam’s body all those years ago. He didn’t bother reporting it for hours. He has spent time in prison. He’s openly weird. Just as it seemed like all evidence was pointing in his direction, we were thrown another curveball. Eddie J Turner meets with his social worker in a local diner. With Mo Buckley (Pooky Quesnel) parked outside to observe the meeting, we finally get to see the notorious child killer for ourselves. Danny? Nope. It’s Craig’s mate Tom (John Scougall).
You’ll recall that in my recap of the previous episode, I said he was the likeliest suspect, so if this turns out to be genuine then at least I’ve proven myself right. But I’m not convinced. I think Anna’s irrational nonsense is part of a plot to draw attention away from Craig Myers. I think Craig Myers is Eddie J Turner. But would that be enough of a twist?
Perhaps not. So, here’s another: I don’t think Eddie J Turner killed Liam.
That seems ridiculous, but this is a show called The Victim. Since the beginning it has been about blame, culpability, compassion, and sympathy; the idea that a victim can be a perpetrator and that a perpetrator can be a victim. More importantly, it has been about mistakes made for understandable reasons that nonetheless send ripples through the lives of everyone they touch. It’s a show about, on some level, what it means to be wrong. Throughout it all, Anna have criticized the system, insisted that justice was never done, that a mere seven years was too light a sentence for the murderer of her son. And she might be right. But what if she isn’t?
It would seem a fitting twist. Craig is Eddie J Turner, but Eddie J Turner didn’t kill Liam. In that case, who did? We’ll find out tomorrow.
