Shetland series 8 continued this week with episode 3, and ended on a pretty shocking revelation – that DI Ruth Calder could be related to the murder victim.
Now THAT would be a serious conflict of interest for the visiting detective, who doesn’t seem to be in any rush to get back to work with the London’s Met police…
Meanwhile, we’re still no nearer knowing who killed Ellen, although her body was last seen on a field seemingly as some sort of symbolic sacrifice.
Here are all the burning questions we have after watching Shetland series 8 episode 3… Are you as gripped as us?
***Warning: spoilers from Shetland series 8 episode 3 ahead***
Is Ellen Quinn related to DI Ruth Calder? (Credit: ITV Studios/Mark Mainz)
Shetland series 8 episode 3 questions: Are Ruth Calder and Ellen Quinn sisters?
DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) clearly has no love whatsoever for her dad, the late Reverend Calder. He seems to be the main – or only – reason she left Shetland when she was a teenager, and never looked back (until now). While her brother Alan seems to think he was a good dad, and Ruth should cut him some slack, Ruth’s old flame Cal Innes has also mentioned her dad being difficult…
In episode 3, we discovered at least one of the reasons why Ruth seems to hate her late dad. And it’s a pretty valid reason! Viewers learnt that the OG Reverend Calder cheating on Ruth’s mum when she was dying of cancer.
Jean Ferguson (Jennifer Black) turned up at Ruth’s hotel to clear the air, but it didn’t really work out like that. Instead, Jean spilled some more unwelcome home truths about Ruth’s dad. More specifically, that she wasn’t the only woman he cheated with.
In fact, she dropped quite the bombshell on unflappable DI Calder. Jean revealed that Ruth’s dad also had an affair with Stella Quinn (Dawn Steele). Not only a woman half his age, but also the mother of the murder victim at the centre of this series of Shetland.
Back in her room, Ruth Calder gazed at photos of Stella Quinn, and her daughter Ellen, comparing them to a picture of her dad and herself when she was younger. Were you thinking what she was obviously thinking? That Stella Quinn could have become pregnant with Rev Calder’s child, making Ellen Quinn Ruth’s secret sister.
Why did Peter Ayre steal Ellen’s body, and what does the sign mean?
In Shetland series 8 episode 3, we discovered that plumber Peter Ayre – the eyewitness in the first instalment – had been indulging in some very disturbing practices.
He stole Ellen’s dead body from the mortuary, and tried to burn her corpse in a ritualistic fire. Luckily, DI Calder and ‘Temporary’ DI Tosh managed to stop him in time. But why on EARTH was he doing it?
Does this mean he’s the man who has been slaughtering sheep on the island? And is he responsible for Ellen’s death? We’ll have to wait until episode 4 when Ruth and Tosh get to interrogate him.
As yet, we don’t know what the symbol tattooed on Ellen’s body meant. But it’s the same symbol found sprayed on the dead sheep, and that Peter Ayre marked out in petrol in the field before setting it alight. Is the symbol personal to Ellen and Peter, and what does it mean?
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