“Chemistry of Death” seems to have some serious pacing issues in its narrative. With Episode 1 making us think that it is going to be another cliche storyline, followed by Episodes 2 and 3 that really picked up the pace, Episode 4 was a bit of a letdown with how slow it was. In a short series like this, where new characters are introduced every 2-3 episodes, they can’t be so passive if we are to stay interested. But if we were to take a kinder look, we can also say that this was the process of setting the jigsaw pieces in place before the big reveal in the next episode. But it is difficult to be kind when we have already seen too many mystery-based series, and we know that a lot of these “pieces” will probably not amount to anything. Either way, let us start by seeing everything that happens in “Chemistry of Death” Episode 4.
Spoilers Ahead
David’s Struggle To Protect The Evidence
We saw in “Chemistry of Death” Episode 3 that David Hunter went to the top of the hill because he believed he saw his dead daughter there. It is evident that his mental health is getting more and more fragile. In episode 4, we see him at the Strachans’ house, where he spent the night after his accident. In the book “Written in Bone,” on which this storyline of the series is based, David struggled with being in the wilderness, but here he is safe and warm with the Strachans. Sergeant Fraser comes to pick him up, and she is less than happy about his accident and his stay with them. Later, he calls DCI Wallace to give him an update on the situation and lets him know that they need a proper team and a lab to conduct the rest of the tests for the investigation. However, a storm is coming, which means that things are going to get rather difficult.
In the pub, when David is working, one of the local drunks starts chatting with him and tells him that paperwork is not real labor. He asks David if he was the one to steal his boat. It turns out that Gunther’s boat was repossessed by the bank, and he has held a grudge against them since. Meanwhile, David is shown an article in the newspaper about the murder that has happened. David doesn’t pay much heed to it, as he is just the forensic investigator, and the politics of the case have nothing to do with him. He meets Maggie Cassidy, the local journalist, and author of the article, and she tries to get him to talk about the Strachens, which he doesn’t respond to either. But Maggie is obviously not one to give up, and she goes to meet Grace Strachen under the pretext of writing an article about how outsiders are helping the island. At their place, she sneaks off into their room and goes through their drawers. As she told David before, she is curious to know their real identity, and it looks like she finds one of their passports to give her the answers she seeks. Before Grace can find out what she is up to, Maggie covers her tracks, but we suspect that Grace might have figured something out.
Grace and Michael are going through a rough patch in their marriage. When Grace initiates an intimate moment with him, he brushes her away, surprisingly, by telling her that he loves her. It looks like this is not the first time it has happened. Later, when she discovers that Ellen is pregnant, she is devastated. However, though Michael consoles her, he is clearly having an affair with Ellen, so we can conclude that the child is his. In fact, he makes plans with her about what they should do next, and we understand that he has no trouble excluding Grace from his future if need be.
‘Chemistry of Death’ Episode 4: Ending Explained – Does David Protect The Evidence From The Storm?
As for the investigation itself, to protect the crime scene from the storm, David and the detectives lay a cover over the house, but it doesn’t last for too long. When it starts falling apart, David tries to collect bits and pieces of the remains of the body. But at that time, he starts hallucinating about his daughter and has to be physically dragged out before the house can collapse on him. David is also trying to determine the identity of the victim. He collects the names of the women fitting the profile of the victim and narrows them down to three, depending on when they went missing. The Inspector seems to recognize one of the women, and though David pushes him to remember, he doesn’t have an answer. We suspect that he has identified her but is keeping quiet for some reason.
When they lose their crime scene, they ask Grace for help and whether she could give them a place to store the evidence, which she obliges. It certainly looks like someone has started stalking David. Everyone on the island is aware of David Hunter, but it could also be someone connected to the case. The team from the mainland still hasn’t arrived, and David takes the remains to the local medical center. But the exhaustion, both physical and emotional, has gotten to him, and he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he finds the place on fire, and he must now fight for his life to come out of there unscathed.
Final Thoughts
“Chemistry of Death” Episode 4 was honestly a very slow episode, which was a break from our expectations. Maybe if we started binge-watching the series, we wouldn’t have minded it, but when watching it per episode, it gets a little tiring. However, we are expecting the pace to pick up in the next two episodes because the storyline has potential. We would also like to see David Hunter moving towards some healing instead of getting further tortured due to his job. “Chemistry of Death” should have tried to establish better chemistry between its characters and the audience, but it is not bad otherwise. For now, it is going to be an interesting week’s worth of waiting to see the culprit behind a very gruesome murder.
