Criminal Record Episodes 1 & 2: Recap & Ending Explained: Created by Paul Rutman, “Criminal Record” is the new crime thriller miniseries streaming on Apple TV+. Starring Cush Jumbo & Peter Capaldi in the lead roles, it follows two police detectives who cross paths because of a decade-old murder conviction case. The first two episodes, which just arrived on the platform, offer a grim look into the present time Britain and complications related to race and institutional corruption. This premiere introduces its central characters and offers us a few insights into their personal connection to the said case. Besides Jumbo & Capaldi, the cast of “Criminal Record” includes Dionne Brown, Tom Moutchi, Aysha Kala, Cathy Tyson, and Ian Bonar. Spoilers ahead.
Criminal Record Episodes 1 & 2 Recap:
What is ‘Criminal Record’ on Apple TV+ about?
“Criminal Record” is a new crime thriller on Apple TV+ that shows two police detectives cross paths in connection with an old murder conviction case. The story begins with an anonymous phone call from a woman who tries to alert the police about a grave danger to her life from a man. She indicates that this man is connected to a decade-old case where someone else went to jail on assault charges. DS June Lenker (Cush Jumbo), who finishes over a year and a half in the CID, decides to pursue this case. However, DCI Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi) tries to stop her in every possible way.
Episode 1: Emergency Caller
We meet Hegarty as a chauffeur as he drives a couple to their desired location. The couple is surprised after learning that their driver is a police officer. Despite their curiosity, Hegarty does not reveal why he chooses to do this extra gig. Still, he entertains them by sharing a story he witnessed during his work. He talks about a man who was robbed and then left alone in his house, chained to his chair. Only a few days later, his neighbors realized that he died. The story shocks the couple and serves the purpose.
Around the same time, a woman enters a phone booth and places a call to the police helpline. Police phone operator Jasmine Peters (Chizzy Akudolu) receives the call and hears about her concern. The woman in the phone booth seems concerned about a threat to her life from her abusive partner. Jasmine tries to learn who and where she is. However, the woman does not share any personal details. Instead, she mentions that her partner threatened to murder her the same way he did his ex years ago. She notes that another person was prosecuted for that murder before abruptly leaving the conversation.
Later, Jasmine informs June about the call. June intercepts the location and watches the footage. She also learns the allegations the woman made in connection to an old case. So, she goes up to DCI Roy Chambers (Ian Bonar) to speak about it. Roy tries to throw the matter under the rug. Regardless, since the woman spoke about a possible threat on call, they cannot just ignore her. Ian offers a solution that won’t cost them much effort. But, unlike him, June’s conscience does not let her put it to rest. So, she finds a way to dig deeper. She checks through the men who went to Whitecross prison for similar charges and finds details on Errol Mathis (Tom Moutchi).
June goes to the DCI Hegarty’s office to discuss the matter with him. Before telling her anything, he closes the door – probably to make sure no one hears what they discuss. He hears the details about the caller but tries to dismiss the woman as just someone upset at her partner. Hegarty suggests the caller is only trying to rope her partner into this case and shares the details about the murder that are easily available in the public domain. Besides, he just casually calls Errol a ‘poor person’s OJ’ – meaning a black man assaulting his white partner.
Either Hegarty does not understand the seriousness of his racist connotations or just chooses to ignore them. It irritates June. She mentions this to her white partner Leo (Stephen Campbell Moore), who makes her feel like she is wrong. He implies that she is trying to find something immoral when there’s nothing. Although June does not say much then, it makes her question their own marriage since Leo can choose to ignore racial prejudice because of being white. Meanwhile, Hegarty tells Roy to do anything to stop June from digging into the murder case any further.
The next day, at the station, June cannot log into her account. Moments later, she learns that it has to do something with the Professional Standards Division. June suspects that Hegarty pulled the strings to stop her progress in the case. Still, she goes to meet Sonya Singh (Ausha Kala), who worked on Errol’s case after his mother Doris (Cathy Tyson) reached out to her. Through her, June learns some crucial details about the final verdict – the bite marks on the victim’s body do not match Errol’s sample. Still, Errol testified, saying he murdered Adelaide.
This discussion makes June believe strongly in a racially prejudiced motive behind the conviction. During her covert investigation, she learns that Errol’s son – Patrick testified to have heard sounds behind a door, which solidified the case against Errol. After the verdict, Patrick grew distant from his father. In the present, Jasmine receives another call from a distressed woman who mentions that her name is Maria. She firmly believes that Maria is the one who called her before. So, she informs June and patches the call to her.
