Since the departure of Douglas Henshall, and Ashley Jensen taking a lead role in the BBC One UK police procedural drama Shetland Season 8, it’s been difficult for the showrunners and scriptwriters to make out of Ruth Calder a strong female lead without introducing so many aspects of modernist clichéd politicized narratives: From family, feminism, and how women in power are perceived, all these things are present this season, and it sort of takes you away from the gist of what Shetland once used to be.
Still, despite the copying of other shows where the lead is a female cop, we can still seem trying, and the plotlines continue to evolve. We prepared a spoiler-heavy episode for you because there was a lot going on for Calder, Tosh, and their team to solve a murder that was tangled up with bank fraud and some sibling rivalries.
Still, as we stated earlier, they managed to stuff in that feminist narrative that has little to nothing to do with the essence of the show.
Recap
The episode starts with a dude setting a symbol on fire. DI Ruth Calder compares Amma Calder’s cigarette butt to the Shetland Lettings cottage’s. At an Eela crime scene, DS Allison “Tosh” McIntosh sees a straw doll. Farida Sadat panics when a package arrives at her doorstep.
Tosh tells Harry Lamont, Alex Grant, and Lorna Burns about the symbol at the police station. She says the sheep’s spray-painted symbol matches Ellen Quinn’s tattoo. She holds up the straw doll and says an officer found it in Eela’s cordon when Calder enters. Sergeant Billy McCabe predicts a “corn doll”.
When they see Ellen’s body at the coroner’s office, Kieran and Stella Quinn cry. Calder says John Howell and Lukas Nowak are probably not behind Ellen dying. Kieran and Stella deny seeing Ellen’s tattoo.
Stella says Jean Knox made them and tells them how the Knoxes accused her dad of land fraud. Sandy calls Tosh outside about Ellen’s phone records, which show a call to Langbank House, a mental institution.
Tom Knox informs Calder and Tosh that Jane is hospitalized for an infection. Tosh asks a few questions about the corn dolls. The corn doll in the photo was found at a crime scene, she tells him. Calder asks if a symbol book is his. Tom says his father owned it before his death four years ago. Calder doubts his tale.
DC Sandy Wilson informs Peter Ayre that the van owner was found. Consulting Sandy’s psychiatrist, Azir Sadat, says Ellen went to the psychiatrist after a recreational drug breakdown. Sandy shows him Ellen’s death-day extension. No Ellen message is recorded, but Azir admits it is his extension.
Azir’s son Akmal died in the lake behind their house by drowning. Lamont tells the detective at the police station. Bobby has Ellen’s stolen money elsewhere.
Calder requests Amma’s background from Thomas Coombes. Lamont claims the Bain family bought Knox Farm cheaply. Billy informs him that the Knox family has no money. The Bain family is broke, he says. Calder doesn’t want Tom arrested without proof.
Bobby offers to invest in Neil and Cal’s drug operation. Neil says Cal wants out. Bobby shows him Ellen’s stolen money from Philip Remis. Neil agrees to talk to Cal.
Tosh is asked by Ruth Calder about the temporary status. Tosh passed everything, but she didn’t like working elsewhere and returning. Tosh says she won’t go because her family likes it. Bad feminism makes Calder’s belief pathetic, she thinks. Calder believes wanting a happy family isn’t bad feminism.
She’d gladly leave this rock, but she understands Tosh’s point. The matter concerning her father comes to light as Calder discovers a birthday card. Without hesitation, she urges Tosh to inspect the card. It bears a distinct symbol, prompting Tosh to promptly contact the laboratory.
A heated debate ensues as Calder and Tosh ponder over the potential culprits capable of smuggling a corpse from the morgue. They deduce that the perpetrator must be either an employee or someone who frequents the facility. Their attention turns to Tom Knox, whom they discover has a habit of staying overnight at the hospital and had left around eight the previous night, only to return around midnight.
The accommodating staff member mentions Jane’s illness, highlighting the need for flexibility. After careful consideration, Tosh and Calder decide to approach Tom for questioning.
Meanwhile, Heather plays host to Azir, who bluntly informs her that the money has vanished. He warns her against further involvement, threatening to report her to the police. Curious about his prediction, Heather believes they both share knowledge about the identity of his son’s killer. She earnestly advises him to uphold their arrangement and embrace the opportunity to witness his daughter’s growth.
