Sunday – The Ghost
Episode 3 of The Third Day begins with a woozy Sam still feeling the effects from the drugs ingested last episode. As he continues to hallucinate, he notices locusts and a beating heart in front of him that he’s forced to eat. With baby cries in the background, these three men standing before him contemplate what to do next. Eventually they decide to “save” Sam. Only, that’s not before Larry drags him down the stairs and leaves the man in a heap on the floor. As we soon find out, he’s in “the big house” and was baptized that evening. A strange, erratic man approaches, telling him that the darkness is coming and he’s the rightful father of Osea. Not long after though, he’s grabbed again and taken outside and dragged through the woods by Larry. With a knife in hand, he tells Sam he’s split the island in two. As he prepares to rid the island of Sam, our protagonist seizes his opportunity while tied to wood planks and kicks Larry, knocking him out. After precariously taking Larry’s knife and breaking his binds, Sam flees from the scene and hurries down to the coast. After passing out on the beach, when Sam awakens he hurries back to the mainland to get in his car. Being careful not to make too much noise, an approaching figure forces him to reconsider and start running up the causeway instead. Unfortunately it’s a foolhardy plan and one that sees him run out of time. Caught in the middle of the sea and with nowhere to go, Jess thankfully saves him from his predicament. Only, this raises more questions as she asks about the £40,000 stashed in his car; the money he claims was stolen. Convincing Jess it’s not a psychotic episode, she sits and helps patch him up. The conversation steers toward the crickets Sam’s been seeing and how in some cultures it’s symbolic of flooding. It’a also the sign for death too. So much for the Book Of Exodus theory last episode! Helen also used to be in a religious cult as a child and as such, knows about these things. Midway through talking, Mr and Mrs Martins show up and reveal that the man in the white suit can’t die as he’s the Father of Osea. They want to pass that “luxury” down to him as the white-suited man has seen Osea decline and decay. It turns out Mr Martins and the others took Sam’s son too. It was Goltan responsible for this. Sam feels the rage start to bubble up and it threatens to consume him. Keeping his composure for now, he tells them he wants to leave the island and would rather slit his throat than stay on Osea. Promising to help, the group come unstuck on the way as they notice that “Old Osea” are out looking for Sam. Needing to hide for now, Sam notices what looks like his son and races through the woods in search. As he does, he comes across a church depicting strange pictures up on the wall. Among them happens to be Sam himself, holding 2 knives. He turns and finds Enola lying down on the table, her stomach carved open in a grotesque scene of self-sacrifice. Sam backs up just as Mrs Martins shows up with a shotgun. Enola hurt herself because she wanted Sam to be the Father and he was going to leave. Sighing, Mrs Martins confirms Sam is the problem not the answer. Instead, Nathan is going to take his place. It turns out Nathan is actually still alive and running around the island. Sam is shocked and as the end looks nigh, he manages to escape from Mrs Martins and collapses on the ground outside. He receives a call from Aday but the connection goes midway through, much to his despair. As the heavens open, Sam’s phone breaks and he’s forced to head back across the island. This brings him to the pool where Larry intended to kill him. Snatching up the knife, he finds himself face to face with Jason. He tells Sam to go to the shore and jump on Thomas’ boat. There, he’ll head back to the mainland and phone the police to come and figure out what’s happening. Eventually they make it onboard the boat and Jess joins him. As they start driving, he admits that Nathan is still alive. Jess’ demeanour changes as she suddenly grabs the flare gun and reveals that her husband and the people he’s working with are watching her. Desperate to do anything for her girls, she tells him to sit down and they head back to shore. It turns out the people of Osea have come to an agreement. Apparently Sam is too dark and, preparing for the worst, he closes his eyes. Only… Father suddenly shoots himself in the face. Sam meanwhile, is finally reunited with his boy who happens to be by the shore. Struggling to hold in his emotions, he wraps his arms around the boy and heads in the big house. As he does, a whole plague of crickets start swarming across the island, engulfing the place in darkness.
The Episode Review
What a great episode. From start to finish, The Third Day delivers a real powerhouse episode of emotion. All of this is glued together by a phenomenal performance from Jude Law who perfect encapsulates the emotions of a torn Father. That’s to say nothing of the saturated colour palette in this episode, which perfectly enhances some of the more creepy and unnerving elements of this drama. There’s a lot to like about The Third Day and this is definitely shaping up to be one of the better dramas released this year. Quite what will happen next though, remains to be seen.
