*Episode premise spoilers, which include spoilers from previous episodes.*
This one pulls off a bit of a neat trick. The episode spends a lot of time on other plots, not dealing directly with the Errol Mathis case. And yet, what happens here winds up having major bearing on the main story of show.
In between combing through old police records looking for clues and inconsistencies, June digs into possible dirt on Tony Gilfoyle, one of Hegarty’s cronies. Hegarty himself has his eye off the ball for the moment—he’s not focused on June’s investigation or the gang shooting. Instead, he’s laser focused on finding his daughter Lisa, an addict who stormed off after they had a big fight.
I like seeing some of June’s good detective work here. For all that she bends regulations, she frequently has strong instincts that pay off well. In examining the evidence and records from Errol’s case, she realizes that what’s not in the file tells her just as much as what is. And near the end of the episode, she reads between the lines of a confrontation to discover a vital clue.
I haven’t specifically mentioned Tony, though he’s been around throughout the show. Another police officer, he works remotely undercover, monitoring online extremist groups. He was involved in the Errol Mathis case back in the day, and it’s been clear pretty much from the start that he’s shady. Here, while June isn’t yet able to specifically nail him on mishandling Adelaide Burrows’s murder, she realizes she may be able to squeeze him on some other bullshit.
Tony is a potential liability that Hegarty has been working to handle all season, keeping him in line and giving cover for him. But he’s not thinking about that right now. Whether it’s Tony or his boss, Hegarty’s not answering anyone’s calls. He’s only focused on Lisa.
“Father desperately searches for his daughter who may be in trouble” is a humanizing story in general, and it is for Hegarty too. We’ve seen in previous episodes that his relationship with Lisa is super messed-up and unhealthy—he provides her with drugs to ensure a clean supply, though she points out that it’s to keep her dependent on him. The fight that leads to her disappearing is an ugly one, and both of them say horrible things to each other. But even if this isn’t a heartwarming or redemptive story, it’s still a human one.
Basically, Hegarty spends the whole episode either angry, stressed, or frantic but trying not to show that he’s frantic. The man is going through it, and Peter Capaldi plays all that well. He’s a terrible father on a mission, and he has no time for anyone else’s nonsense. One of Hegarty’s most interesting moments, for me, comes when Adelaide’s son Patrick tries to reassure him about his relationship with Lisa. As Patrick insists, “She’s proud of you, man!”, Hegarty quickly and flatly answers, “No, she’s not.” It’s a little thing, but I think it speaks volumes about both him and Lisa, and how they are together.
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