Down Cemetery Road Recap: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

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With the season half over, it’s a good moment to recap what’s happening. It’s not a single mystery, but several unfolding at the same time. The search for Dinah started on Cemetery Road and remains the main focus for Sarah and Downey. We now know Dinah is being hidden by Malik, working with the Ministry of Defense. He’s moving her between safe houses, trying to keep her away from Amos, and has even placed her in a strange, high-tech laboratory by the sea. However, Malik doesn’t realize his efforts are pointless because Amos is tracking Dinah using a GPS device hidden inside her teddy bear. This week, we discover the Ministry of Defense is intentionally using Dinah as bait, believing Downey will take the bait and come after her.

Zoë Boehm is determined to find out why her husband died. Sarah is on the verge of discovering the secrets that could solve the mystery. As the season progresses, everything points to one central question: Why is the Ministry of Defense trying to kill Michael Downey, and what information does he have that they want to keep hidden?

The episode begins with Zoë urging Sarah to investigate further. After sharing what they’ve learned – that Rufus wasn’t who he seemed, but a dangerous killer connected to a mysterious group, and the Stranger is actually a man named Michael Downey who was believed to be dead – Zoë tells Sarah to gather as much information as possible and then quickly leave Downey’s suspicious organization. Before they can say more, Downey unexpectedly comes out of the bathroom and destroys Sarah’s phone, which she’d taken from him. He then begins to have a seizure. As Sarah tries to help him, the hotel receptionist, Sam, arrives to see what’s happening. Sarah quickly lies and claims she and Downey were simply caught in a private moment.

It’s easy to wonder if Sarah and Downey might fall for each other, but spending time together is definitely making them see each other as individuals, not just as roadblocks or means to an end. For instance, Sarah tries to understand Downey’s health issues—his seizures and scars—by revealing she’s also taken pain medication. While she claims his gun by the bed is why she’s being kind, it’s clear she feels grateful he saved her. However, Sarah isn’t expecting a simple friendship story; she knows they’re caught up in a thriller and wants to uncover the truth. She hides Downey’s gun and won’t give him back the combination to the safe until he explains what’s going on with his health. He only reveals that histropine is an experimental drug for a rare condition and that he’s responsible for Dinah, since both of her parents—his friends—are gone. It’s not a complete explanation, but it’s a start. Sarah gives him the safe combination, and in a dangerous mistake, secretly checks the reception computer for information about “histropine.”

Back in London, Zoë starts investigating the medical side of things herself. She sends a lot of messages to Detective Inspector Varma, the officer leading the investigation in Oxford – and surprisingly, pressuring him seems to work. They meet for coffee and share a large, delicious meringue. Zoë is good at figuring out what makes people tick, and she quickly gets Varma, who is feeling insecure about his position, to show her the autopsy report for John Doe. It was signed by a Dr. Isaac Wright, a name neither Zoë nor Varma recognize, but the audience does – he’s the doctor who spoke with C about John Doe and the drug histropine last week. They’re puzzled that a London-based doctor would have signed an autopsy performed in Oxford, so Zoë decides to visit Dr. Wright’s office to find out more.

Amos is also tracking “histropine” online, and cleverly has a girlfriend (or someone pretending to be) create a basic website for it. Sarah discovers this site first when she searches for the drug on the hotel computer. This allows Amos to pinpoint their location. He then calls a contact named Sam, posing as someone from the company’s main office, to get their room number by referencing a cash transaction. Disturbingly, he does all of this while casually walking on a treadmill, leading to the unsettling question of whether he even needs to run to stay in peak physical condition for his sinister activities.

The most thrilling part of the show so far is when Amos chases Downey and Sarah through the hotel, nearly catching them. Luckily, Sarah goes to the lost and found to find clothes for them, and spots Amos before he sees her. She uses the trust she’s built with Sam – by sharing fabricated details about her and Downey’s intimate life – to convince him to delay Amos, falsely claiming he’s a dangerous ex-stalker. Sam immediately believes her and asks for Amos’s ID. After realizing he’s been manipulated, Sam calls the police, but Sarah and Downey have already escaped through a connecting room, leaving Amos with nothing. The only issues are that Downey’s gun remains in the hotel safe, and the neighboring couple was disturbed during a private moment.

