The Fall - S2E5 - The Fall
Previously on The Fall, ‘Strangler’
What a great penultimate episode! Lots of questions have been answered but so many more to address. I’m excited for the finale.
Paul
Paul is aware that he is being recorded and followed, so he starts his day by destroying his journal and laptop. We get an idea of the horror he must have faced as a young boy – with a father in prison for murder, a mother who committed suicide, and a rapist priest called Father Jensen who called Paul “a very pretty boy.” We also find out that his name was Peter Baldwin, and at 13 he was moved to a new home where he began breaking and entering to steal underwear and kept a journal about the habits of the women he observed.
While trying to run from the police Paul has an unfortunate run-in with Jimmy and the police are able to catch him and arrest him for the kidnapping of Rose. While being questioned, nothing seems to bother Paul - including the information that both of his locations were going to be searched or that his wife and Katie were arrested. The police are hoping to get some sort of reaction from him when they show him the pictures of Rose and when Stella has Detective McNally come to his cell with her hair down and in sexy clothes. Instead, he doesn’t speak, he doesn’t react – he’s stone cold.
Katie
Katie also seems to know she is being followed and goes to the bank and withdraws a large sum of money. She also puts a lock on a footbridge and disposes of the key and then goes into the hotel Paul had tied her up in before. Unbeknowist to Katie, she is being watched by the owner of the hotel and he observes her finding a lock of hair and a memory card left by Paul. The police break down the door while she is trying to burn the hair and flush the card. She is arrested and sits in jail refusing to speak to her mother.
Sally
Sally, who is completely unaware of her terrible situation, comes home to see the water damage to her house and is arrested for ‘perverting justice’ based on the lies she gave the police when she gave Paul an alibi. While in custody, she admits she lied and says tshe did it to keep Paul from being labeled a sex offender due to his relationship with Katie.
Stella
Stella stays in the background for most of this episode. She has other detectives make the arrest, and question and interact with Paul while she searches for evidence against him. She finds a picture of Paul and his mother from when he was a child, in happier times, and videos that he has downloaded of Rose on his phone. The videos show Rose over a long period of time begging, crying, pleading and trying to seduce Paul for her release. Rose is trying to say anything to get Paul to let her go and it’s tough to watch. Stella, who has been very careful to show any emotion up to now, cries watching her beg for her life. Regret, sorrow, and pain show while she watches her witness being tortured on screen. At the end of the video, Paul shows up demanding to know why we are still watching. It’s chilling to see.
Observations:
- It’s only been 4 days since Rose was kidnapped? Wow.
- I find it interesting to see Sally’s emotions (who looks like her world just ended) and Paul (who has no emotion at all) in the interrogation room. He is a true psychopath.
- The former Father was an absolute creep. How horrible must it have been for the children stuck in his care.
- Paul’s poor daughter – asking for her daddy.