June realizes that there’s a threat to Maria’s life and rushes to save her. However, before she can reach the apartment, the man throws Maria from the 9th floor. June notices paint marks and some injuries on Maria. Unfortunately, the fall leads to Maria’s death.
Episode 2: Two Calls
After checking on Maria’s pulse, June enters the lift and reaches the 9th floor. She enters the suspected apartment and finds signs of damage. Suddenly, she notices a white man in her back. She follows him to the lift and gets inside. While she tries to fight him, he grabs and assaults her. Later, in the hospital, Roy informs her that the man who ran away is Clive Silcox (Andrew Brooke). She checks his past criminal record to learn that he has a history of committing sexual assaults. So, she hopes to pursue this man – not just for Maria’s murder but to prove that Errol is not guilty. Roy assures her that they will catch Clive soon.
Leo soon arrives at the hospital and shows how much he cares for June. Her son clicks a few photos of her injuries and posts them on his social media. Someone in the comments calls her ‘badass.’ Although she gets discharged from the hospital, she cannot keep her calm about the case. So, she tries to find the whereabouts of Clive. Meanwhile, Hegarty takes charge of the investigation and decides to jail Clive for murdering Maria. June stresses that Maria is the caller and hopes to investigate Clive’s connection to the previous murder.
Hegarty does not pay heed to June’s request. She returns to her car to find a racist remark spray-painted on it. In the office, June is told to do some donkey work, which she understands to be Hegarty’s way to divert her attention & silence her. She decides not to back down out of fear. Instead, she goes to meet Errol’s mother – Doris, where she works. Doris gets both defensive and angry after learning that June is a police officer. Before June leaves, Doris mentions that ‘Hegarty and all his boys’ (male police officers) kept lying and avoiding her justified pleas.
At the station, June asks her colleague – DC Chloe Summers (Dionne Brown), for help regarding the murder case. She wants to see the pathology report to check for any similarities between Maria’s murder & Adelaide’s. In her personal life, June gets frustrated over Leo for how he keeps ignoring the racial bias in her professional life. In the middle of her son’s sports match, she receives a call about Clive’s possible location. So, she walks out, drives there, and notices enough signs to solidify the suspicion. Before other officers can reach, she detects signals of possible assault. So, she rushes inside the house to find it in flames. She rescues two women and then stops Clive from running away.
Criminal Record Episode 2 Ending Explained:
After June’s brave attempt, Clive is put in jail. At the station, Chloe secretly hands over the pathology report to Maria. Before June can fully read it, Hagerty and his associate arrive in their office. He specifically asks June to attend the meeting with Roy. Then, he mentions that Clive will be imprisoned for murdering Maria. Once again, June brings up the subject of Errol Mathis and requests to investigate Clive’s connection to that murder. She also asks for a chance to speak with Clive about it. Hegarty senses that June isn’t going to back down. So, he accuses her of seeing things through the prism of racial prejudice.
It frustrates June since she realizes how Hegarty is constantly trying to silence her while hiding his own nefarious past. She ends up mentioning the details about the stab wounds without realizing that she isn’t authorized to see the report. Hegarty tries to accuse her of violating their policies. But June finds a loophole and says that she noticed those marks when she saw Maria fall on the ground. Even if that is unconvincing, Hegarty decides not to stretch it – or makes it seem like that. Soon after, he offers June a chance to speak with Clive – but under the condition that she won’t mention Adelaide Burrowes.
What happens when June interrogates Clive?
Despite the warning, June brings up the subject of Errol and Adelaide. She shows Adelaide’s photo and asks Clive how he knew her. Before he can answer anything, Hegarty’s associate pulls the plug on this interview and brings her outside the room. Right after, Roy arrives with a report that claims the two calls they received were made by different women. After hearing that, June understands that Hegarty pulled some strings to make this happen. She feels utterly helpless at the moment. Still, she decides not to back down. In the office, Chloe tells her a rumor – Hegarty had the forensic report on two calls fast-tracked. This means he may have manipulated the results for his benefit.
It makes June realize that Hegarty was just using this crisis to his advantage. Since the police officers she is supposed to trust are corrupt, she decides to work on her own. She goes to Sonya’s office and plays the recording of Maria’s call before her death. Then, they decide to work together to prove Errol is innocent in this case.
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