Jacob Masters believes he’s found love at last with nurse Tina Mollett. Yet, this week in a special Casualty episode (Saturday, 24 July 2021, BBC1, 9.35pm - see our TV Guide for listings) focusing on the couple’s relationship it’s revealed appearances are chillingly deceptive!
Spoilers below.
Jacob Masters Casualty special is doing things differently...
This Saturday viewers will see Jacob Masters becoming victim to Tina Mollett’s coercive control in a shocking domestic abuse storyline in Casualty.
What makes this episode of Casualty different?
In numerous scenes between the couple Jacob (Charles Venn) must decide whether to handle situations with Tina (Adele James) assertively or passively.
Casualty viewers will then witness the results of the two different approaches. Yet, the outcome always ends with Tina manipulating Jacob into feeling bad and doubting himself!
Setting the scene of this special Casualty episode
The drama kicks off when Jacob discovers Tina (Adele James) has spent £8000 on his credit card.
The couple are on their way to work, when we see the outcomes of Jacob handling this situation in two different ways - passively and assertively.
Their heated and uncomfortable encounter is interrupted when they happen upon a road traffic accident. First on the scene, Jacob calls the emergency services while Tina tries to free the badly injured driver.
The vehicle, however, begins to tilt dangerously and Jacob must act quickly to save Tina and the driver as the car explodes!
Soon after, they find Jeannie, another injured woman who appears to be involved in the accident. Holby’s a small world, and it turns out Tina knows former child carer Jeannie, as she used to treat the young woman’s father before he died.
What happens next…
Back at the hospital Tina and Jacob’s colleagues Iain Dean, Marty Kirkby and Jade Lovall heap praise on action-hero Jacob.
Stung with jealousy Tina subtly undermines Jacob and puts him down with jibes about his diet, exercise and spending habits.
What follows from that point onwards is a string of disturbing encounters between the couple, where both the passive and assertive scenarios are played out.
Without wanting to give too much away, viewers can expect to see Tina secretly eavesdropping, as Jacob retreats vulnerable patient Jeannie.
He helps Jeannie begin to accept her eating disorder by opening up about his own childhood struggles. Twisted Tina then uses the information to belittle Jacob in front of doctor Ethan Hardy!
Twisted manoeuvrings follow
As the episode progresses it soon becomes clear that nothing is off limits for Tina.
In order to keep control, she constantly threatens to end their relationship, blows hot and cold, uses intimacy to get her own way, stings Jacob with barbed comments and backhanded compliments, accuses him of being oversensitive, uses his vulnerabilities and doubts against him, breaks patient confidentiality, and disrespects his role as a senior nurse manager.
Jacob is left walking on eggshells and utterly unsure of himself.
Vicious showdown
Events finally take a darker, more dangerous turn when Tina insists on performing a medical procedure she’s never done before, as Jeannie’s life hangs in the balance!
In the assertive version, Jacob refuses. In the passive scenario, Jacob allows himself to be bullied by Tina into getting her way, resulting in a backlash from acting clinical lead Dylan Keogh.
Sadly, both choices lead to an explosive, disturbing showdown in Jacob’s office, with horrifying consequences…
Will Jacob realise what's happening and get help?
If you are affected by the issues in this episode of Casualty please contact BBC Action Line
