Under Salt Marsh episode 4 recap: Morfa Halen rocked by a storm and another grim discovery
Another dead body washed up in the close-knit Welsh town
Under Salt Marsh delivered yet another dark twist this week, with the brooding crime drama ramping up towards the finale, so here’s a timely recap of the events in episode 4.
This Friday (aptly February 13), another dead body washed up in the close-knit Welsh town as the residents – including the killer – were cut off by high water.
Jackie, increasingly vulnerable, reunited with her estranged sister for the first time since Lydia left Morfa Halen. And it wasn’t exactly hugs and kisses. Meanwhile, Solomon made a shocking confession, and the truth about Jackie’s gross misconduct during the police force was revealed.
Here’s a recap of what happened in episode 4 of Under Salt Marsh.
***Warning: spoilers from episode 4 of Under Salt Marsh in our recap ahead***
Under Salt Marsh episode 4 recap: Solomon’s confession
Episode four of Under Salt Marsh continued exactly from the end of the previous episode, which saw Solomon turn up at DI Eric Bull’s makeshift police station to “confess”.
No, he wasn’t confessing to any of the deaths in Morfa Halen. But he DID admit to being aware of Nessa’s body in the quarry… He told Bull: “Three years ago, I was informed industrial waste was being dumped on my quarry. It was there that I found Nessa among the waste. She was very badly burnt, chemical burns I’d imagine. I lifted her out, put her on the grass, and checked for signs of life. She was dead. I wrapped her in a tarpaulin and put her back in the waste.”
Although it was a disgusting revelation, we did have some sympathy for the old man (played by the always-brilliant Jonathan Pryce in the cast). As DI Eric Bull suspected, Solomon’s confession was likely designed to protect someone closer to home…
The farm is his life, and the lives of his children and grandchildren. If he “lost the farm, he’d lose everything”. Of course DI Bull came to the obvious conclusion that one of Solomon’s children, likely Ned, had contracted out the land.
We now know that the farm is in financial trouble. So have the Bevan boys been siphoning off land for money? Did they rent out the fields to be used for the toxic waste heap?
Did the same person kill Nessa and Cefin?
In Under Salt Marsh episode 4, DI Eric Bull discovered more links between Nessa and Cefin’s death. Most importantly, Nessa was also murdered in a similar way to Cefin. While she was suffocated in mud, he was suffocated in water.
The pathologist told Bull: “Nessa’s body was unnaturally preserved from the waste material – mummified. She was badly burned, likely from the toxicity in the waste. Potentially life threatening. But that wasn’t what killed her.”
She continued: “There were soil and plastic particles in her lungs. And bruising in the tissues at the back of her neck. She was suffocated. Pressed down into the ground until she stopped breathing. She was murdered. And not in a dissimilar way to Cefin. Cefin had bruising on the back of his neck from being held down. This suggests a similar hand span.”
So, that implies the same person killed Nessa, and Cefin three years later. Jackie believes her niece Nessa was “killed by someone we know”. Likely “someone who lives here”.
Jackie’s sister Lydia returned to Morfa Halen
Emotionally wounded Jackie struggled as her estranged sister returned to the town to mourn Nessa’s death. Viewers know that Nessa’s body was found in the previous episode, having been missing for three years. Lydia’s visit reignited years of guilt and betrayal.
In fact, it was Lydia’s first visit to Morfa Halen in three years. And the first time Jackie had seen her sister since their relationship imploded. More on why that happened below.
Their reunion wasn’t a happy one, with old wounds refusing to heal. In fact, Lydia refused to even look at her sister, leaving Jackie broken with despair – and hitting the booze despite being pregnant.
What was Jackie’s gross misconduct in the police force?
Three years ago, DI Eric Bull arrested Lydia on suspicion of killing her child Nessa. This was in part due to comments Jackie had told him in confidence – more as a friend that a work colleague. She’d had “concerns” about Lydia’s relationship with her daughter, specifically Lydia’s anger.
Jackie (Kelly Reilly) told Bull that Lydia regularly lost her temper with her daughter Nessa.
However, when DI Eric Bull used this information to arrest Lydia, Jackie became crazed. She punched and attacked Bull, leaving him with a bloody nose. Well, that explains the disciplinary then.
Dylan’s hair found on Cefin’s clothes
As suspected in the previous episode, the pathologist confirmed that it was Dylan Rees’ hair found on the clothes of Cefin’s dead body.
But weirdly, DI Eric Bill seemed reluctant to investigate further. He told his colleague Jess Deng that Dylan’s hair being found on Cefin’s body wasn’t a surprise as Dylan’s nephew James was best friends with Cefin. But why was Bull not treating Dylan like a suspect? He also knows that Dylan was working close by on the night Cefin’s dead body was found.
Is this some sort of misguided loyalty to Jackie Bull? In episode 4, Bull found out about Jackie’s relationship with Dylan. And he’s the only one in the town who knows she is pregnant. It’s a strange move for a man normally such a stickler for the books.
With the DNA evidence exposing a devastating truth, are Jackie and Bull BOTH choosing to protect themselves or those they love…?
Under Salt Marsh episode 4 recap: August’s dead body found in the water
August “no English” Antonov did know English after all. Plenty of it, in fact. We already knew that someone in the Bevan family had been paying him for his silence. He knew something about the farm, the illegal dumping of waste, and possibly Nessa and Cefin’s deaths. But he was scared. And it turned out he had good reason to be.
Finding commonality with detective Jess Deng, he confided in her. He said: “If I tell you the truth, you have to act. There is more waste coming into Morfa. I tried to find out where, but… There is a truck coming in at low tide every Thursday.”
However, after he talked, Morfa was surrounded by high water, so there was no low tide and no truck. And there also wasn’t any more August…
At the end of Under Salt Marsh episode 4, August’s dead body was found face down in the rising water. This time he’d been silenced for good.
What else happened in Under Salt Marsh episode 4?
- The storm closed in, threatening to destroy vital evidence. The high water also cut the town off from the rest of Wales. Meaning that the residents were potentially locked in with a killer.
- In an endearing conversation between lost souls DI Eric Bull and Jackie Ellis, it became clear that they’d once been good friends. And could be again. Talking about their estranged friendship, Bull revealed he’d once lost another friend, too. He said: “I lost my only ever friend when we were kids. I got things wrong then, too.” Could this be where Bull’s intimacy issues come from?
Read more: Episode guide and release dates confirmed for Kelly Reilly’s ‘gripping’ new crime drama Under Salt Marsh on Sky Atlantic
