Dick Turpin Episode 4 takes a weird turn and gives us Chick Turpin or Dick Churpin’, whichever floats your boat. You’ll learn more further in this article, but to say the least, this episode is wild. The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin brings in the hottest trend of the season, the color red, and reimagines it as a “hag” with flaming red hair and fiery red eyes. I won’t lie, the costumes in this show do make an impression, and I appreciate the commitment. You can’t really take Dick Turpin seriously, though it does make some good points in the larger picture about witch-hunts being a result of misogyny and fun stuff. You know there’s no such thing as subtlety, and if you’re watching this with children, be warned that episode 4 has some unclothed action, by which I mean a naked man who pops up a couple of times in the episode. Anyway, with that said, let’s quickly get into Dick Turpin episode 4.
Spoiler Alert
Who Frees the Reddlehag?
While Dick and the Essex Gang are doing their highwaymen shenanigans, Geoffrey, who seems to be an old friend of Dick’s, is transporting a woman named the Reddlehag. She’s supposed to be a witch, but Dick doesn’t believe there is such a thing. So, owing to the thought that witches are simply a mix of superstition, the fear of the unknown, and a hint of misogyny, Dick frees the vicious Reddlehag. To his surprise and everybody else’s, she’s actually a real witch with red hair. She rewards Dick’s generosity by turning into a red ball of flame and torments the village. In the meantime, his father believes the same thing as Dick (probably where he learned to be so open-minded), saying there’s no such thing as witches, and continues to sell his meat while the whole village is in chaos. The Essex Gang decides to take shelter at “The Ruin,” Little Karen’s pub. There, they try and discuss what to do in order to get the Reddlehag out of the village. Geoffrey offers a helping hand by bringing up her case file, explaining how when she chooses a village, she sucks the souls out of everyone there. Her specialty is turning people into chickens. But, most importantly, if you call her name 27 times, then it’s basically like an open invitation into the place where the name’s been said.
Now, we all know the gang’s a bit daft; it’s like their best quality, anyway, so they manage to say Reddlehag 27 times in a conversation about not saying Reddlehag 27 times. She comes into the bar, and Dick tries to subjugate her through his witty talk (you know, where he comes up with the most basic ideas and somehow it’s wondrously successful?). Witty talk works, and the hag is okay with trying some beer, but Karen’s beer is awful because it’s the most basic lager, leaving the hag furious. She turns Dick into a chicken before Honesty smacks her in the head with shop signage. Nell ties up the hag, and when she’s awake, they try to get her to bring Dick back to human form. For some reason, everyone believes Nell has a crush on Dick, and the conversation doesn’t really get them anywhere with the hag. This leaves only one person to help the Essex Gang—Craig, the Warlock.
Why can’t Craig help Dick At First?
It turns out Craig shouldn’t be a practicing warlock because he’s never passed the test, and that would make it illegal. Additionally, Maureen (played by Diane Morgan) from the Warlock Council is here to test him, and she shouldn’t learn about his secret practice. Of course, Honesty and Moose are unable to keep their mouths shut, so Maureen learns about the Reddlehag and tasks Craig with catching her and turning Chick Turpin back to Dick Turpin. Craig of course struggles to turn Dick back, so he goes from Cocker Spaniel to a child version of Dick, while on the other hand, Nell defends the Reddlehag in court because Dick’s father wants to burn her at the stake. Of course, she’s only doing this to bring Dick back because Honesty and Moose couldn’t survive his loss, even if it meant the Reddlehag could suck all their souls out.
Does the Reddlehag get burned at the stake?
Nell’s hard work doesn’t pay off because the judge knows that everyone in the village wants to see a witch burn at the stake. What they don’t know is that this will make her stronger. At this point, Dick’s an old man, and Nell’s about to get burned at the stake with the Reddlehag. Maureen can’t bear to see Craig struggling anymore, so she changes Dick back to himself. Now, Dick, Nell, and the Reddlehag are on the pyre. Again, it’s up to Craig to save the day, because Maureen’s already interfered enough. Moose gives Craig a boosting speech about how he may be a weirdo and a terrible warlock, but he’s their friend, and so they believe in him. This gives Craig the confidence to make a potion that can turn the Reddlehag into a miniature version of herself. Geoffrey can transport her easily now, and the Essex Gang have saved the day yet again. Craig still doesn’t get his Warlock license because he’s made 173 mistakes, but that’s all good because it’s not going to stop him from helping Dick and the gang.
At the end of episode 4, the leader of The Syndicate hears about the Reddlehag being defeated by Dick. Supposedly, the naked guy was a spy, but I’m not sure what news he can gather for The Syndicate, seeing as Dick isn’t really very mysterious or secretive. Anyway, it seems the leader has her eye on Nell and knows her from earlier. Could Nell be her daughter? Or is she just an old enemy? Additionally, will Jonathan Wilde return to get revenge on Dick? We’ll find out in the next episode of Dick Turpin.
