A Blast from the Past Opens a New Path in 'D.I. Ray's Investigation

Rachita cannot catch a break on D.I. Ray. She may not have ended up as more collateral damage in a blossoming gang war as we suspected at the end of last week's episode, but it's two steps back for every break she makes in the case of who murdered Frank Chapman. Whoever shot Dave Chapman and left him for dead in the abandoned gym got away before Rachita went inside without backup. She got a slap on the wrist for directly disobeying orders, but both her team and the kidnapping force let Rav Mochani (Taha Rahim) escape into Birmingham. 

Just as Rachita was questioning where to find her next lead, an offer came from the most unexpected source: her ex-fiancé Martyn Huntery (Jamie Bamber). He pleaded for Rachita to talk to him in prison but would only speak to her alone. She was initially on the fence, but when a press conference about the status of the case turned into accusations that Rachita and her team were too "woke" to find the murderer, she decided it was time to go see her ex. 

Spoiler alert: Martyn still sucks. He told Rachita that she needed to look into Lou Kirby, a co-founder of the Chapman gang who got out of a 20-year prison sentence less than a month before Frank was murdered. After giving her this crucial new tip, Martyn tried to bargain for a lesser sentence. When Rachita wouldn't budge, things turned nasty, and Martyn threw it in her face that he once asked her mom why Rachita was so emotionally unavailable and couldn't get an answer. Rachita said she used to hide her engagement ring in the glove compartment of her car before work because she was embarrassed to be engaged to him. 

Martyn threatens her by telling her overlords about her affair with Tony (Maanuv Thiara). Still, Rachita promised she'd let Lou Kirby and his associates know that Martyn had been the one to give his name, making his remaining (unabbreviated) time in prison very uncomfortable. It was apparent the encounter rattled Rachita, but we're glad to see she could serve it back to Martyn just as well as he got. 

As Rachita left the prison, the team found Rav's associate entering the girlfriend's apartment. They picked him up and used his cell phone to figure out where Rav was hiding out. He volunteered to turn himself in if he could talk to Rachita, again alone, before he was arrested. Kerry reluctantly agreed to let Rachita go in, with backup on the outside and a hostage negotiator on an earpiece to coach the inspector through talking to Rav.

Rav swore that he had nothing to do with Frank's murder, which Rachita was already starting to suspect, and that shooting Dave Chapman was in self-defense. Rachita was in the process of getting him to drop his weapon and explain how the little girl Rav was holding at his girlfriend's apartment figured into this whole mess when the armed police team barged in and shot Rav. It's unclear whether Rav is dead or just critically wounded, but it halted all process Rachita was making with him to find out why Frank Chapman would be so interested in a seven-year-old girl Rav had snuck into the country from India. 

The episode ended with Rachita leaving the scene absolutely fuming. Yes, her team has the Lou Kirby connection to investigate, but putting the pieces of this convoluted puzzle was going to be so much easier with Rav's help. Now, they have another gang member dead and are not close enough to solving this case to appease the higher-ups.

It's officially crunch time, and Rachita must start achieving real results to solve the case. However, she's being backed against a wall and does not make the best decisions when she feels like people are out to get her. The more she feels she isn't in control of the investigation, the more she starts acting out. There couldn't be a worse time for Rachita to go rogue because the Chapmans will want revenge for Dave's murder, and the Mochanis will retaliate for Rav being set up. The gang war is about to escalate to an entirely new level, and there will be no mercy for anyone, especially Rachita, if she gets caught in the crosshairs.

The team must find Lou Kirby and the second set of Frank's shooters before the entire city turns into a bloodbath as the Chapmans and Mochanis fight it out. 

D.I. Ray Season 2 will continue to air new episodes on Sundays, at 10 p.m. E.T. on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All six episodes will be available on premiere day on PBS Passport for members to stream. As always, check your local listings. Season 1 is streaming now on PBS Passport.