MotherFatherSon continued tonight as Caden’s (Billy Howle) rehabilitation continued.
Catch-up on the last episode by reading our MotherFatherSon episode 2 recap.
If you don’t want any spoilers for MotherFatherSon, then stop reading this article immediately.
The episode opened with the body of teenager Tonya being found buried in the woodlands after her phone was discovered. A press conference was held with the girl’s mother, who shared her pain and upset as she spoke of her last words with her daughter.
Seated beside her was Lauren (Pippa Bennett-Warner) and attending the press conference were Maggie (Sinéad Cusack) and Nick (Paul Ready). Maggie stood up and asked what the role of Reporter Media Group was in the investigation. When Lauren answered that it was to offer as much or as little help as needed, Maggie pressed further asking whether it was the police or the family that asked for their involvement and that was met with silence.
Kathryn (Helen McCrory) took some air in as she walked the grounds of the military facility Caden was being rehabilitated in. She thought back to when he was a child and then went into the facility to see her son.
Caden was trying to arrange the first four letters of the alphabet but he struggled after the letter B. Kathryn helped him get the right order but Caden quickly grew frustrated and broke down. He shared his thoughts that his father was ashamed of him and asked if he’d always been as angry as he felt. Kathryn said Max (Richard Gere) wanted him to get better and she admitted she had no idea about his anger as he kept everything inside.
Apologising for interrupting her life, Caden cried and suggested he’d be better off dead. Kathryn scolded him for saying that and took him to his room so she could bathe him, undress him and let him have some sleep. She then had a tense meeting with the Colonel Reese (Clare Homan), the woman that ran the facility, who believed Caden didn’t belong there as he wasn’t a soldier. Kathryn firmly told her she would do whatever it takes to help her son and the two women realised they probably were never going to see eye-to-eye.
Kathryn called Max to tell him to stop avoiding their son and it was revealed that he was in Mexico City meeting with representatives from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the National Action Party and The Party of the Democratic Revolution. The parties expressed concern that Max had bought their national newspapers in order to gain political advantage. He assured them that wasn’t the case and that he wanted to move to Mexico with his family stating that he couldn’t live in a country he wasn’t invested in.
After the meeting the leader of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, Ignacio Cortes (Quique Medina) spoke to Max alone. He asked what Max’s wife had said when he announced he was buying the newspapers, and Max admitted she told him it was a mistake because he didn’t know Mexico and would lose money. The Party of the Democratic Revolution leader told him he should have listened to her before walking away.
Meanwhile Sofia (Elena Anaya) met with her mother and over tea admitted that she didn’t know Max all that well. Her mother assured her she didn’t need to know everything about him but it looks like Sofia has a dark secret as she revealed he knew everything about her, which shocked her mother.
Back in the UK, Nick was confronted by his wife over what he was working on. She caught him attempting to lie and came clean saying that he was investigating his the newspaper he works for and that it could cost him his job. Regardless of the dangers, Nick met a man in the pub to get more information on the murder of the private investigator that he believes was covered up. The man started talking but then went for a toilet break. When he returned Nick quizzed him, asking him who he’d called and how long they had until the person/people arrived. Realising he’d been caught, the man said 30 minutes so Nick suggested they say nothing else to one another.
A group of men turned up and told Nick the man was no good and that he’d been blackmailing clients. Nick tried to get more information out of them but they were pretty cagey. One of the men grabbed the Jewish pendant around Nick’s neck, let it go and they all left the pub.
Caden’s carer Andrew (Steven Cree) entered his room to collect him for his rehab session and found that he knocked over the container that stored his urine. He asked why Caden hadn’t called for help and Caden admitted he didn’t want the female nurse to know what had happened as he was embarrassed.
During the session, Caden pushed himself on the treadmill and then he had a rant in the shower at Andrew. He told him that he took away other people’s privacy (alluding to his day working for his father) and pointed out the irony that he now had no privacy of his own. As he was being dried off, Caden apologised and asked Andrew not to tell his father.
Back in Mexico, Max took a walk around a street market while thinking back to happier times with Caden as a child. He came across a gold skeleton that was honouring the dead, and he left a $100 bill on its necklace. After getting a drink with his security team, Max called Kathryn who urged him to talk to Caden. She passed the phone to Caden and they had a short exchange where Caden told him he was doing well and asked when he would be back. Max would only commit to ‘soon’.
Caden was taken to do some gardening for the next part of his day. He met Orla (Niamh Algar) who told him everyone knew who he was and she said he had the most honest face she’d ever seen. She asked to touch it and then asked if Caden could keep a secret. He admitted he couldn’t and Orla kissed him on the cheek before leaving.
An arrest was made in the Tonya case and the papers ran with the story that her neighbour was the chief suspect after a hairbrush was found in his house. It all seems a bit suspicious and far too simple don’t you think?
Max arrived back in the UK and met with Lauren to talk about having a press conference about Caden. He wanted his son by his side but Lauren wasn’t so sure, worried that Caden wouldn’t be able to control his mouth in front of the cameras. They were interrupted by Nick, who met Max for the first time.
Caden’s rehab moved on to swimming and he became mesmerised Orla, who was in the pool. Andrew tried to get him out of the water but Caden insisted on staying put. Kathryn noticed her son’s flirtation with the woman and tried to find out who she was. Caden meanwhile struck up a conversation and told Orla she made him feel nervous when he sees her. She told him they can’t fix each other.
Max and his entourage turned up at the rehab centre for the press conference. Kathryn helped Caden get dressed and told him he didn’t have to go through with it. He bumped into Orla again who thread a flower in his lapel. Max then came face-to-face with Caden and the two hugged.
The press conference began and Lauren assured Caden he wouldn’t have to answer any questions. Max revealed what had happened to Caden and told the press that he failed to look after his son, and pointed out the donation he made to open a new wing (so that’s how he bought Caden’s way in to the facility). A reporter asked if Caden will be returning to his role as Editor and he jumped at the chance to answer the question and confirm his plan to return.
They had lunch after the press conference and Max upset Caden by taking his lunch from his so he could cut it up, making it easier to eat.
Nick met with Maggie and told her he’d been offered a position in Washington D.C. She pointed out that it was a bribe and he revealed he hadn’t made his mind up whether to accept it or not yet.
Once he was back in his room, Caden asked Max how he had done during the press conference. Max told him he did well then left his son to rest. Kathryn followed Max and confronted him about his strange reaction to Caden. Max admitted that he was unhappy that Caden had asked him how he’d done and told Kathryn their son can’t go back to his job because he’d realised he wasn’t a leader.
Kathryn pleaded with Max to find another role in the company for Caden while Max aired his frustration at being proven wrong about his son’s capability. They got into a row and Kathryn told Max that he had to be the one to tell Caden he wouldn’t be going back to his former job. Kathryn pushed him to be truthful with Caden that day. Max tried to dodge it but went back to Caden’s room where he communicated the news without uttering a single word.
Preview MotherFatherSon episode 4.
MotherFatherSon continues at 9pm Wednesday on BBC Two.
