On a dark and stormy night, psychotherapist Blake (Pemberton) picks up the mysterious Drew (Shearsmith), a stranger who was contemplating suicide on a nearby bridge. Blake subjects Drew to an impromptu therapy session that reveals some surprising truths about both men.
Tropes:
- Aborted Arc: The interesting premise of two strangers unwittingly sedating each other is not followed through since Drew doesn't seem to be affected by the drug.
- Batman Gambit: Drew's plan hinges on Blake deciding to pick him up on the bridge since he already buried Robbie at that point.
- Big "NO!": Blake lets one out when Drew sets himself on fire since it means his son is doomed.
- Bookshelf of Authority: Drew wonders if Blake read all the books on the shelf in his living room or if it was just for show. Blake assures him that he read them all.
- Buried Alive: Drew buried Blake's son Robbie alive prior to the events of the episode.
- Bystander Syndrome: Discussed by Blake when Drew wonders why dozens of people drove by him on the bridge and chose not to intervene.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: Blake tells Drew that his son Robbie will be back soon, but he never appears in person in the episode. Because Drew buried him alive before threatening to jump off the bridge and getting back to Blake's house.
- Creepy Physical: Blake got into a relationship with Ellie after asking her to undress so he could see her scars.
- Crowbar Combatant: Blake uses a crowbar to force Drew into submission.
- Cry Laughing: Drew's attempt at laughter yoga. He starts out laughing but ends up crying.
- Downer Ending: The ending of the episode finds Robbie Buried Alive. Drew, who buried him, is dead, and Blake now has a horrific crime scene that implicates him in Drew's death and no rational way to explain it.
- Driven to Suicide:
- Played with in Drew's case. He initially was just pretending to be suicidal to lure Blake; but does go through with suicide at the end.
- Drew's troubled daughter Ellie committed suicide after Blake took out a restraining order against her.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Blake and Drew both seem to be genuinely loving parents.
- Evil vs. Evil: The story's conflict is between Blake, who coerced a mentally unstable woman into sex and then let her kill herself, and Drew, who has kidnapped Blake's son and buried him alive to punish Blake for causing his daughter's death, with the role of slightly more sympathetic character being passed back and forth between them.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Blake says "I'm not a fan of games" (referring to board games), Drew replies "I am." It turns out that Drew has set up an elaborate scheme to force Blake to either confess his role in Ellie's death, or cause the death of his own son.
- Drew says that he "may have" killed someone, but refuses to elaborate. It's revealed at the end that he has placed Robbie in a death trap, which will kill him depending on Blake's actions. He also questions later in the episode whether he was ultimately responsible for Ellie's death because he advised her to see a therapist.
- Blake mentions that he's recently moved to the countryside. We later discover he did this so that his career wouldn't be affected by the discovery of his relationship with Ellie.
- Hourglass Plot: First Drew takes Blake hostage, then they switch roles with Blake having Drew at his mercy. Finally, they switch again when Blake begs for Drew to tell him Robbie's location.
- Ironic Echo: Blake explains that the trolley problem is "the difference between killing someone and letting them die". At the end, when Drew is preparing to immolate himself to stop Blake from finding his son, he tells him: "I didn't kill him. You let him die."
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The whole story is set over one dark and stormy night.
- Karmic Twist Ending: One dark enough to overlap with Cruel Twist Ending. Blake refuses every chance to confess his role in Ellie Dawson's death in order to protect his reputation, only to find out to late that confessing was the only way to save his son's life.
- Kill the Lights: After he escapes Drew, Blake kills the power supply of his house to stand a better chance in a cat-and-mouse game.
- Layman's Terms: When Blake describes the Trolley Problem as a moral debate of utilitarianism versus deontology, Drew demands to know what this means in plain English.
- Line-of-Sight Alias: Drew's name appears to be an alias that he took from some pencils on the table.
- May–December Romance: Blake is in his 50s and Ellie was 20. Although "romance" is Blake's very generous interpretation.
- Minimalist Cast: This is the single episode that has only Pemberton and Shearsmith in it from beginning to end, though Ellie and Robbie appear as The Voice.
