'The Third Day' Episode 5 Review: A deep dive into grief as Helen and Ellie's past is revealed at Osea Island
Spoilers for 'The Third Day' Episode 5 titled 'Tuesday - The Daughter'
Midway through the fifth episode of HBO's 'The Third Day', Helen (Naomie Harris) is urged to embrace her grief. The death of her son has left a hole in her heart. She can't just leave it at that and she needs to embrace the sorrow, fall deep into the hole and let go. At the same time, elsewhere on the island, her daughter Ellie (Nico Parker) is opening up about some details surrounding her dead brother.
This exchange coincides and reveals details that have been kept from the audiences so far. This information sure fills in the gaps in the storyline providing a much-needed backstory to their characters. In Episode 5 of 'The Third Day' titled 'Tuesday - the Daughter', we focus on the daughters of the past and the present. As it stands today, these young girls hold in their hands the future of the island. They just don't know it yet.
Written by Kit de Waal, Dean O’Loughlin and Dennis Kelly and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, 'The Third Day' begins with consternation surrounding the delivery of Jess's (Katherine Waterston) baby. Helen offers her help when it comes to Jess, but bear in mind that she has no idea who Jess is, her one-night connection with Sam (Jude Law), and the offspring possibly being their child, the heir to the island. But no one helps her in her pursuit of looking for her husband. If anything, they only make matters worse by either lying to her of gaslighting.
It is important to point out here about the Martins' shrewd presence on 'The Third Day'. Played by Paddy Considine and Emily Watson, Mr and Mrs Martin seem to drive the devil's chariot around on Osea Island. While Watson's 'take-no-'s**t' demeanor keeps most people at bay, it is Mr Martin's sugar-coated words that brings them around. When Helen finally confronts them about the truth about the whereabouts of her husband, they go on and on in circles. Throughout the sequence, the couple is building up to the fact that Helen should leave the island with her children. And perhaps it works because Helen stays back.
The episode ends on a sobering, hard-hitting conclusion as Helen (or shall we call her Caz now as Sam once had?) comes face to face with Sam, the man she had come looking for at Osea Island. Only this time, the question remains if she is meeting her husband and the father of their daughters or is she meeting the leader of the Odea Island. With only one final episode left, we will be answered next week.
Episode 5 of the miniseries packs a surprising deal of intrigue despite the overbearing feeling that everything is going in circles. While it moves at a slow pace, it will be worth it to stick around for the upcoming finale episode.
'The Third Day' airs 9 to 10 pm EST on HBO. The episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max following the airing.