This weeks episode concludes the gruesome case of a killer with a penchant for skinning their victims, penned by the shows Steve Pemberton.
In this episode we see Chandler come out of the depressive slump he has been in for the last 3 episodes by making some terrible jokes. We understand he does not have a strong sense of humour so therefore laugh. In these jokes some much needed Chandler/Miles friendship is shown after wavering for the last few weeks.
Soon enough the team has a lead, the shoe from the cemetery is identified as the butchers daughter. After an interview and confirmation of what many guessed, the first victim was threatening the girls family as part of the Russian mafia, there is another attack. To anyone who is afraid of the dentist, it is your worst nightmare. As the dentist goes to sort out an x-ray, the chilling face of the old woman mask appears above the next victim.
With this case comes the possibility of a medium being involved. Following Chandler's confession last week that his mother sought help from fraudulent mediums after his fathers death, this was a surprising turn of events. What was even more surprising was that Chandler almost did get her to consult, even going as far as calling the medium before being greeted with a cheesy, mystical voice mail.
When the victim from the dentist's reappears wrapped in plastic on a field still alive, it seems there will be a breakthrough in the case. According to doctors he is a "miracle" case but I could not help but laugh when she said they were trying to get him to stop "leaking all over the place". Doctor's are so empathetic to skinned alive human beings...
After getting barely anything out of the highly medicated victim, Chandler has another of his OCD episodes but to shake things up, he uses the women's bathroom. Whilst in this comical setting, he confesses that his father drowned himself when Chandler was 10, which led to his obsessive compulsive disorder. This confession makes Chandler all that more like able.
The revelation of Mansell's trick on poor Buchan was also a large part of this weeks episode. The scenes showing Buchan's excitement for his secret date with Riley led to an uneasy knot in my stomach. When all was revealed after having to cancel due to a double shift, Pemeberton's true acting talent was apparent. Buchan claiming he knew about the joke, after being rejected by a confused Riley, was an incredibly awkward and sympathetic moment. Pemberton's almost kicked puppy expression really humanised the ignored character for me. It also led to a tense scene as Kent and Riley begin to dislike Mansell as much as I do, asking is he has any "empathy" and saying "[he's] a dick".
Soon there is a lead for the live victim. Years ago he had been acquitted for the murder of the woman. After interview the distressed widow of this woman, Kent shows his continuing descent into darkness as he asks to use the loo whilst the man is still bawling his eyes out. At first I was so shocked but then realised that he had used it as an excuse to search the teenage sons bedroom, briefly met when they arrived at the house. Low and behold it was the emo from the exhibit! A well placed Colour of Bone poster (actor Sam Stockman's, aka Kent's, band) and a scare later it is clear that this kid could be the killer. Interrogating him soon shows that is not the case even though one of the victims is the murderer of his mother.
Unfortunately, Buchan has gone off on his own at this point. After a hunch he goes back to the bookshop we saw him in last week where he asks some questions to the owner. After the bookshop owner says "two people have asked me that this month" it is clear that the killer will be revealed soon. With 15-20 minutes to go I expected a hunt for someone else. Not for the bookshop owner to be the killer himself.
Buchan is kidnapped and at risk of a skinning when the team figures out where he went. A frantic search and thoughts that surely they would not kill off a main character follow but Chandler and Miles come to the rescue.
They find the warehouse that the murderer kills his victims in and go to rescue Buchan. A fight ensues between Chandler and the murderer and of course the murderer decides to kill himself.
The episodes conclusion is the most gruesome yet as the murderer is sliced into a million tiny pieces of mush. So we end it with once again Chandler having no live culprit.
This weeks episode showed the sheer talent that this series has. Sending its audience of a fear inducing and emotional rollercoaster. I cannot wait for the next episode but am not looking forward to the end of this magnificent series.
Rating 5/5
Read my review for episode 3 here: http://anamateurslibrary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/review-whitechapel-series-4-episode-3.html
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