The Woods – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

You Know Nothing

Episode 3 of The Woods begins in 1994 as Dawid is interviewed by Lubelski regarding Artur and Kamila. It seems like he may be the prime suspect in this case and given a week has now passed, he remains defiant that he’s innocent. Meanwhile, Laura is bullied by two boys and it’s something that extends to her parents too, who continue to receive harassing calls and abuse throughout the episode regarding anti-Semitic comments.

In 2019, Laura meets Pawel at his office and hands over the essay she took from her student. In exchange, he shows her the file for Marek and gives his theory that this is actually Artur, despite what his parents say; Pawel is clearly clinging to this thin shred of hope that his sister may still be alive by rationalizing that Marek is Artur.

Back in 1994 however, Pawel’s parents continue to face hardships with his Father admitting that without Kamila he has nothing… without realizing that Pawel is standing right behind him. This sends him to his room in a blind fit of rage, blaring out loud rock music while drowning out their cries outside his door. At the same time, the inspector listens over the audio from the various interviews conducted on that night and deliberates over what Dawid told him.

After brief flashes of Pawel’s father staying behind after the search, digging 4 graves in the woods, the day of Artur’s funeral arrives and all the families gather to say goodbye. When Dawid and Laura show up however, the rest of the group are frosty and Artur’s parents ignore him completely when he tries to offer his condolences. Realizing they’re using him as a scapegoat, he starts to recoil, driven insane by the pressure and abuse. In 2019, we see this has fractured his mind as he sits in the woods drawing. When Dawid cuts his finger, he smears the blood across the picture and lashes out at his carer.

When Laura arrives to question her Father over his actions, he talks about staying in the woods and clearly isn’t himself. It turns out he’s also shredded all his pictures and on the visitor log at the care home, Marek visited him several days prior to her. The search into what this means is cut short though when Pawel’s ongoing case with Klaudia makes headlines. After trying to ease the mind of his boss, Pawel picks up his daughter from school but ends up chasing a car that seems to be following him until that’s cut short by a car blocking the path.

As we soon see, back in 1994 Pawel experienced the same uneasiness of being followed but this time it’s Inspector Jork who catches up with Pawel in the present, warning the prosecutor that he could be a witness if he continues to look into this alone. Heading out to his car following the address tip-off from Ming Li, a brown envelope holds a picture inside with the words “Mordercl Zony” – which roughly translates to wife murderer. As he looks at the picture, we fade to black.

With the mystery deepening and lots of interesting theories to take forward, it seems like the parents in 1994 are clearly hiding something. Pawel’s father digging the graves is certainly an ominous sign – especially given the way he digs four holes not two. Could he be the murderer? And did Pawel really kill his wife? Or is this another sick joke someone is playing?

Quite where this one will go next remains to be seen but as the questions pile up, one thing’s for sure – there’s bound to be some twists and turns along the way!