A Big Twist
Sophie has a bad dream, and wakes up breathing heavily. This is the fourth time this week that she has had a dream in which she is being filmed by a Dutch tilt camera. The footage from her dreams is providing new evidence in the Dutch bribery scandal, and Sophie is determined to find out what happened in those meetings.
Kate is breathing heavily because she’s in bed with her partner Richard. However, she only wants to be alone given that she’s caught up on the Olivia case and too distracted for any funny business right now.
Kate believes wholeheartedly that James is a rapist, and bringing up the power imbalance in Olivia and James’ relationship. Ironically, that’s not too dissimilar to her own ties with Richard, who actually used to be her teacher.
Sophie thinks back to a moment in which she and Holly were leaving for work. Holly is clearly agitated, and Sophie can tell that something is wrong. She remembers thinking that the sexual assault she heard about before might be what’s going on.
Sophie decides to take the kids out of school and away from their mother-in-law. She’s missing court, but she confirms that she’ll be there when James is the one to give evidence. Unfortunately, Sophie visiting her mother-in-law Tuppence doesn’t help matters. Specifically, she learns about how James lying has been ingrained into him from a young age, including numerous games he cheated to win.
Amanda quizzes Kate over whether she may be responsible for spreading these around. Apparently she’s every bit in the dark as she is, while Maggie also confirms it’s not her either several scenes later.
Kate’s case is getting a lot of attention and this is starting to hit quite close to home. She rang a familiar voice from her past but it would appear this case could be very personal for her.
Miss Ledger takes the stand next and tells the court of her experiences with Amanda. She says that she was friends with Amanda for a short time before she started to date her. She says that Amanda always seemed like a good person, but that things started to change after they started dating. Amanda began to make fun of Miss Ledger’s weight, and would often call her “fatty” or “slutty.” Miss Ledger says that she didn’t know what to do, as she felt like she was being forced into a relationship with someone who was not interested in her. She eventually broke up with Amanda, and told everyone who would listen about what had happened.
Sophie returns home that night with the kids and pours herself a glass of wine. James is there, but Sophie is unable to let go of what’s happened. She’s not interested in Olivia though, she’s hung up on Holly. Apparently Holly was there during some of the end-of-year parties but Sophie’s memory is hazy.
In a series of flashbacks, it is shown that Holly Berry left one of the parties after James did, drunk and tired. In these visions, James kisses Holly and shockingly rapes her. As the camera pans out, it’s revealed that Kate Woodcroft is actually Holly Berry. ..
The Episode Review
The justice system in the United States is complex and can be confusing to those who are not familiar with it. Given that Kate is now emotionally compromised and a very focal point of this court case, it seems that there may be a conflict of interest when she is represented by the court. Furthermore, despite the endearing twist, how did the court not do enough due diligence to realize that Kate changed her name?
However, this twist also throws a more concerning issue at hand and that’s how breezily this series is brushing over sexual assault – and the aftermaths that can cause in a victim – in favor of something that feels akin to an airport novel. This series is skipping over the aftermaths of sexual assault, which could leave victims without support. ..
Compared to Unbelievable, this show falls short in its portrayal of the same subject material. ..
With the verdict still pending in the James Arthur trial, it’s unclear what direction the show will take. Will Kate/Holly have something to say about this if everything goes wrong? We’ll have to wait and see! ..
