Murder Before Evensong episode 5 recap: The bodies piled up in the dramatic penultimate instalment
Who is the Champton St Mary killer and will he target Daniel next?
Murder Before Evensong episode 5 certainly ramped up the tension with two more bodies – one old and one new – turning up, so here’s a handy recap ahead of next week’s final.
In the penultimate episode of the Acorn/Channel 5 cosy crime drama, Audrey identified the villager sending her son the malicious threats, while Daniel made a breakthrough in his secret crypt.
But both occurrences came with serious consequences…
***Warning: spoilers from Murder Before Evensong episode 5 ahead***
Murder Before Evensong episode 5 recap
In the penultimate episode of the series, based on Reverend Coles’ book of the same name, Daniel and Neil’s fledgling friendship was threatened when they argued over the case. Daniel thought his discovery of the secret crypt was crucial and believed it was linked to the murders. However, Neil was more focused on his prime suspect Nathan, who he’d just arrested.
Meanwhile, Audrey and Daniel had a heart to heart about their difficult past, and his real reasons for choosing a religious path over taking over the family shoe company.
Daniel was summoned to defend himself to the Bishop after getting arrested, and the villagers watched the Grand National in the pub – with fantastic consequences for Nora.
Alex confided in Daniel about his romantic relationship with Nathan, who had been wrongly arrested for the murders of Anthony Bowness and Ned Thwaite.
Lastly, and most importantly, Audrey identified the sender of the malicious threats to Daniel and went to confront her… And Daniel made a breakthrough with a disturbing discovery.
Who was Philip Kerling and who killed him?
In the closing moments of Murder Before Evensong episode 5, Daniel discovered a secret door within the newly-discovered bunker. Inside, he found the skeletal remains of a dead body.
The identification papers found on it suggested it was double agent Philip Kerling. And, on closer inspection, Daniel realised Philip Kerling’s photo was the same as German soldier Gerd Brunter.
So who killed Philip, and why? And how is any of this linked to the current day murders?
Murder Before Evensong episode 5 recap: Stella found dead
In episode 5, Daniel discovered that the sender of the poison pen letters had used registrar’s ink – which didn’t smudge.
Audrey, who already had quite the vendetta against Stella, was immensely satisfied when she discovered that Stella used the ink in her shop. In fact, she was the only other person in the village who used that type of ink.
Why Stella had been sending Daniel nasty messages remains to be seen. Because when Audrey went to her house to confront her, someone had got there first. Audrey found Stella’s dead body sitting in her sofa, and it looked like she may have been poisoned.
Anthony was stabbed with secateurs, Ned had his throat slit, and Stella was killed in a different way again. So were they all killed by the same hand? We’ll have to wait until next week’s final episode to find out.
Who were the Scallywags and Philip Kerling?
The Scallywags of Champton St Mary were a guerrilla army mobilised in case the Germans invaded.
Anthony and Ned were both investigating Champton during WW2. While Anthony was trying to find the secret bunker used by the Scallywags, Ned was researching a double agent called Philip Kerling. He was believed to have fled to France after the war. In fact, he disappeared two days after a plane crashed in Champton. Daniel began to suspect the two events were connected.
What if the plane hadn’t suffered an electrical failure? What if it was actually sabotage?
Daniel subsequently found that the church’s crypt was actually the secret bunker. In old plans of Champton church, there was a crypt. However, during WW2, the crypt “disappeared” on the plans.
Canon Daniel Clement began to realise that the war, the Scallyways, the French soldiers, and Philip Kerling were all connected to the deaths in Champton. Did someone kill Anthony before he discovered the secret bunker – and the dead body…?
Murder Before Evensong episode 5 recap: Police arrested suspects Edgy and Nathan
In episode 5 of Murder Before Evensong, police discovered Edgy had been blackmailing Anthony Bowness about the fraudulent paintings. During a search of his house, they also found Ned Thwaite’s missing Reverso watch. Detective Neil arrested Edgy for the murders – and he confessed to both killings.
However, when Neil interrogated Edgy further, he realised Edgy was lying. He did not know how Anthony was killed. So was he covering for Nathan?
The police then arrested Edgy’s grandson Nathan, who had a compelling motive to kill Ned. Detective Neil Vanloo connected Nathan’s mother – who died in prison the week before – with Ned. Nathan’s mum had worked for a man called William Brotherton who was convicted for fraud. And he took Nathan’s mum down with him, too, despite her claims of innocence.
Journalist Ned had led the Gazette’s campaign against Brotherton. This was clearly enough of a reason for Nathan to have a vendetta against Ned. It would all be rather neat, in fact, if Nathan didn’t have an alibi…
Did Rhyme ‘n’ Reason really win the Grand National?
In this episode, Dora put her life savings on the horse Rhyme ‘n’ Reason to win the Grand National. Despite being last at one point in the race, the horse went on to win the famous event.
This really did happen in real life. In 1988, Rhyme ‘n’ Reason was a racehorse who won the Grand National in 1988 with jockey Brendan Powell. He starting at odds of 10/1, and finished the race four lengths clear of Durham Edition. It is remembered as one of the most remarkable Grand National victories in the history of the race.
It was his only run in the Grand National due to later injury.
Murder Before Evensong episode 5 recap: What else happened in the penultimate episode?
- During a heart to heart with his mum, Daniel discovered he was his father’s favourite child. His mum told him he broke his dad’s heart when he left to pursue a career in the church. Daniel subsequently admitted he went into the church because he wanted to help people when he couldn’t help his own dad.
- Alex admitted to Daniel that Nathan couldn’t have killed Ned – he was with him all night. Of course, in the 80s, the stigma attached to being gay prevented many from coming out.
- Daniel met the Bishop and gave an impassioned speech about why he’d joined the clergy. He faced an allegation of misconduct for bringing the church into disrepute after being arrested at a protest.
Read more: Sally Phillips leads new cosy crime drama The Hairdresser Mysteries on BBC, a ‘nostalgic nod’ to the 70s
