Old Suspects Fade & New Ones Arise in 'I, Jack Wright's "A Tougher Love"

Jack Wright (Trevor Eve) is dead as a doornail, but despite it looking like suicide, that turned out all to be window dressing. Someone murdered the family patriarch in cold blood and made it look like he took his own life, either because they believed they stood to inherit when he died, or because they knew a new will had been created that changed everything. It took the cops a bit of time to get around to calling it murder, but now that everyone is here, it's time to figure out whodunit.

The detectives have their work cut out for them in I, Jack Wright’s third episode. They have access to Jack’s laptop and have been reviewing his email history and calendar, attempting to reconstruct a timeline that begins on August 4, the day he fired his old lawyer and initiated the process of changing his will. As they continue to comb through Jack’s email history, they begin to wonder, was Jack planning to change his will again, and, if so, who wouldn’t have wanted him to do that?

We've removed those who are obvious innocents, either from lack of motive or lack of screen time, so let’s take a look at where the prime suspects now stand:

So it turns out poor Rose was deeply in love with Jack, even though he cheated on her and treated her terribly. “I married him when he didn’t have a pot to piss in,” she tells Sally.  While getting chemotherapy treatment, she tells another (much younger) patient that even though Jack cheated on her relentlessly and broke her heart, he was a “tough act to follow.” All that changed when Rose met Bobby. 

Rose’s cancer is Stage 4 and, as she tells her son Gray, “there is no Stage 5.” Rose seems to be genuinely grieving Jack. But then again, it’s always the ones you least suspect. 

Gray continues to be just awful. Leaving no stone unturned, he goes to his mother, brother, and daughter in search of money. They all turn him down. Emily almost believes Gray when he meets her for lunch and tells her he knows he was a bad father and that he’s sorting out his substance issues. But moments later, he pours himself a big glass of red wine and asks Emily for money. When she refuses, he snidely asks her, “Nice motor your friends got . . . Does Kyle like cars?” letting her know that he’s seen her in the car with Reuben. She responds with a succinct, “Fuck you.” He also decides to call in an anonymous tip to the police, telling them that they need to “check out the granddaughter’s boyfriend.” 

Rose wonders how old Gray will be before he stops blaming his parents for all his problems. She cites that it’s time for “a tougher love” when she turns down Gray’s request for money. Oh, and when she tells Gray how sick she is, his response is “What did I do to deserve this?” That’s right, he manages to make his mother’s cancer all about him. Before he leaves his mother’s house, he steals one of her rings and sells it to a pawn shop for £9,000. So he’s a real winner, that Gray.

Gray’s other problem is that, in the last episode, he stole £10,000 from his girlfriend Bella by transferring the money from her account to his account. She’s threatening to call the police if he doesn’t return the money soon. 

Even with all of this, Gray doesn’t seem like the murderer. For one thing, I just don’t think he could successfully pull it off. Furthermore, in the flash-forwards to the future, a much healthier-looking Gray appears to be in a brand-new recording studio. 

So, Emily is enjoying a little afternoon (and evening and morning) delight with Reuben when, unbeknownst to her, her fiancé, Kyle, decides to pay her a surprise visit. Reuben gets out just in time, but Kyle can sense something is not right and wonders if he shouldn’t have come and if they are over. “I genuinely promise I am so happy you are here,” Emily lies. Why doesn’t she just break up with Kyle? Yes, they are in business together, but it seems like her ties to him are more than that. 

Emily has a really nice relationship with Sally, Josh, and Daisy. “I’m sorry we are where we are. I hope you know none of this is personal,” she tells Sally. However, it is somewhat personal since Emily is keeping them from all of Jack’s money.

Based on Gray’s phone tip to the police, DC Jones looks into Reuben and discovers he not only has three drug convictions but also did a year for an assault charge. Jack has an entry in his calendar that says “Phoenix Rising, 7:30.” There’s a pub with the same name where Reuben’s car is registered. DCI Morgan goes to the bar, and the manager recognizes Reuben immediately. 

“Everywhere you look, every single direction you see another fucked up son, daughter or wife who you knew were capable of anything, absolutely anything and then you looked in the mirror,” he says ominously as the third episode comes to an end. Reuben also appears to be interviewed from prison, but he also still feels too obvious.  

Sally goes to Rose to get permission for Jack’s autopsy. “I just feel like Josh needs an explanation.” Sally, we learn, is a successful corporate lawyer in Paris. DCI Morgan and Jones also note that Sally has been photographed numerous times with Arnaud Tissier, the mysterious Frenchman Sally was talking to in the last episode.

She is successful in getting Jack’s body exhumed, and her lawyer calls her with the “good news” that Jack’s brain “did indeed show early signs of dementia.” 

New Suspect Alert!

Arnaud is a self-described “dull financier.” But when Arnaud was 17, he got into a bar fight that resulted in him doing 13 years in prison for murder. “Should I get a lawyer?” Arnaud wonders when Sally tells him the police are asking for an alibi from everyone for the day of Jack’s murder. Arnaud, I don’t know you that well, but I think you should definitely get a lawyer. 

Poor John just wants a friend and feels like he’s found one in Emily. “I’m most grateful for that friendly ear you offered,” he tells her. “It feels rather lonely at the top.” To Emily, John is the father she never had, and to John, Emily is the daughter he wishes he had. 

His idea is for them to join forces in business while the lawsuit rages on around them. Additionally, Emily actually understands the industry and offers John a valuable tip, which helps him on an upcoming deal. “Wolf of Wall Street me,” he gleefully says when he makes a lowball offer. He is thrilled when their deal gets accepted. “Here we are in the shadow of death, and I’m not sure I can remember feeling ever more alive,” he tells Emily when they go out for drinks to celebrate. 

However, we also learn that John was aware that his father was changing his will. He had seen a marked-up copy of the original will on Jack’s desk. Unfortunately, he also tells his wife, Georgia, about this, which, in hindsight, he realizes was a mistake. “To be honest with you, these days I don’t really believe a word she says,” he tells the detectives. 

When the police question Georgia and John, they both claim they were home all day the day Jack died. Georgia has a tendency to speak for her husband, often trying to control the narrative. “Would you mind letting your husband answer, please?” DCI Morgan says. Once the police leave, John asks her, “So where were you actually, the day he died?”

Georgia doesn’t want Emily and John working together since, you know, they are going to be suing her. Before Jack’s death, Georgia went to a lawyer and asked him if there was any way to prevent a person from making changes to a will. When the lawyer suggested she ask her father-in-law directly, she fired him. 

“Everyone always thought John was so nice, except they didn’t know him, did they?” Georgia, who also seems to be talking from prison, says in her present-day interview.  

Georgia certainly seems like one of the leading candidates to be revealed as the murderer. “Oh, it made perfect sense when we found out who Georgia really was,” Sally says ominously in her interview. 

Still missing. Will she show up at all, or will this be like Waiting for Godot? “Nobody knows where she is. Jack hasn’t had contact with her for years, so frankly, her opinion is irrelevant,” Sally tells her lawyer. 

I, Jack Wright continues on UKTV in the U.K. with new episodes streaming on Wednesdays, and BritBox in the U.S. with new episodes streaming on Thursdays, through the end of May 2025.