Malik has finally had enough of Amos’s independent actions. He crashes C’s squash game, insisting they must stop Amos before he finishes his personal quest for revenge. C gives the order to eliminate him. This sets off a chaotic chain of events: Downey and Sarah are hunting Dinah, Malik and Amos are both after Downey, and now someone is targeting Amos. Those targeting Amos turn out to be three hired guns demanding payment in cryptocurrency, but they don’t get to spend it – Amos kills them with a knife hidden under his couch. He then uses the syringe meant for him to kill their leader. He figures they deserved it for disturbing his relaxation time while watching Keeping Up Appearances. He believes even psychopaths are allowed to enjoy a good laugh. While the show hints Amos might be capable of feeling something – for his brother, his girlfriend who builds websites, or even Hyacinth Bucket – he burns down his surprisingly stylish apartment, leaving the bodies of his attackers inside, and doesn’t give it a second thought.

Isaac played squash with C, then returned to his office only to find Zoë waiting. She tried to get an appointment with him through his receptionist, Lara, but Lara refused. Zoë had anticipated this and arranged for someone to break into Isaac’s car as a diversion, allowing her to sneak upstairs and steal his computer and any USB drives she could find. Lara wanted to call the police about the break-in, but Isaac insisted on contacting the proper authorities. C was frustrated that the sensitive data on Isaac’s computer wasn’t better protected, but thankfully, a security camera caught an image of Zoë, who was the only unfamiliar face in the office that day. Seeing the image, C sighed and said, “You have to stop.” Later that night, Zoë returned to her apartment to find it had been entered, and a clear message was spray-painted on her curtains: “STOP.”

Sarah and Downey are following a different path. They pull over in a remote location to change clothes, and during the stop, they argue about Sarah’s risky decision to research histropine using the hotel’s computer. Despite their disagreement, they both realize they need to upgrade their disguises, vehicle—their van is now too easily identified—and weaponry. Remembering a card from Wigwam’s son, Ziggy, for Dinah, Sarah refocuses on their main goal: finding this girl. She decides to head to Gerard’s house, knowing he has plenty of both guns and cars, and is relieved to discover he’s still alive.

Sarah believes the Inchons are likely at one of their many homes – she jokes they travel like Taylor Swift. But when they finally get inside, after Downey picks the lock, they’re met by Gerard in a robe and armed with a shotgun. Paula, also in a robe, demands an explanation for the break-in. Sarah quickly fills them in on Rufus, the explosion at the Singleton house, and her escape with Downey, all while Paula prepares a welcoming spread. Gerard agrees to let them stay the night, especially after Paula, concerned about Dinah being alone, asks him to help. However, he’s unwilling to offer them guns, a car, or even let them borrow his Ferrari. He even tries to call the police, but Downey stops him, threatening him with a large knife and forcing him to hang up. Downey then leads Gerard to a safe and takes several guns.

Downey almost escaped with Sarah, but slamming the door alerted her. He’d also left Gerard tied up and yelling, which gave Sarah the opportunity to free him and chase after Downey. She found him and pleaded with him to stop, insisting they weren’t partners and that she shouldn’t get involved in his dangerous life. Downey warned her he’d killed before, that he was a target, and he didn’t want her to become another victim. However, Sarah was determined to help, arguing he was too sick and weak to handle things on his own. As Sarah jumped into the car, Gerard ran outside, upset that Downey had chosen Paula’s BMW. Paula, who shares Sarah’s values, gave them a bag of supplies and wished them well. This version of Paula is a refreshing change from the original novel, where she’s portrayed as a shallow “trophy wife.” Once again, my guesses about who was an agent and who wasn’t were wrong – Gerard is now cleared, just like Wigwam. This is all far more complicated than it seems!

Paper Trail

While Zoë waits for Isaac, she receives a call from Wayne, the morgue clerk she recently encouraged to follow his dreams. Wayne has impulsively quit his job to become a full-time streamer, but immediately regrets it. He can’t undo his resignation without breaking his probation – something he promised his probation officer he wouldn’t do. Zoë notes that Wayne is on probation and thinks he might be useful later. This unexpected connection seems significant, and Zoë wonders what else Wayne might be able to do, or what he’s now unable to do, since he no longer works at the morgue.

Amos only grabbed a duffel bag when he left his apartment before setting it on fire. Inside were three passports, a couple of guns, and a baggie marked “Insurance.” What could that possibly mean?

Sarah steals a folding knife from Paula’s table and then reveals she’s realized her husband, Mark, isn’t who she thought he was after years of marriage. Paula surprisingly advises Sarah to ignore any warning signs and keep trying. The question is, is Paula suggesting Sarah should trust her gut feeling about Dinah, or is she hinting – unsurprisingly to most – that Gerard is also a terrible husband?

Wouldn’t it be great if Zoë and C had a showdown, competing to deliver the most clever and funny British insults? Morwenna Banks, could you please consider making that happen?

The system noted Sarah mentioned Taylor Swift in this episode, and it seems likely she’s a big fan, especially of Taylor’s more recent, folksy albums like folklore and evermore.

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2025-11-12 16:56