Baptiste Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Pieces Of The Puzzle

After last week’s thrilling episode, we return to BBC’s latest crime drama with more revelations and understanding around the Romanian gang’s motivations. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to slot together, Baptiste looks set for a thrilling second half of its season.

We begin the episode with Julian interviewing Edward. Through this opening chapter of the episode we learn that Natalie looked identical to his daughter Lucy which is why he was so obsessed with her. Together, they conspired to steal 1 million euros from the Romanian gang. This ploy was intended to act as leverage to convince the group to give Natalie back her 15-year-old sister who was taken and thrown into the trafficking business.

As Baptiste learns the extent of brutality this group are capable of, he learns that Constantine is going after those close to him and Edward. This leads us back to the final moments of last week’s episode and after a bit of a scramble, we learn that Baptiste’s wife got away from the Romanian. Desperate to see this man put being bars, Baptiste pleads with Edward to testify but he refuses, saying it’s pointless given the extent of this trafficking ring.

After moving his family to a safe house, Baptiste pursues another line of enquiry – the girl who hit Edward in the brothel when Natalie run off with the money. She tells Baptiste about Natalie’s son who her father has full custody of. As Baptiste goes on the hunt for her son Matty, Stratton gets caught by Constantine and Baptiste uncovers a shocking secret, leaving us with another cliffhanger to chew over until next Sunday.

If there’s one thing you can always rely on the BBC for, it’s an enjoyable crime thriller. Given most of their primetime TV revolves around this genre, they’re consistent if anything else in delivering enjoyable dramas. Thus far, Baptiste hasn’t showcased anything as profound or thrilling as shows like Bodyguard have but it has been consistently entertaining. The numerous twists and turns along the way combined with a methodically paced story are enough to keep you watching. While Baptiste is unlikely to be remembered as fondly as The Missing, it makes for an entertaining watch nonetheless, leaving the door wide open for next week’s episode.