This article contains spoilers for Shardlake episode 2. The Disney Plus and Hulu adaptation of C.J. Sansom's historical mystery saga about the titular lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, has arrived!
Based on Sansom's first book, "Dissolution", this four-part adaptation sees Matthew Shardlake being dispatched to the remote town of Scarnsea to investigate the death of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners at a monastery... one of many which Cromwell intends to close as part of the dissolution of the monasteries throughout Britain.
Shardlake's second episode sees the mystery getting even darker. Following Brother Whelplay's huge revelation that Robing Singleton wasn't the monastery's first victim, he becomes a key figure in Shardlake's investigation; the boy soon faces the consequences of what he's said. Plus, tensions grow between Shardlake and Jack Barak, as the latter fears they are taking too long to do the job Cromwell sent them to do.
To make matters worse, both Cromwell's commissioners end up with secrets to keep by the end of the episode, secrets which will make the search for the truth of what happened to Singleton even more difficult. Here's a full recap of what happened in Shardlake episode 2.
A new theory
Shardlake picks up with the lawyer waking in the early hours to seek out Brother Guy, so the pair of them can retrace the monk's steps on the night he discovered the body. Guy tells him he was attending another patient in the monastery infirmary and had gone to the kitchen to fetch them some milk. There was no light down there; after slipping, he realized he was standing in a large pool of Singleton's uncongealed blood.
Shardlake quizzes him all about the evening. The kitchen only has one entrance and is kept locked so that monks and servants can't help themselves to the food stores. After finding the decapitated body, Guy went to fetch the Abbot and left the door unlocked. If only he'd locked the door, Brother Guy might have trapped the murderer in the kitchen. Shardlake further notes that, since Guy saw no blood trail or footprints, there's a chance the killer had remained in the kitchen until Guy left the scene. But if that's true, why would the killer have spared the only person who might have raised the alarm?
Elsewhere, Master Bugge intimidates Brother Gabriel in a church; he knows Gabriel is 'fond' of Whelplay, and encourages him to warn Whelplay to be careful with his words, lest he spill more secrets. Suspicious much?
Following his early morning excursion, Shardlake wakes Barak, telling him that he has ordered the monks to gather in the courtyard and to talk through the crime. Barak dresses quickly, annoyed that Shardlake didn't wake him sooner as the pair are meant to be investigating together. Before they gather, we see Brother Jerome at Whelplay's bedside, warning the boy not to give Shardlake what he wants to hear.
Shardlake, the Abbot, and several monks gather in the courtyard, at a vantage point that points to several key areas of the monastery. The conversation eventually turns to a missing relic (The Hand of the Penitent Thief who suffered with Christ) which was stolen from its ornate casket the night of Singleton's death. The Abbot believes the "invaders" who stole the relic then killed Singleton... but neither Shardlake (or Barak, who finally arrives on the scene around this point) believe this could be possible.
That's because the church that housed the relic and the kitchens are quite a distance apart. Why on earth would the thieves have taken a trip to the kitchen after their theft? It's pure coincidence, surely. Shardlake's going theory is that Singleton had arranged a meeting for some private info about the monastery, instead meeting his untimely death at the hands of whoever from within the St. Donatus community falsely arranged to meet his fellow commissioner that fateful night. He ends his speech with the solemn promise to both identify the murderer and to close St. Donatus down.
Barak, Goodhap, and Shardlake gather for a meal soon after. After some bickering, Goodhap reveals his intent to leave for London ASAP, but they refuse to let him. So, he retires to the safety of his locked room. Shardlake and Barak next want to find both the missing casket (as the thieves would not have left the valuable gold casing behind) and the sword used to kill Singleton. Shardlake has also requested Brother Edwig's financial records and intends to bring them before the local town justice.
Barak is frustrated with this option and leaves the hall. Walking through the courtyard, he berates Brother Gabriel and the other monks for not actually doing anything helpful. On the ride to town, Shardlake enquires about his mood: Barak is annoyed they're wasting time ferrying books to town, but Shardlake sees this as a crucial step to finding why Singleton was killed. And since he examined the accounts before his death, Shardlake believes there's something important in them.