- Murder by Inaction: In an analogy of the Trolley Problem where one solution is to let people die by doing nothing. Drew forces Blake to admit that he indirectly caused Ellie's death by not intervening when he knew that she had taken an overdose. Drew later blames Blake for letting his son die because he did not confess which would have saved him.
- Never Suicide: Blake considers making Drew's death look like suicide by throwing him off the bridge where a number of people have already seen him.
- "Not Illegal" Justification: Blake tells Drew that his sexual relationship with his young patient Ellie was "unethical, but not illegal."
- Outliving One's Offspring: Drew has outlived Ellie, and by the end of the episode, Blake is also implied to outlive Robbie.
- Pants-Positive Safety: Drew has a gun shoved into the back of his belt. Subverted when it's later revealed that the gun was a fake.
- Papa Wolf: Drew is willing to go to extreme lengths to avenge his daughter's death, even if it means killing himself in the process.
- Partially-Concealed-Label Gag: Drew thinks Blake's certificate in therapy is from Cambridge University. Blake admits it's actually from McCambridge, an online degree mill (the frame was covering up the "Mc".)
- Psycho Psychologist: A variant as Blake is a counsellor/therapist, not a psychologist, but he did sleep with a mentally ill woman and then let her commit suicide.
- Questionable Consent: Ellie was not underage (she was 22), but Blake was her much older therapist, and she was mentally ill. At best, Blake coerced a highly vulnerable younger woman into a sexual relationship.
- Reflective Glasses: While Drew is burning to death, the flames are reflected in the lenses of Blake's glasses.
- Revenge by Proxy: Drew targets Blake's son in revenge for Blake being responsible for his daughter's death.Drew: I want you to know what it's like to be me.
- Sadistic Choice: The Trolley Problem is discussed where one has to choose between killing one person and or letting six people die by doing nothing.
- Secret Test of Character: The essence of Drew's plot against Blake. If Blake had confessed to his relationship with Ellie, he would've saved Robbie's life. He fails, and Drew burns himself alive to prevent himself from telling Blake anything about Robbie's location.
- Self-Immolation: After Blake refuses to confess his role in Ellie's death, Drew burns himself alive so that Robbie will not be found in time.
- Shout-Out:
- Drew references Monopoly.
- Blake mentions that he is a fan of Mary Berry.
- Slipping a Mickey: Blake puts a sedative in Drew's tea while Drew is in the bathroom, and then Drew drugs Blake's tea while his back is turned.
- Spiteful Suicide: Drew kills himself so that the location where Robbie is Buried Alive will die with him, this completing his revenge against Blake.
- Spotting the Thread: Blake notices that Drew's weapon is a potato spud gun.
- Stalker with a Crush: Ellie became obsessed with Blake and he took out a restraining order against her.
- Sword over Head: Blake is about to smash Drew's head in with his crowbar but stops in midair. Subverted when it turns out that his change of heart did not come from Blake's considerations regarding Drew's wellbeing but because he has an "Eureka!" Moment about Drew mentioning people witnessing him by the bridge.
- Take a Third Option: Discussed. Drew mentions that a third option to the Trolley Problem would be to sacrifice oneself to save everyone else. Soon after, Blake equates his (forced) written confession about being directly responsible for Ellie's death to that third option of self-sacrifice.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Blake does this with Drew immediately prior to the start of the episode. Subverted when Drew reveals it was a trap to lure Blake and he was never suicidal.
- Thanatos Gambit: Drew self-immolates right after Blake learns that Robbie is buried alive, in order to ensure he can't tell Blake anything about Robbie's location and Blake knows the situation is hopeless.
- Title Drop: Blake gives one when Drew describes this moral dilemma.
- Uncertain Doom: We never learn about the fate of Blake's son but it's implied he is going to die in a Sealed Room in the Middle of Nowhere.
- The Voice: Ellie, Drew's deceased daughter, through recordings of her and Blake's sessions, and Blake's son Robbie, after Blake answers his call at the end of the episode.
- Worst Aid: Drew pulling out the pen Blake rammed deep into his thigh.
