Silent Witness season 27 continues with a new two-part story, which features a gripping case and an assassin who's more bungling than Inspector Clouseau! The episode includes guest performances by Sean Pertwee as DI John Flynn and Julie Graham as Elinor Shaw.
The episode opens outside a police station in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Two cops talk about the deaths of two people, possibly colleagues. Zaw is concerned they're being "picked off", while the other cop, Htin Lwin, says: "We deal in facts not claims made on social media".
The police then go on a mission carrying guns. Htwin Lwin hangs back as the other cops storm into the jungle. He's clearly concerned by what they’re doing.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, Jack, Gabriel and Nikki are at some kind of conference and strike up a conversation with a robot called Felix. Yes, this truly is a strange opening to an episode of Silent Witness! "The pen is mightier than the sword," the robot tells an impressed Nikki, who takes the free pen being offered. The gang listens to a speaker who brands social media "the a*** of humanity". It turns out she’s promoting a new social media brand, Kaskade. She's interrupted by protestors who flash up on the big screen behind the speaker: "Big tech kills". The protestors are roughly manhandled before Jack steps in.
Mr Lwin arrives in the UK at Heathrow. A brief brush with security ends when it turns out he has a Home Officer waiver and is allowed into the country. Someone appears to be watching him from a car as he leaves the airport.
At the side of a lake, Lwin is waiting. A woman steps out of what looks like the same car from the airport. Suddenly a van roars up and grabs Lwin before he has a chance to meet the woman. We then see a body, which is later identified as Lwin's.
Gabriel gets a call from Elinor Shaw (Julie Graham) at the Home Office, suggesting that a rejected funding application he made for the Lyell might now have a chance. She says she can inspect the Lyell today! Why the rush? We see her in the office and the camera pans to a photo of her with a man, who we later discover is her son.
Nikki and Jack attend the scene where the body is by The Thames. They are joined by DI John Flynn (Sean Pertwee). The victim has a wooden post sticking out of his chest. How did the victim lose his shoe? wonders Nikki as she wanders down the side of the river with Jack. They find the shoe. Jack theorizes that he was running, lost his shoe and then fell on a stake. Sounds fairly unlikely!
Gabriel welcomes Elinor, who seems interested in where Nikki and Jack are.
"Strange accident," says Nikki. "In the middle of all this nothingness he trips and impales himself."
Gabriel introduces Elinor to Cara and turns out Elinor knows sign language.
We see a worried woman at a bus stop, who is the victim's wife (she doesn't know he's dead yet). She heads to the riverside and to a cafe which she has a photo of. In the toilet hidden in a plastic bag, she finds money and a phone with a sticky note saying "Code is the day we met". The phone has a string of messages: "Will call after the interview when safe". "At beach waiting to call 'Fish' now". "Waiting an hour hope he's still coming". She tries to call a number but there’s no reply and we see the mobile lying on some grass. The woman calls Fish.
CCTV footage shows the victim's last moments. Nikki says they can't rule out he was attacked with a wooden stake.
DI John Flynn arrives at the Lyell hoping for more information. The team carry out an autopsy and believe the way the post entered the body does not suggest he fell onto it.
While the cop wants to rule it an accident, Nikki wants to keep an open mind. Elinor sobs in the loo. She gets a text from Oceanfloor: "What’s going on?." She replies: "I did everything you asked. Got him into the UK and now he's dead.” She adds: "Followed him from the airport — might have been seen. Police think accidental. Pathologist not convinced."
Oceanfloor: "Do they know who he is?" Elinor: "No". Oceanfloor: "Good". Then we get the revelation that this has something to do with finding her son Adam. Oceanfloor tells her it's critical to make sure the police conclude it's an accident.
Fish turns out to be a journalist and reveals that the victim was due to go on BBC News. Fish claims he spent his own money getting the victim to the UK in the hope that he could help the victim break a huge story.
Elinor tries to steer Jack to the conclusion the death was an accident without much luck and then confides in him that she lost her son a few months back. Oceanfloor then texts: "Get me into their server and I'll do the rest."
Velvy has been studying the victim’s tattoos and they tell him that he's part of an elite armed police unit. Elinor carefully watches Velvy enter his password so she can give it to Oceanfloor.
Back at the beach, Fish tells the victim's wife to trust him but then when he heads into the bar to show around the victim’s photo, he puts the photo in his pocket. What is Fish up to?
Velvy references a massacre that took place three months ago in Myanmar, is it connected to the victim's murder? Velvy talks far too much to Elinor. Cara spots Elinor acting oddly and warns Jack to be careful around her.
Fish warns May Lwin (Molly Harris), the victim's wife, not to go to the police, saying her husband has been accused of serious crimes. She points out there's no extradition treaty between the UK and Myanmar.
At the beach, Elinor reveals her son died by suicide. He was on a gap year abroad and they said he jumped off a bridge. She never saw the body, might he still be alive? Nikki is shocked by the toxicology report, saying high amounts of alcohol and heroin are in the victim's blood. Looks like the report has been changed by Ocean Floor!
Elinor texts Ocean Floor to ask him what evidence he has the victim was a career criminal. "He was with your son last week. Evidence enough?" comes back the reply. And he texts her apparent video evidence.
Jack and DC Alice Kirk (Tessa Wong) find the victim’s phone (must be a good one, it still has battery somehow!).
Nikki reexamines the body and comes to the amazing conclusion that the victim stabbed himself to draw attention to an injection wound! An injection killed him!! The killer hoped no one would spot the real murder weapon, but Nikki did!
Fish gets a call at the hotel where he's staying with May. The next minute an assassin more bumbling than Inspector Clouseau tries to kill May. He makes a complete pig's breakfast of it and she manages to elude my hiding in a laundry basket!
May makes her escape...