At the station, Calder and Tosh make a startling discovery – Tom is nowhere to be found. Sandy is instructed to obtain the hospital’s CCTV footage, while Billy is tasked with gathering a list of employees from the previous night. Harry Lamont expresses his grief over the stolen body and Calder worries about the potential media frenzy. Bobby identifies Grace as Tom Knox, leaving Stella distraught.
Kieran advises Bobby to locate this individual, and since the children are gathering at the sands for Ellen, they decide to begin their search there. Tosh learns from Sandy that the mortuary corridors lack surveillance cameras, prompting Calder to suggest questioning what the culprit intends to do with the body. They uncover information indicating that Tom’s car has been sighted, leading Tosh to suspect that he may be heading to the sand gathering.
Tom left to bid farewell and deliver something from his mother to Ellen. CCTV footage from the interview proves that Tom did not take Ellen’s body. Tosh urges to detain Tom until the search of the house and car is complete. Sandy notices a familiar car that he believes belongs to Peter Ayre. Ayre arrived in the Isles a year ago and purchased a house with cash.
He resided in Shetland in 2006 and was arrested in 2014 for damaging livestock on a Caithness farm. Ellen Quinn’s tag is discovered at Peter Ayre’s house. Fires are seen nearby, and Peter attempts to perform a ritual while trying to burn Ellen.
Tosh and Calder rush to stop him. Before he can start the fire, the police catch him. Peter is arrested for stealing Ellen Quinn’s body. Jean waits for Calder at home because she wants to talk. Calder doesn’t care.
Jean claims she loves her father and isn’t evil. Calder accuses Jean of sleeping with him while her mother died in the hospital. Jean explains it was a difficult time and not her fault. Others followed her, she says.
Jean suspects a conflict of interest since one of the women was the mother of the girl Calder is investigating. Stella Quinn left when Jean said she was half his age. Calder views their photos in her bedroom.
Release Date
Shetland Season 8 Episode 4 will be broadcast by BBC One UK on Wednesday, 22 November at 16:00 hrs Eastern Time, United States. Each episode lasts around one hour. In the following list, you’ll find the regional time release schedules for this program.
- Pacific Time (PT): Wednesday at 1:00 PM (1:00 PM PT)
- Mountain Time (MT): Wednesday at 2:00 PM (2:00 PM MT)
- Central Time (CT): Wednesday at 3:00 PM (3:00 PM CT)
- British Standard Time (GMT): Wednesday at 8:00 PM (8:00 PM GMT)
- Central European Time (CET): Wednesday at 9:00 PM (9:00 PM CET)
- Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT): Thursday at 7:00 AM (7:00 AM AEDT)
Episode Guide
- Episode 1 – Wednesday, 1 November 2023
- Episode 2 – Wednesday, 8 November 2023
- Episode 3 – Wednesday, 15 November 2023
- Episode 4 – Wednesday, 22 November 2023
- Episode 5 – Wednesday, 29 November 2023
- Episode 6 – Wednesday, 6 December 2023
How To Watch Shetland Season 8 Episodes In The UK?
Catch the latest episodes of Shetland Season 8 at the times and dates described above via BBC One. If you wish to watch the show online and reside in the UK, you can do it via BBC iPlayer with your TV license and your email.
BBC iPlayer is a geolocated platform that is completely free to use and subscribe to. It offers a wide variety of shows, documentaries, series, a rotating catalog of movies, and content for all ages and contents.
How To Circumvent BBC iPlayer’s Georestrictions?
If you want to watch the show from BBC iPlayer and live outside the United Kingdom, you can employ a virtual private network service, connect to the UK, log in to iPlayer, provide your credentials, and circumvent the geographical restrictions.
How To Watch Shetland Season 8 Episodes Outside The UK?
If you reside outside the UK and can’t access BBC iPlayer, don’t worry, as there are a few ways to stream this show. Firstly, Britbox is a service that distributes content produced by British and Irish television. It is available worldwide and costs $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
It offers a wide variety of shows, movies, documentaries, and productions made in Ireland and the UK. Lastly, you can bundle BritBox on top of your Amazon Prime Video subscription, or have it as a standalone platform.
