In the penultimate chapter of Season 8, Episode 5 of Shetland, the intricate tapestry of the Ellen Quinn murder investigation weaves an ever-tightening knot with each subsequent revelation. Detective Inspector Ruth Calder and her team plunge deeper into the case's murky depths, encountering a surfacing tide of fresh suspects that renders the truth ever more elusive.
The episode begins with the heart-wrenching news of Cal's untimely demise, his van having careered off the road in a catastrophic accident. At first glance, it seems a tragic culmination of a day marked by excessive drinking with Bobby Bain, who might have tinkered with Cal's van when it refused to ignite. However, a haunting voicemail left by Cal just before his fatal crash hints at a more ominous facet of Bobby's character, igniting Calder's relentless determination to confront the Bains.
While Calder interrogates Bobby about his final encounter with Cal, her colleague Tosh is at the Sandats' residence, probing into the enigmatic circumstances surrounding Akmal's demise. She senses a clandestine link between Akmal's accident and Ellen's woes, a hypothesis that gains credence when the Sandats voice their displeasure over Tosh's probing inquiries, subtly hinting at concealed truths.
The Sandats' argument over Farida's actions intensifies, with Azir urging her to take medication and voicing frustration at consistently cleaning up after her mess, thereby adding another enigmatic layer to the puzzle. Tosh's suspicions are confirmed when Farida eventually confesses to fabricating the narrative of Akmal's death, disclosing that she was under the influence of pills prescribed by Azir at the time of the accident.
Calder's personal turmoil escalates to new heights when she discovers that Cal had visited Bobby's place the night before his fatal accident, driven by information she had imparted about her father's alleged liaison with Stella Quinn. This revelation stabs deep into her heart, suggesting a poignant familial connection between Calder and Ellen.
The investigation takes a startling twist as Sandy unearths a cache of tiny blue plastic bags in Cal's room, indistinguishable from those utilized for drug trafficking in Shetland. This startling discovery entwines Cal in the local drug underworld and entwines him further with Bobby and Neil Bain, who confess to collaborating with Cal in their illicit dealings and disclose Bobby's recent substantial cash investment in their operation, presumably sourced from Ellen.
The narrative deepens as Farida and Azir's fabrications concerning Akmal's demise are unmasked, with Azir acknowledging to Tosh that Heather has been wielding a blackmail sword over them, menacing to expose their deceit. A blanket discovered in Azir's vehicle, bearing fibers that match those found entangled in Ellen's hair, compels him to confess that he had driven Ellen, still very much alive, to the Bain residence on the fateful night of her demise.
The decisive blow strikes with Bobby's bank statement, revealing his lavish expenditures in London prior to Ellen's passing, coupled with an eyewitness account detailing a heated altercation between him and Ellen. These revelations cast a long, dark shadow over the Bain family, hinting that a member of their own could be responsible for Ellen's untimely end.
As the episode draws to a close, the noose tightens inexorably around the Bain family's necks, with incriminating evidence stacking up against one of them as the potential perpetrator of Ellen's murder. The tragic demise of Cal, the duplicitous machinations of the Sandats, and the looming specter of familial betrayal within the Bain clan leave the audience perched on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the climactic revelation in the season finale of Shetland.
