'Remember Me' Recap: Episode 2

Tom Parfitt (Michael Palin) and Hannah Ward (Jodie Comer) Photo: Courtesy of © ITV plc (ITV Studios Global Entertainment)

You came back for more, did you? While response to the premiere of Remember Me on social media indicated that a majority enjoyed the macabre ghost story, about a third said it was too spooky for their tastes. To each his own and thank goodness for the variety of drama PBS brings into our homes.

That being said, if you’d like to catch up on all the creepiness, our review of the first episode is this way. Likewise if you're ready to proceed on to the second installment, let's begin!

So old Tom Parfitt (Michael Palin) has fled and neither the hospital nor the care home seems too concerned with finding him. Young Hannah Ward (Jodie Comer) is being visited by unwelcome visions of her own drowning and an ominous, shrouded woman at the seaside. Middle-aged Detective Fairholme (Mark Addy) is left with a mysterious death, a missing witness and an empty trailer where he's left to work the case on his own.

And it's from here that the investigation really gets going. While lacking the physical presence of Tom Parfitt on screen, the mysterious man is a pervasive entity throughout the episode. It was less about making us jump and more concerned with putting together the puzzle of Tom's past. (And raising more questions in the process of course.)

What we have learned so far:

Based on the detective's online research, witness interviews and general rummaging around, we now know that Tom was married briefly in Scarborough, but his wife Dorthea died from a tragic fall shortly after their honeymoon. Also Hannah recognizes that Dorthea's maiden name is the same as the composer's on the "Scarborough Fair" sheet music from Tom's house. Coincidence? Hannah thinks not as she has a strong hunch that Scarborough is the key to finding the missing pensioner. More on that later.

Mr. Parfitt is not as he has insisted 80-odd years old, but at least 110 based on birthday cards he was sent on behalf of Queen. How has he lived so long and why is he lying about his age?

Hannah isn't the only one who has encountered the terrifying, otherworldly Indian woman from her dreams. Her co-worker, Shirley (Noreen Kershaw) witnessed the social worker's fall and is still haunted by what she saw.

 

So haunted in fact that she is later found dead of an apparent overdose at her kitchen table. So why is she dripping wet with her untouched dinner sitting in front of her?

Rob now has both halves of the old photograph of young Tom Parfitt holding the hand of his Indian nurse. The detective finds an image online (from a news story perhaps) that shows a woman remarkably similar to the one in the photo.

Meanwhile Hannah takes her mother's car and her brother Sean (Jamie Rooney-West) on the road to Scarborough. The lad needs some time away from their bitter, grieving, negligent mum (played by Julia Sawalha) and he did such a good job tidying his room after all... The siblings spend the day scouting the town and playing on the beach then make a final stop at an ice cream parlor. As Hannah peruses old photographs of the area, Sean calls his sister outside to a familiar courtyard.

Tom is there. The sky turns dark, shells cover the black and white tile floor and the ethereal Indian woman appears. Tom explains her name is Isha and with an air of resignation tries to approach her.

As is her nature, Hannah attempts to protect him and the apparition becomes enraged. Tom says Isha won't hurt him because she loves him. But before Hannah can stop him, the old man pushes past her and into the arms of his ghostly and possessive chaperone. They disappear, the skies brighten and Sean shows his sister a picture taken a few minutes earlier on his phone. Instead of the solitary figure of her brother in the frame, Isha is there too with her arm encircling Sean's shoulder. Freaky and rather threatening, right?

Now as you can imagine, Hannah has more than Tom to worry about. How will she keep her brother safe? What is the connection between "Scarborough Fair" and  Isha? Will Hannah enlist the help of Detective Fairholme to protect Sean? And is Tom gone forever? Share your theories and thoughts on this episode, if you dare, in the comments section!


Carmen Croghan

Carmen Croghan often looks at the state of her British addiction and wonders how it got so out of hand.  Was it the re-runs of Monty Python on PBS, that second British Invasion in the 80’s or the royal pomp and pageantry of Charles and Diana’s wedding? Whatever the culprit, it led her to a college semester abroad in London and over 25 years of wishing she could get back to the UK again.  Until she is able, she fills the void with British telly, some of her favorites being comedies such as The Office, The IT Crowd, Gavin and Stacey, Alan Partridge, Miranda and Green Wing. Her all-time favorite series, however, is Life On Mars. A part-time reference library staffer, she spends an inordinate amount of time watching just about any British series she can track down which she then writes about for her own blog Everything I Know about the UK, I Learned from the BBC.  She is excited to be contributing to Telly Visions and endeavors to share her Anglo-zeal with its readers.

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