It’s a Dead Man Walking in the 'Patience' Penultimate Episode

The dead walk in the penultimate episode of Season 1 of Patience, “My Brother’s Keeper.” The episode uses a flash forward framing device where we start with the most outrageous scene: a body disappearing from the morgue. The corpse seems to have walked off the table rather than being stolen. The alcoholic mortician, Frank (Andy Gathergood), later lies to the police about hearing a car peel away because he was drunk and thinks no one will believe him. 

(It took me a hot second to recognize him from Professor T – what a difference hair and wardrobe can make!)

We jump back in time, precisely 9 hours and 14 minutes earlier, according to the onscreen title. The time reference doesn’t matter to the actual mystery, but it’s the sort of meticulous detail Patience would appreciate. Metcalf is anxious about Alfie’s ADHD testing, and though she reassures him there’s nothing wrong with him, she can’t bring herself to look at the eventual test results. Separately, Patience is excited but nervous about being invited to Metcalf’s birthday celebration.

Patience’s personal and professional lives converge when her support group leader and friend Billy finds out his brother Paul (Mark Quartley) died of a heart attack. She’s an especially supportive friend, staying with Billy all day and going back for Paul’s clothing when Billy forgets. While in the morgue, Patience sneaks a peek at Paul under the sheet to look for signs of a heart attack, which she doesn’t find.

She washes Paul’s clothes so Billy doesn’t have to, and when she brings them to him, we’re full circle: Billy gets a call that Paul is missing, along with the clothes Billy brought for burying him. This brings Hunter and Metcalf into the case, and when questioned, Frank confirms he’d started the embalming process on Paul. Patience asks about the embalming chemicals he used and is told activated charcoal and cognac are among the mixture. 

(She can clearly smell the cognac on him.)

Billy is beside himself, both grieving intensely but also grasping onto hope that Paul’s still alive and has resurrected like Lazarus from their family bible. He and Patience go to Paul’s apartment, only to find a new body in a pool of blood. But it’s not Paul, it’s his co-worker Sasha, who’s been stabbed but is still alive. Billy now fears his brother is the perpetrator.

The police have a theory that Paul was murdered, and then the body was taken before the autopsy to cover up the cause of death. His firm, AFT, was celebrating a court case win when Paul collapsed at the victory party. There’s a video of him there, clearly solemn while everyone else rejoices. He also served a particular box of sashimi, as directed by the company’s executive chef, Mason (Jonah Russell), which Patience notices when reviewing the footage. In her drawer, she has a new evidence tree with a sticky note reading “tetrodotoxin.”

Patience tells Metcalf she thinks Paul’s alive and stabbed Sasha, and she doesn’t trust Frank’s version of the timeline. After going to question him again, Metcalf cuffs Frank when he drunkenly flings himself across her (parked) car. When he’s sober, he tells the truth: Paul disappeared at 2:30 am, not 7:30 am, and Frank heard footsteps, not a car.

Patience has theories: she suspects Paul was given a toxic version of fugu in his sashimi by Mason, had symptoms that mimicked death, and was later revived by the activated charcoal in the embalming fluid. The answer to why Paul was targeted lies in the court case. His fiancée reveals AFT’s case was built on lies, and Paul said he could prove it. The police believe he confided in the wrong person, Sasha, and AFT tried to kill Paul because it would cost the company millions in a disrupted stock exchange.

They bring Mason in for questioning, but the interview goes bust when Mason’s lawyer sees the police have issued a public safety alert about Paul. “You’ve accused my client of murdering someone you know to be alive.”

At Billy’s, Patience discovers his apartment has been trashed. She asks what Paul entrusted to him that AFT is now looking for. Billy plays dumb, but Patience persists; Billy’s in danger since his enemies think he’s got something that can reverse the court case. She gets Billy to confess where Paul is hiding and ducks Metcalf and Hunter on her way out.

She finds Paul in a close-by but unspecified location where he’s hiding in a closet, confused and angry. It’s never fully explained, but we assume his state of mind is due to waking up in the morgue and then having to fight when Sasha tried to kill him, too. Patience gets Paul to trust her just as Mason walks in with a gun. (How did he find them?) He threatens to shoot Patience if Paul doesn’t give him the memory stick. She whimpers and cowers on the floor. Mason counts down from five as Paul screams. How can he give something he doesn’t have?

Luckily, Metcalf and Hunter show up just in time – Billy must have come clean. Metcalf shoots Mason with a taser gun, and Hunter cuffs him. Patience screams, and Metcalf comforts her, holding her while she cries and shakes. This is a significant moment where Patience accepts physical comfort and closeness.

In her machine, Patience finds Paul’s memory stick with the damning evidence about AFT, which had fallen out of the clothes she washed. The case closes offscreen: Metcalf updates DCI Baxter that Sasha admitted to searching Paul’s apartment on orders from the CEO. (Guess he’s not pressing charges for that whole Paul stabbing him thing?) They’re close to nailing Mason, having tied him to a recent shipment of fugu, and think he’ll give up the CEO by claiming coercion.

The episode ends on something of a rocky note with Patience having a mixed experience at Metcalf’s birthday. First, the high point: she runs into Elliot as he’s leaving the pub. He suggests getting coffee, and she utters her usual bit about its carcinogenic roasting process. But Elliot is undeterred and states things clearly: “I’m asking you on a date, Ms. Evans.” She’s taken aback, especially when he continues, “You do go on dates, don’t you?” She says she’ll have to think about it.

She’s a little stunned, while Metcalf is surprised but supportive. Patience gives her the birthday present she’s agonized over: a golden thimble. Hunter sees it and laughs, which deeply embarrasses Patience. Metcalf understands the gift: a thimble protects you, eases your worries about getting hurt. She says Patience makes things easier for her as well, but Patience still leaves upset. Two steps forward, one step back.

Patience Season 1 continues on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS, the PBS App, PBS Passport, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All six episodes are available for members to stream on PBS Passport starting from premiere day.