'Flesh and Blood' Episode 3 Preview: Vivien gets suspicious of Mark as they prepare for trip to India
'Flesh and Blood' Episode 2 ended on a distressing note as the car that Mark (Stephen Rea) had gifted to Vivien (Francesca Annis) goes up in flames. The question of who did it still remain a mystery. In the upcoming episode however, it seems that Vivien too starts suspecting Mark despite trying to reassure that everything is fine. The India trip looms large and Vivien plans to sell the cottage once she is back. The official synopsis of the episode reveals: "As Vivien and Mark prepare for a trip to India, Jake gets a hot tip. Helen and Natalie both reach crisis points with their partners."
In the trailer we see Mary (Imelda Staunton) on purpose making Mark feel uncomfortable with her faux sympathy. She accosts him near the property fence and talks about how "terribly stressful" it must be for him since the kids were being so hard on him for stealing their mother away from them. Mark looks extremely irritated by being questioned about something so personal, especially as Mary seems quite gleeful when she asks him this. We also see Jake (Russell Tovey) meeting Vivien alone in his gym were he works as a personal trainer. He tells her as gently as he can that it is not that he is against her living her best life but Mark has set off a series of red flags and he is just worried about her, while Vivien tells him to "stop being so suspicious".
Jake might have a point though because we see Mark examining what seems to be another mysterious pill bottle. We have seen him feed Vivien pills before telling her they are mild sedatives but they could be also a way to poison her slowly without her knowing. As a medical doctor, he knows enough to know how to use drugs in a way that won't be detectable later.
We also see Mark telling Vivien when they are in bed that there is "always going to some drama or the other", possibly to try dissuade her from postponing their India trip because of the problems Helen (Claudie Blakley) is facing in her marriage. He also tells her that he is not going anywhere on their walk on the cliffs. The trailer shows a brooding Vivien and later, when she lies on her bed with Mark next to her, she has a frightened expression on her face. We hear her voice (as a voice-over) saying, "something doesn't seem quite right" which shows that she has started suspecting Mark too.
Both Helen and Natalie (Lydia Leonard) have problems of their own. Helen seems to have figured out that the mysterious woman who posted a photo of her husband as her "new boyfriend" tagging their daughter on social media, was her former disgruntled employee. She rages at her firm's security in-charge that she has every right to be worried because it is her family. We also see Natalie develop doubts about whether her boss actually wants to leave his wife because she catches him in a sweetly romantic moment with her. She asks him directly whether he is still in love with her. Will Natalie take some drastic steps to resolve the issue?
'Flesh and Blood' Episode 3 will air on Sunday, October 18, at 9/8c on PBS Masterpiece.