Money Changes Everything in ‘Guilt’s Penultimate Episode

If Guilt proves one thing, it’s that the Brothers McCall are hard to kill. It’s the third episode of the final season, and once again, Max and Jake escape with their lives, Max having talked Teddy into joining forces. Although Teddy expected Maggie to pay him for the brothers’ “murder” and be released from her employ, Maggie extends their terms. She’ll pay him in two days – after the bank deal goes through and she gets her cut from Sturrock. In the meantime, Maggie sends him to spy on Aliza, and Teddy gets photos of the bank documents, which he shows to Max. The connection isn’t yet clear, but if Maggie is interested in Aliza, Max reasons they should be too.

Kenny splits off from the group and wants Skye to extricate herself as well, but she is committed to getting herself out of debt. In flashbacks, we learn that Skye and Danny made the plan together but didn’t expect his dealer gang to go as far as murdering Big Al (Jonathan Watson). (They finally named the character!) In the present day, Skye and Danny plot to take Maggie’s money and run away together – because their first plan went so well. Looks like this is a romance, not just a friendship.

For Max’s scheme, Skye goes undercover as a maid at Aliza’s hotel. She enters the hotel’s conference room to “vacuum” as Aliza is exiting and photographs key documents from the bank deal while Aliza is at the hotel restaurant. Jake watches Aliza from a spot at the bar. When she opts to have her food sent to the conference room, Jake intercepts and tries to stall her with awkward flirtation. It buys Skye enough time to exit just as Aliza returns.

With Kenny gone and Teddy still doing Maggie’s dirty work, Max, Jake, and Skye must find temporary lodging. The trio turns up at Sheila’s (Ellie Haddington) door, who we last saw in Season 1 blackmailing the brothers about the hit and run that began this whole mess. Max says they need to stay with someone who is too crooked to go to the police, who won’t ask questions and who doesn’t have a moral bone in their body. Sheila lets them stay for £5k per night.

Max figures out that Sturrock and the Lynches are connected by studying Aliza’s paperwork and piecing it together with the money laundering he used to do for Roy. He parlays this information into a meeting with Sturrock, where the two face off, exchanging condescending repartee as the power shifts from one man to another. Max proposes surrendering his evidence, which implicates Sturrock and the national bank, and in return, he’ll collect Maggie’s cut of the bank deal. Max leaves like a puffed-up peacock; he’s sure he has Sturrock over a barrel. 

In a deep dive into the files, Aliza discovers the Bank of Scotland has no assets to back £8 billion worth of loans, and the deal is a scam for Sturrock and her boss Richard (Hari Dhillon) to make quick money and escape. With more bravado than she should, Aliza threatens Sturrock that she’ll go public unless he calls off the deal and rejects his offer to cut her in. She’s just signed her own death warrant.

Maggie (wearing one of her many fabulous coats) finds out Max is alive, and she’s quite put out. She presses Teddy for Max’s location, but he genuinely doesn’t know – the brothers are keeping their safe house a secret. Maggie then brandishes her leverage: she’s got Teddy’s father, Jim (Stewart Porter). Teddy has until that night to find the brothers. Naturally, Teddy visits Kenny’s office next. Kenny won’t give up the brothers’ location because Skye is with them. He’s prepared to take a beating, or worse, to protect Skye. Teddy closes the blinds on the office’s front windows, and Kenny prepares for the end.

Yvonne and Stevie are still investigating Maggie despite direct orders from their superiors to stop. Stevie offers to tail Maggie. Shortly thereafter, he tells Yvonne to bustle over to Aliza’s hotel, where Maggie’s goons have just been dispatched. Yvonne had been headed to Kenny’s office, but upon seeing the closed blinds, she opts to follow Stevie’s lead. Max goes to the Osprey Club to meet Sturrock and discuss the terms of their deal. To his surprise, but not ours, Maggie is there waiting for him instead. She sips her tea as Max assesses his surroundings, clocking the large henchman at the door. As always, Max tries to talk his way out of things, but Maggie won’t be manipulated.

Max is marched out the back door. Looks like it’s finally over for this smooth-talking, cocky grifter – until Stevie suddenly appears. He radios police headquarters and says he’s checking out a possible disturbance. Maggie knows it was Stevie behind the farm raid, and she’ll “get round” to him soon enough. Stevie radios again and is asked if he needs backup. Maggie tells the henchman to let Max go, and he scurries off with Stevie. Max must be a cat – how many lives is that so far?

Sturrock threatens Aliza, who won’t back down. He sends Danny and another henchman to kill her in her hotel room. Skye blocks their opportunity when she appears suddenly, still dressed as a maid. She smuggles Aliza out of the hotel inside a giant laundry cart. (What is this, Annie?) Danny follows Skye, then drives both her and Aliza to safety – in his very recognizable sports car.

Sheila bends Jake’s ear when she gets him alone. She insists Max is only interested in rewarding himself with this latest scheme. “Whatever it is he’s planning, it’s for him.” She invites Jake to join her for a drink and consider a future without Max. Haddington as Sheila is strong, fierce, and fascinating.

Max and Jake discuss the hit and run as Jake peers out from Sheila’s house at the road where it happened. Jake can only think about that night, while Max just sees a road. Jake is remorseful when literally facing his past, but Max is still guilt-free. Max begrudgingly admits he wasn’t going to split the money with Jake in Chicago. “Because you had Angie. You had something real.” He felt like he needed it more than his brother; he doesn’t feel that way anymore. 

After paying Kenny, Skye, and Sheila, he pledges to split the money with Jake. (He fails to mention Teddy. That probably won’t go well.) Jake thanks his brother for not lying; Max says there’s no more time for lies.

Bits and Bobs

• Though Max has a proven history of betraying those closest to him, his promise to split the money feels like the truth.
• There is a strong sense that someone is going to die. Is it Kenny? Will it be only Kenny?
• Will Max have to sacrifice himself to save Jake? I’m just saying someone’s definitely dying in the finale.

Don’t miss Guilt’s final episode, airing Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Prime Video Channel. All four episodes are available to stream for members on PBS Passport. As always, check your local listings.