DISCLAIMER: This recap of Criminal Record Season 1 Episode 1, “Emergency Caller,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
What do you get when you put Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo in a room? Unadulterated magic. Criminal Record was made for me. “Emergency Caller” is a high-octane, pulsating drama where the thriller elements hit hard. Whether it’s the quietly tense opening scene with Capaldi’s Dan or the white-knuckled scene where June races to save Maria, this series knows how to use said thriller elements to great effect. Plus, Capaldi and Jumbo are downright sensational in these roles. Capaldi feels more sinister here than I’ve ever seen him.
Additionally, the pilot lays out an intriguing plot while never showing too much of its hand. Instead, it leaves enough narrative breadcrumbs to keep us simultaneously sated and hungry for more.
Criminal Record cleverly addresses relevant issues such as racism and microaggressions, the corrupt justice system and misogyny in the police force. It feels fully realized and grounded in reality.
Ready to delve into “Emergency Caller”? Let’s get to it.
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Side Job
We open with DCI Dan Hegarty (Capaldi) working his side job — chauffeuring around London. He’s driving a couple to their destination. They strike up a conversation with him. He informs them of his long-time job as a detective. They ask if he’s seen any corpses during his years of service.
Dan tells them about a case from Christmas 2004-2005 when one man was the victim of a robbery. Afraid he’d report them, the robbers bound the man to a chair. Unfortunately, he never broke free of his restraints, and he died there. There’s something rather tense about this opening scene. I kept thinking Dan would either arrest the couple or kill them. That’s thanks in part to Capaldi’s gripping yet subtle performance.
Next, Dan drives by a phone booth. We see one woman enter it. She calls the emergency services, asking to speak to a police officer. She refuses to disclose her name.
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On the Case
The following morning, DS June Lenker (Jumbo) arrives at work to start her day. She’s on the phone with her mom, Maureen (Zoë Wanamaker), who insists that a van parked outside her flat is watching her. Based on June’s tone, this isn’t the first time her mother has pulled this stunt. The camera lingers on a photo of June’s father, showing that he’s no longer with us. June listens as her mom rattles off the van’s license plate number.
Once at her desk, June looks up said license plate number in the system. Sure enough, she finds the vehicle in question. However, her quest is derailed by a new case. June listens to the anonymous caller from the night before. Jasmine (Chizzy Akudolu), who answers the emergency caller, guides the woman through the conversation.
She still won’t reveal her or her boyfriend’s name, but she tells Jasmine that he’s harmed her and has threatened to kill her. He stabbed her with the same knife he used to commit another murder. He admitted to killing one woman years ago. Unfortunately, a wrongfully convicted man is serving a 24-year sentence for this crime. Jasmine sends some officers to retrieve this woman after pinpointing her location. She calmly urges said woman to stay put. Unfortunately, the authorities arrive right after she vanishes. We hear a banging noise, her screams and then … poof. We see the phone dangling off the receiver.
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Mystery Woman
Next, June pulls up footage of the woman walking down a street, presumably fleeing the phone box. She removes her hood at one point. June zooms in on her and prints out photos in a bid to identify her. Then, she video chats with Jasmine. June compliments Jasmine on how she handled the emergency caller. She asks Jasmine if she believes the woman’s allegations of wrongful conviction for the man in prison. Was her boyfriend the real murderer? Jasmine is somewhat incredulous. However, June spent enough time working in domestic violence to know this woman’s telling the truth.
Jasmine informs June that she heard the woman mutter a Portuguese word before their conversation ended. June pulls up prison records, printing out a list of men currently serving time behind bars for murder. She lands on Errol Mathis, a man convicted of killing Adelaide Burrowes in 2012. June chats with her boss, DCI Roy Chambers (Ian Bonar). She discloses her findings and wants to reopen the Adelaide Burrowes case. There’s a chance that her killer still stalks the streets and intends to strike again on this poor woman.
Drop a Line
When June states her intention of meeting with Dan Hegarty, the senior investigating officer spearheading the investigation back then, Chambers tries to persuade her to “drop a line.” Send him an email instead of showing up in person. After her meeting, she offers to take witness statements from Chloe (Dionne Brown) to Hackney Downs, insisting she’s heading there anyway. Thus, June does the opposite of what she’s told (as she should) and winds up in Hackney Downs to chat with Dan.
