Downstairs, Liz receives a call about paperwork needing signatures. Vicki comes in and explains that David thought the constable was going to arrest him. Liz says no one else wants Roger dead. Roger enters and says except his loving son. Roger gives Vicki her letter, which she wants to discuss with the two of them, only to be sent upstairs to work with David by Liz.
Upstairs, Vicki starts to interrogate David. She asks if he learned from magazines how to take things apart. He says yes. A bit later, he then exclaims he didn't tamper with the car, and she says she never accused him of that.
Liz doesn't want Roger to bring up the letter Vicki received, even though it relates to Burke hiring a private investigator. Roger asks why she did hire Vicki. Liz explains because he recommended her. He laughs, and she says perhaps he has forgotten. Roger agrees to lie, and then asks why she really hired Vicki. Liz threatens to kick him out if he doesn't do as she says.
David apologizes to Vicki, only to be interrupted by Roger, who escorts Vicki downstairs.
David sneaks back into her room and rifles through the drawers until he finds the letter.
Speaking to Vicki, Roger backs the story Liz told him. Vicki points out that he didn't seem to be aware of that when she asked him earlier. He explains that an anonymous donor to the foundling home, not anyone working at the foundling home staff, had recommended her.
Upstairs, Vicki finds the letter missing. She goes into David's room searching for it. In his drawer, she finds the missing car part.
Our thoughts
John: What a great way to end the week! Vicki can now prove Burke's innocence, and David's guilt. But who will she talk to first?
Christine: That was certainly a satisfying ending that leaves us looking forward to next week. Perhaps Vicki will keep silent to protect David.
John: One thing that I didn't like about this episode was the wishy-washy behavior of David. He seemed to bounce between love for and disgust with Victoria Winters without provocation.
Christine: Well that's not unusual behavior for children, but it did seem a little less than convincing.
John: Just when it looked like Liz' house of cards was finally going to crumble, we see just how much control she can exert over her brother. Will this finally shut down Vicki's questioning of why she was hired, or will she continue to believe there's more to it than she's being told.
Christine: Vicki seems pretty astute, so I don't think it will shut her down. She'll just ask someone else rather than attempting to penetrate the Collins' wall of deceit. There are quite a lot of flies in the drawing room today, most likely because the Collins siblings are full of...garbage. Best lines of today's show:
Roger: "I must admire you, Liz. You really have a neat way of managing people."
Liz: "I hope I can do as well with you."
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| David, getting more ideas for sabotage. |
A gripping episode from beginning to end. David Henesy does a good job as a boy torn between fear of his father and the budding sense that Vicki is his friend.
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Moltke Isles is strong in one of her most substantial parts, responding in turn to David and Roger's attempts to deceive her by playing the role of Socrates in a pair of philosophical dialogues. She manages to be firm and intellectual, very much in control of herself and of the situation, while at the same time remaining open to David's emotions and respectful of Roger's position. Roger's line to Liz, "You're very good at managing people," applies equally to Vicki in this one.
And of course the scene between Roger and Liz taps into the biggest source of suspense in this period of the show, the question of Vicki's origins. I don't suppose it's much of a surprise that Liz doesn't take Roger into her confidence the first time she demands he participate in her cover-up, but it seems clear that she will need more and more help keeping her secret from Vicki. Their confrontation in this episode suggests that a time will come when Roger will find himself with the leverage he needs to get her to tell him her secret while the audience is listening.