Meeting Justice Copynger
Our duo arrives in town and soon meet with Justice Copynger. Shardlake is quick to point out the Justice's virtues. Shardlake asks if there's any major complaints about monastery reforms (only the abolition of saints' day holidays), before turning to the matter at hand. Shardlake asks Copynger to compare the bills of sales of land from his and Edwig's records.
He also wants Copynger to compare them with the receipts held by the purchasers; this last step will apparently take five days, a timeframe Barak will not accept. Copynger reluctantly agrees to try and complete his job in a more timely manner, and the duo leave his office.
When they've departed, a mysterious figure emerges from a hidden chamber behind the wall. This new man tells Copynger to complete the given task within three days but informs him of any discrepancies; he is only to pass this information along to Shardlake on the fifth day. Outside, Barak confronts Shardlake: if the accounts are so important, why have they palmed the task off on Justice Copynger? In Barak's eyes, they'll only achieve justice when the monastery is shut down; Shardlake's more interested in finding the exact truth of what happened here.
The pair return to the monastery to speak with Brother Jerome. He recounts why he hates Cromwell so much (he harbors loyalties to Anne Boleyn, and was tortured so that he swore the oath to the new faith), and tells them that both Boleyn's former lover and himself falsely confessed to their crimes to Cromwell. He's also written down Smeaton's fears about what should follow betraying his queen, passing the story over to him.
Elsewhere in the monastery, Simon Whelplay wakes from some restless sleep and promptly runs out of the monastery. He crosses paths with Shardlake down by a pool of water; the lawyer tries to get him to stop and talk, but Whelplay is unable to do so, so Shardlake chases the boy across the site. This culminates in a stand-off between them; Whelplay's climbed up to a higher floor and won't allow Shardlake to get any closer, so he remains a few floors below and urges the boy to speak. Sadly, the boy's body convulses and he tumbles over the railing to his death.
Shardlake clears his head in a nearby marsh, away from the monastery, but sinks up to his shoulders into part of the bog. Luckily, Alice was nearby and managed to pull him free. At the infirmary, she prepares a draught for him, and it feels like there might be a little spark of fondness between them, as she seems to view Shardlake and Singleton in an entirely different light.
Another untimely death
Once he's suitably recovered, it's back to the matter at hand. Barak and Shardlake visit Brother Guy to ask about the boy's condition. Guy thought his fever was broken, but notes the boy started to complain of feeling unwell after a visit from Abbot Fabian and Brother Mortimus (he was also visited by Master Bugge and Brothers Gabriel and Edwig before his death). Barak is annoyed they were not summoned to speak to Simon the moment he awoke, claiming the place is rotten to its core as the one man willing to speak to the commissioners is now conveniently dead. Shardlake is definitely bemused as to why so many men were willing to visit the otherwise unremarkable and clumsy monk.
After this chat, Shardlake seeks out Barak. He complains that Cromwell lacks patience and is more interested in the truth 'if it suits him'. He affirms that they must find a way to close this house, fast and shares concerns about Dr. Goodhap, whom he believes has "seen too much" of the case and how it has unraveled. Meanwhile, Guy slips away to carry out an autopsy on Brother Whelplay, behind closed doors.
Guy retrieves Shardlake. He was perturbed when the lawyer mentioned Whelplay's convulsions and decided to investigate as the spasms are characteristic of Deadly Nightshade poisoning. He opened the boy up and instantly recognized the smell from both Whelplay's gut and the cup at his bedside. By his reckoning, the poisoning had to have taken place that same morning, given the rapid change in his symptoms.
Shardlake warns Guy not to tell anyone else about his findings and retires to his room (where the cloaked figure continues to spy on him through a slit in the wall). Dr. Goodhap, meanwhile, has grown tired of being held captive at the monastery and decides to make his escape in the dead of night. He packs up his belongings and makes his way to the stable to try and saddle a horse... unaware that Barak has followed him.
The episode ends with a stand-off between the two men. Barak demands Goodhap return to bed, but he refuses, pulls a dagger, and moves in on the attack, falling straight onto Barak's readied sword. Barak maintains he didn't want Goodhap to die, but he creates a cunning plan there and then. As Goodhap bleeds out, Barak promises the man will not die in vain. He is going to leave the body out in the open to be found, adding another body to the mounting death count which may well be sufficient evidence to close the monastery whether they find Singleton's killer or not.
Shardlake is now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.
