'Ridley's' "The Hollow Tree" Concludes with Justice Done But Families Broken

A cold case reopened, two – or more – dysfunctional families, and one murder keep Alex Ridley busy in conclusion to Ridley's second mystery of Season 2. The episode opens with David Hadderly, drinking and whining to his brother Andy that he’s a marked man; Jean Dixon, the original investigating officer when his wife Kathy disappeared, has it in for him now Kathy's body has been found, upgrading it from "missing person" to murder case. Despite his brother’s attempts to stop him, David drives off to "clear his head." 

Meanwhile, Dixon is back in the office, having reluctantly agreed to join Ridley’s team. However, she’s rediscovering her skillset and independence, and it's doing good things for her mental health. Honestly, her mental health has improved due to escaping her abusive partner, Ross Enderby, even if it's just for an eight-hour workday. Errrr... well, it would improve her mental health if she hadn't then gone home at quitting time to find Ross dead from a fracture to the skull. There are signs of a struggle, and a large knife is found under the kitchen counter. 

Jean calls Ross' death in and waits for her coworkers, finding herself now on the other side of the questions. She explains that there wouldn't be signs of a break-in since no one locks their doors in this area since there's almost never anyone around. However, she pulls out the threatening note from the end of last week and shows it to Ridley, saying she thinks she might have been the intended victim. Ridley offers to send a police car to watch the house, which she accepts. He then heads home for therapy, where his psychiatrist is pleased with his progress but not yet done with him.

(*Anyone else pretty sure Ross left that note? Because if so, Jean's a brilliant woman.)

Carol also goes home, though her issues are slightly more mundane. Jack is supposed to babysit to make up for coming home late and hanging with stoners after school. He's on time, and Carol and Geri head out to a romantic dinner. However, any chance at after-dinner activities is dashed when they arrive home and discover baby Meadow alone and Jack gone. He appears just as they panic, indignantly claiming he was only outside for a few minutes, but his mothers are past the point of accepting excuses and genuinely worried about their son smoking. 

The following day, David Hadderly is brought in and questioned about Ross' murder. He admits he was driving (drunk) near Jean’s house. But then he realized how drunk he was, wound up passed out in his car overnight, and then went to his brother’s house. He’s shown the video of someone planting the threatening note on Jean’s car and denies it was him. Ridley admits to the team that he wasn't fond of Ross and found his treatment of Jean overprotective, if not controlling. But that's put on hold, as the Territorial Army has sent over the list of those stationed around the time of Kathy's disappearance, and it turns out there's a Sergeant Andrew Hadderley on the list. 

Ridley and Carol head to visit Andy at work and conclude he has been protecting his brother all along, a theory bolstered by finding Kathy’s missing earring in David’s toolbox. Andy's wife, Lynne, reveals that her husband has been chronically unfaithful and tends to keep souvenirs of his affairs, which she's almost certain explains the earring. She tells them she also saw Andy burning evidence in the garden, including an old phone, which she salvaged and now hands over. Andy is arrested, denying everything the whole way, claiming he and Kathy were friends. 

The team then rounds up a witness who saw him walking through the woods on the night of Kathy’s murder and another who confirms the story about seeing her two days after her disappearance was a lie. Mid-interview, Darren calls to say the phone Lynne turned over is confirmed to have sent all those texts to Sam she thought were from her mother. That's when Andy breaks down, admitting he was in love with Kathy and met her near the camp that night to propose running away together. But she told him she was leaving David and taking her daughter, Sam, and he wasn't invited. The next thing he knew, his hands were around her neck, and when she was dead, he stuffed her body up the tree. 

(Did he bring a ladder for that purpose? A small crane? The logistics of this are concerning.)

David and Sam are brought in, both in tears, that Andy has agreed to plead guilty to Kathy's murder. Jean, hearing the news, tells Ridley she always thought David was the killer; she feels guilty that she hurt the family, taking little comfort in having helped bring a killer to justice. However, Andy insists he did not kill Ross, and Ridley believes him. That investigation has turned up a former girlfriend, Rebecca Haleton (Shamia Chalabi), who confirms he was an abuser. Ridley and Carol speculate whether Jean was also abused, as they've finally identified that it was Ross in the video planting the threatening note.

Confronted, Jean denies Ross was abusive or controlling, only to learn Ross put a tracker on her car, which sadly proves she was at the house the entire night of the murder. She's forced to concede she killed Ross and is arrested. Ridley visits her cell and begs her to explain. Jean admits Ross was obsessive and controlling. He wanted her to quit the case, but she remembered Sam’s distress at her mother’s disappearance, and her cop instincts kicked in and wouldn’t let her quit. After she threatened to leave him and he threw her out, she left and came back. He threatened to kill her, and she pushed him away. He lost his balance and hit his head, falling on the coffee table. 

Wendy confirms the knife only has Ross and Molly's DNA on it, proving Jean never threatened him with it. Ridley calls Molly, agreeing to meet at "her mother's thinking place." (in real life Hartshead Pike on high ground outside Manchester, a nineteenth-century reconstruction of a medieval beacon signaling station). At first, Ross seemed perfect, but then he started telling lies about her to divide her from her mother. But when she found his profile on dating apps, she lost it and started an account as “Mia” to catfish him, showing up at the house when he invited "Mia" over. In the fight that followed, he grabbed the knife, they struggled, and Molly pushed him, causing him to fall onto the table. 

That was the scene Jean returned home to after being thrown out. She immediately sent Molly home and concocted the story to protect her. Ridley takes Molly to the police station, where mother and daughter embrace. Molly will be charged but will almost certainly receive a reduced sentence when all the evidence is revealed. Ridley visits Annie at the jazz club and tells her he’s accepted Harry’s offer of financial help. Annie is pleased and surprised. What made him change his mind?  “You reminded me how much you love this place and how precious you are to me.” (Awwww!)

Jean invites Ridley to visit, and the two proceed to settle their differences. She's facing a charge of perverting the course of justice, but Ridley understands her need to protect her daughter and admits he would have done the same; he promises to stand by them when the trial comes.

Ridley Season 2 continues with new episodes on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. PBS Passport members will have access to all episodes of Ridley Season 2 to watch as a binge (or as initially intended, i.e., as four two-hour-long episodes). As always, check your local listings and streamers.