The third chapter of Ridley's sophomore season, titled "The Hollow Tree: Part I," unfolds with a jaw-dropping revelation, resuscitating a dormant case from the depths of obscurity. As a tempestuous night rages on, it uncovers a sinister secret nestled within the hollow core of a felled tree, shrouded in darkness.
Dawn breaks to reveal a harrowing sight—a grotesquely twisted corpse, contorted into a fetal position, bound in intricate knots, and its throat cruelly choked with a piece of rope. The victim, Kathy Hadderly, vanished six years ago, leaving a trail of unresolved riddles and a family forever scarred by her absence.
This once-forgotten mystery is suddenly thrust into the limelight, luring Jean Dixon, a disgraced former detective, out of her self-imposed retirement. Dixon, who initially probed Kathy's disappearance, harbors a lingering bitterness towards Ridley and his crew for exposing her missteps in another long-cold case. However, her maternal instincts are ignited by the plight of Kathy's daughter, Sam, who was a tender 13 when her mother vanished, echoing the sorrowful tale of Dixon's own daughter, Molly.
As Dixon delves deeper, she unravels a labyrinthine tapestry of deceit and suspicion. Kathy's husband, David, emerges as a focal point, his stoic reaction to her disappearance and delayed report sparking suspicion. Their tumultuous marriage, marred by violent altercations, casts an ominous pall over him. Yet, it is Sam's stunning revelation that deals a crushing blow to David's alibi. She confesses to fabricating her father's whereabouts on the fateful night, a deception orchestrated by none other than David himself.
Adding further intrigue to this enigmatic case is the disclosure that Kathy has been sending messages to Sam for years, well after her presumed demise. These texts, arriving on birthdays and holidays, painted a picture of life and wellness, a narrative shattered by incontrovertible DNA evidence confirming the body's identity. The discovery of Kathy's burner phone—a clandestine tool she employed to shield her affairs from her paranoid spouse—merely deepens the mystery's murk. The phone remains elusive, taking with it potentially vital clues to unraveling the truth.
The investigation's toll extends beyond Dixon's professional realm, infiltrating the very core of her personal life. Her relationship with Ross Enderby, her partner, is strained to breaking point as she harbors the secret of her case involvement from him. This secrecy fosters an ever-tightening web of tension between them, which snaps into full view when Ross, in a misguided attempt to shield Dixon, distances Molly, further fraying the delicate balance within their household.
The case undergoes a seismic shift when Ridley and Dixon stumble upon a shocking discovery: the knots binding Kathy's body mirror those discovered in David's garage, where a boat hangs ominously from military-grade ropes. The revelation that David served in the military reserves and that a military camp lies in close proximity to where Kathy's remains were found ratchets up the stakes to unprecedented heights. As they corner David, they find him, a shattered figure perched precariously on the edge of surrender, beneath the tree.
David's confession is a soul-wrenching tale of jealousy and insecurity, ignited by Kathy's scathing taunts about other men, that culminated in a decision that doomed him to lose both his wife and his liberty. However, the military's assertion that reservists were never alone during their training sessions near the tree casts a shadow of doubt over David's solitary guilt.
The episode crescendos with a chilling omen for Dixon—a menacing note on her windshield, a dire warning of harm should she persist in her pursuit. This threat compels Dixon to unburden herself to Ross, triggering a confrontation that lays bare the fractures in their bond. Ross's possessive nature and his refusal to grant Dixon the autonomy she desires drive her to the brink of despair, culminating in a violent clash that leaves Dixon adrift, questioning the very foundations of trust.
"The Hollow Tree Part 1" is a riveting chapter that meticulously crafts a narrative of deceit, envy, and the insidious erosion of trust within a family. It serves as a haunting reminder of the abyssal darkness that lurks beneath the veneer of even the most mundane existences. As the episode wanes, the audience is left with a haunting vision of Kathy's lifeless body, a somber testament to the tragedy that unfolded within the hollowed recesses of that fate-entwined tree. With the truth tantalizingly close, the lingering question persists: Will Dixon and Ridley be able to deliver closure to Sam and unravel the full extent of the conspiracy that claimed Kathy's life? Only time, and the unfolding of the next episode, will unravel this intricate web of secrets.
