‘Back to Life’ Episode 5 sees innocent Miri framed while ‘investigator’ spotted smiling at Nathan's food truck burning down
If there is one thing Daisy Haggard’s ‘Back to Life’ manages to do really well, it is to get you to root for the lead character Miri Matteson. Miri, who was convicted of murder -- though she claims it was an accident -- spent 18 years in prison. Her return to civilization since then has been a complicated affair.
Despite all the adversities she faces, however, Miri always proves to be a tough cookie. In episode 5, the penultimate episode, we saw Miri finally talking to Billy (Adeel Akhtar) again. In episode 3, Miri told him about her past and that led to Billy getting a panic attack.
Their awkward conversation now was interrupted by Miri’s neighbor, who it was revealed was Billy’s wife and not his employer. The batty old woman spoke to Miri pleasantly for a bit but soon she started hurling colorful abuses at her.
While Miri tried to ignore her cusses, she finally snapped and told her to go die. And at that very moment, the old lady’s heart gave away -- she collapsed and died on the spot. Obviously, that did not go down well with Billy. Miri, with her history, was also questioned by the police.
A distraught Miri then left for work. Her boss Nathan (Liam Williams), the owner of the fish and chips shop, had now moved his premises to a food truck, parked in the middle of an empty beach. When Miri reached this new location, she realized her shadow would never let Nathan succeed and thus she fired herself from the shop.
She left to run into her former best friend Mandy (Christine Bottomley). Back at home, Miri’s parents Caroline (Geraldine James) and Oscar (Richard Durden) were in a different kind of pickle.
Oscar, who managed to find confidence after beating up his wife’s lover Dom (Jamie Michie), and Caroline, who had made peace with Miri, decided to give their marriage another shot.
But sexual activity seemed to be a problem for the geriatric couple, especially for Oscar. Even a visit to the pharmacy to buy some viagra proved detrimental to their efforts. One, there was no viagra. Two, they ran into a battered Dom there. And right then Caroline realized Oscar knew about their affair.
But they talked things over and, somehow, while Caroline was talking about separating biodegradable waste from the non-biodegradable one, Oscar found his sexual vigor back.
But while the parents found bliss, the daughter had trouble in store for her. For reasons unknown, Miri’s boss called the police to inform them she might do something dangerous.
Despite the fact that Miri spent an entire day with Mandy, talking and shopping, she found herself being apprehended by the cops when she went to visit Billy. Apparently, someone had set fire to Nathan’s fish and chips truck and they suspected Miri.
The episode ends with the enigmatic “investigator” -- the one who had accosted both Miri and Mandy on separate occasions -- smiling, while the food truck burned to the ground.
'Back to Life' airs every Sunday at 10 pm ET on Showtime.
