Deadline episode 3 threw more twists and turns at us than – well, something that throws twisty, turny things – now Natalie has confessed to murder.
Episode 3 – which aired tonight on Channel 5 – was another rollercoaster.
It kindly flew us all out to Budapest, with no travel sanctions, thanks for that.
While it answered some of our questions – yes, Oliver Sewell is alive – it left us with many many more.
Here’s what Friday night’s finale needs to tie up for us.
What’s the story so far in Deadline? Did Natalie kill her husband?
Read more:
But first, let’s have a quick catch-up on what’s been going on so far in Deadline and how Natalie’s confession came about.
So James Alden (James D’arcy) is a grubby tabloid journo (how, gross) fallen from grace after being a serious investigative reporter.
We now know that he was cast aside after contaminating crime scene evidence, which allowed a murderer to walk free. Very bad journalist behaviour.
He was then called to do an interview with Natalie (Charlie Murphy) – socialite and wife of rich George Varga – who she is accused of killing.
At first James was convinced shedunnit, but after some sexy time with Natalie, she’s convinced him her supposedly dead brother, Oliver killed George.
Now James is heading to Budapest, where Oliver is thought to be living, under the alias Elliot Strand…
Okay, back to ep3.
1. Who is Dominik in Deadline? Is he working for Natalie?
And why does he know so much about in-flight murderising?
He first showed up sat next to James on the flight to Hungary with a wealth of knowledge on how to smuggle banned items – you know, knives, dangerous fluids etc, onto a plane.
And thanks to Dominik ‘Call me Dom’, we now know that the best way to kill someone on a plane, without getting caught, is with a syringe of insulin and a fake medical certificate. We can’t help with the acquisition of said items of death, however.
He also helpfully added: “If the premise is he is stuck on a plane and there is more than one bad guy, I can’t see him getting off the plane alive.”
What an ideal and non-terrifying person to end up sitting next to on a plane. James should be happy it wasn’t long-haul.
His creepy comments about there being more than one bad guy were surely more than a red herring?
Surprise, surprise, he turns up again later while James is stalking Natalie’s frenemy, Vera – who in cahoots with Elliot Strand’s wife, Shona.
2. Is James actually mentally unstable?
After begging two flight members for help as the man in 2C ‘Don’t look’ was planning to kill him, James got drunk instead.
But, like super drunk, and not even pretend drunk. He was promptly arrested when the plane landed in Budapest and a furious Barbara had to come over and bail him out.
And, following, his passionate encounter with Natalie in ep2, James is now convinced she’s innocent. Ah, men.
He’s starting to look and act more and more paranoid, and even Barbara is concerned about his well-being.
This also fits in with the questions we have about those intense nightmares he has.
And he was very jumpy while watching the fireworks.
3. Did Natalie push Lukas from the roof in Deadline?
James caught up with another of Natalie’s former ‘associates’ in Budapest, Lukas Novak.
Lukas is now in a wheelchair after being pushed from a roof by Natalie’s brother Oliver before his ‘death’.
But when James, Lukas and his wife Hannah took a stroll in famous Memento Park, Lukas revealed that he wasn’t entirely sure it was Oliver who’d given him the shove.
Hannah says that Oliver pushed Lukas after being given the nod from Natalie. Apparently Natalie told Oliver that Lukas had been beating her up.
But when Lukas recaps his version of events, he says he was lying on the ground looking up and could see Natalie starring down.
Oh.
‘She chooses people she can punish,’ Lukas told James. Interesting….
4. Who shot Toth?
While James was idling around Budapest, chewing on Lukas and Hannah’s new info, bad guy Toth had tracked him down.
James tried to hide in a conveniently empty old-style cinema, but Toth caught him and stabbed him in the arm during a scuffle.
Although it didn’t seem to be with the animal tranquiliser he’d loaded up on, just a plain old knife.
But as James tried to escape, a shot rang out, Toth’s specs slid across the floor followed by his body with a bullet hole in the back.
As James reeled in shock, he heard a car speed off.
The theory was that Toth was working for Oliver and trying to silence James.
But with Lukas and Hannah’s story that Natalie pushed Lukas, could she be the killer after all?
And, more importantly, is Natalie in Budapest too?
5. Why did Oliver Sewell fake his death?
After some serious tracking of Shona, James finally found his prize – Oliver – alive and well and living in rural Hungary.
But if he isn’t in hiding from police after trying to murder Lukas, then who exactly is he hiding from?
James took a photo and sent it immediately to Natalie.
Eavesdropping in on her conversation, he hears Oliver tell Shona, “She did it. I watched her do it.” But is he talking about George or Lukas?
Or even someone else?
Then Dom arrived with a knife at James’ neck and Oliver told James not to believe a word Natalie says. When Natalie arrives in Budapest, Oliver seems terrified of her.
6. So Natalie DID kill George then?
In what appeared to be a heartfelt confession to James (we’re not sure we believe her though), Natalie told him George was abusing her.
But not physically, she said he cut her off from her friends, monitored everything she did even down to what she ate. She said he called her ‘ugly’ and ‘barren’ and James helpfully commented, ‘you murdered him? For that?’.
She then confessed that Oliver had asked her for money or his dealers would kill him. Nat revealed George said no and just laughed.
Read more: Meet the cast of Deadline on Channel 5 including a former Peaky Blinders star
She then, eerily added: “I don’t even remember doing it.”
James overreacted fairly badly at this point, trying to escape with the chair he was tied to.
Natalie coldly asked him: “Are you finished?” before adding, “You’re a very average sort of man, really” while holding a knife to his throat.
So is Natalie a cold-blooded killer?
Or has she been trying to protect herself and her brother from drug dealers and an emotional abusive husband?
Roll on episode 4.
Deadline concludes on Friday at 9pm on Channel 5
Has Deadline still got you hooked? Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and tell us.