Sleeping Dog – Season 1 Episode 5 “Digging Deep” Recap & Review

Digging Deep

Episode 5 of Sleeping Dog begins with Atlas waking up in bed. He’s been taken to a facility to detox from drugs, but of course he’s not actually high. As for Jule, she heads into her meeting with the DA and, predictably, learns that the DNA test are a match on the cigarette butt. She laments how stupid all of this is, but Corinna is also pretty disinterested in the case, more interested in the loose threads on her jacket. That is, until Tom brings up the Herres case and how it ties into this.

Tom admits he’s looked at the file and notices a similarities between the two cases and hints at there being planted evidence being kept in. Despite having an “ironclad case”, he has his doubts, just like Jule. However, Corinna wants nothing to do with it, which only incriminates her further.

Croinna is not happy that Tom has seen the Herres case and she essentially threatens Jule to keep quiet. Tom happens to be waiting round the corner and when they’re alone, Jule admits that Atlas planted evidence. Tom wants to see Atlas though to find out what’s really going on here.

Berners shows up to see Atlas, whose blood results have come back excellent. However, he won’t let Atlas leave just yet, telling him to come and see him in Room 203 at around 3pm. For now, he wants Atlas to help plant tomatoes outside in the yard, to get her mind off everything that’s transpired.

While this is going on, Corinna phones Zaric and informs him what’s happening and tells him to get his team on the case to bury this. Speaking of burying, Atlas’ memories start to come back but they’re frazzled and they don’t make complete sense right now.

In Berner’s office, the good doctor admits Atlas is free to go as it’s not court ordered that he be there. Before he leaves though, Atlas decides to use the computer and looks over the photos on the USB drive again. There, he notices someone in a hooded jacket in most of the pictures, watching Herres. It seems like this guy is actually Atlas himself but is he really the killer? Either way, he decides to race out the facility and get answers.

Tom speaks to Jule outside in confidence and admits that he’s done his research and found Atlas’ file to be completely clean. There’s no record of him taking drugs and Corinna even has high recommendations for him, as well as Zaric too. If he was high (which we know he was) then it was hidden extremely well.

Adebayo heads off to try and adopt the child and has her first interview on the step toward doing so, although she is also conflicted over whether this is what she really wants. Zaric shows up that night to celebrate with his colleague, where he points out that his promotion has gone through, but he wants his brother, Socke, to come with him and he’s trying to figure out how that’s going to happen.

While they’re together, Zaric speaks about how Atlas was a friend. He’s a bit cagey about their relationship though, which only makes him more suspicious.

Mike Atlas loses all his belongings thanks to getting hit by a car on the road. He leaves it behind and heads back to see canal girl, telling her his real name is Mike Atlas, not Klaus as she was led to believe.

Corinna meets up with Zaric that night, who points out that they need to talk down by his boat. The pair end up sleeping together, where Corinna realizes that he’s been taking pills again. After, she comments how his promotion up to detective has been “sped up”, but he feigns ignorance on that account. However, she does mention Abou while they’re together.

Speaking of together, Jule and Tom end up sleeping together too that night. When they wake up all happy and loving, we cut across to Adebayo, who shows up to see Lotta.

Remember the shots involving the trolley tipped over under the bridge from the past? Well, apparently the guy hit there is someone called Polyphemus, and his body was found a year and a half ago. This explains the letters in Herres house.

There was actually a witness to all of this, Polyphemus’ friend from the streets, Aldi. He saw Polyphemus run over by a car on Rembergstrasse, but his body was found with the rest of the dead in the Christmas market, almost as if he had been moved and this was all covered up. Could this be linked to Atlas and his buddies potentially running that guy over during the flashbacks?

Atlas heads off and speaks to Aldi about what he saw, but he brings up how police were there, and didn’t know what to do with him. Well, Atlas ends up remembering what happened, including stuffing him in the trunk of his car and taking off. This is, of course, suspiciously similar to what happened to Jurgen (minus the gunshot in the head) and it could link the team into this properly.

Tom calls the KDD team over to the canal, where they end up finding Jurgens bundled in the trunk of his car, which seems to have been driven off into the water and hidden. Tom had a scrap diving team recover it and Zaric’s reaction is certainly suspicious, given he claims not to know who Jurgens is. We know that he is aware of him, and eventually Tom catches wind of this same fact too.

This, coupled with how he’s in lieu with Corinna, seems to hint that he’s directly involved in this. When he claims he’s never heard of Jurgens, it only further causes suspicions to raise with Tom.

Tom then visits Jule and admits that he’s actually working with Internal Affairs. His real job here is to investigate Steck and the 49th KDD. Herres was his investigating judge and mentor. He was suspicious about the group’s abnormally high success rate in the field and decided to investigate.

Only, Herres ended up shot, so Tom requested a transfer in order to get close to Corinna and figure out what she’s hiding and how she ties into this team. He’s been on her side and knows there’s been a conspiracy all this time. Herres was onto them so he got murdered and then they pinned it on Mussa and the gang as to further their narrative.

Jule comes right off the back of speaking to Corinna, who wants her to try and get a confession from Abou in exchange for reducing the sentence down to 5 years. That would, of course, benefit Corinna and her team as they get a pat on the back for solving the case but also make it seem like they’re “doing a favour” for Abou.

Tom urges Jule to continue doing what Corinna wants to avoid suspicion. But she needn’t bother. In fact, Atlas phones Zaric and admits he’s remembered everything about what happened that night. He knows Zaric covered up the homeless guy and is behind the murders too. He promises to put everything out in the open, but Zaric demands he stop.

The Episode Review

The penultimate episode of Sleeping Dog sets everything up for an intriguing finale to what’s otherwise been a rather tepid crime drama. There’s been a distinct lack of whodunit with this show, as it’s been obvious since early on that Zaric and his team would be involved in this.

Adebayo is still a complete waste of time in this series, given she’s been given nothing to do and her adoption case is completely disparate to everything else that’s been going on in the story. I know I sound like a broken record but it’s very disappointing as there’s been so much potential with her character.

While it’s been enjoyable, there’s little here to help this stand out next to so many other shows in this field, which is a shame.