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Dan emits a peculiar energy during his discussion with June. He’s trying to throw her off the scent of this case. He asks June if she got a statement from the caller, but June says it was anonymous. However, said caller got specific details correct from the Errol Mathis case. Dan refers to Errol as the “poor man’s O.J.,” which reeks of racism. Of course, June picks up on it. Dan attempts to subtly belittle June by asking her how many years she’s worked in the criminal investigation department before asking for tea.
Then, he writes this woman’s boyfriend off as a “fan” of Errol Mathis. After all, certain details regarding the case were made public. Plus, June doesn’t know this woman or her boyfriend’s name. What if it was a prank call? After providing a laundry list of reasons why June shouldn’t reopen the Mathis case, Dan tells her that she should’ve “dropped a line” instead. Emails work best. Ouch. Side note: Capaldi is brilliant in this scene. Blistering, even.
Not Stopping There
Next, we see Dan ruminate on the Mathis case as flashbacks of Errol (Tom Moutchi) leaving a flat with Adelaide’s son Patrick play out. According to Dan, Patrick overheard Errol murdering his mother. Meanwhile, June places a card in the phone booth with the East London Police number. That evening, we see Dan on the phone with someone, urging them to watch their back (he remarks about June being young, too) before slipping into an unknown, seedy-looking establishment. Dan has secrets, y’all. He’s well aware that he put an innocent man in prison.
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At home, June chats with her partner, Leo (Stephen Campbell Moore), about her meeting with Dan. She mentions his remark about Errol being a “poor man’s O.J.,” but Leo doesn’t think said remark makes Dan racist. Oh, and Leo’s a psychiatrist, so he tries to psychoanalyze June by telling her she always jumps to conclusions with people—a bit of gaslighting for ya. June embraces Leo and apologizes. Afterward, Chloe calls June to reveal she has yet to locate the emergency caller, even after checking various women’s shelters.
Later, we see Dan arrive home with a dog. He covers up a young woman sleeping on his couch — presumably his daughter or niece. The following morning, June arrives at work to discover she can’t log into the system. She’s been denied access. Chambers calls June into his office, where she meets DI Markham (Carolina Main) from the Professional Standards Department. They’ve selected June as someone they will audit to ensure there’s no suspicious behavior afoot. Markham claims it’s random, but June doesn’t buy it for a second. Dan utilized his vast connections to impede her from reopening the Mathis case.
Finding an Ally
June doesn’t let this setback deter her from her mission. She meets with Sonya Singh (Aysha Kala), where she claims they’ve (her bosses) asked her to “update the file” as part of a Best Practice Review. Sonya reveals she knew Adelaide Burrowes and that Errol Mathis was her “lost cause.” The pair go out for lunch, where June looks over files from the Mathis case. Sonya doesn’t believe Errol did it. There’s evidence that the bite marks on Adelaide don’t match Errol’s teeth. However, Errol confessed to the murder anyway.
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Sonya asks June why she’s really meeting with her. She doesn’t buy the “Best Practice Review” lie. Sonya informs June about Dan’s crew, The Sixty-Twos, with participants including Tony Gilfoyle and Kim Cardwell. Sonya believes there’s an agenda at play, and The Sixty-Twos were established to eradicate any evidence of police corruption. She asks June if she’s going to help them bring Adelaide’s real killer to justice. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Patrick
Later, we learn that Patrick, Adelaide’s son, had an understandably difficult time in the wake of his mom’s murder. We see present-day Patrick (Rasaq Kukoyi) with his girlfriend, Lisa (Maisie Ayres). She helps him with his tie. He’s heading into his first day at a restaurant. He aims to impress with his dress. Outside, he runs into Doris Mathis (Cathy Tyson), Errol’s mother and, presumably, his grandmother. She begs him to speak with Errol. We see Errol sitting in his cell with a phone, hoping Patrick says something. Instead, Patrick hangs up on him.
We see a more detailed flashback featuring Errol swooping in to scoop up young Patrick. The boy sees his mother dead on the floor. Errol is covered in blood. He puts Patrick in the car before speeding away. At one point, we see another vehicle strike them on the side. It’s a tense moment, to be sure.
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Meanwhile, June listens to Errol’s taped confession, which Dan seems to coax out of him. At the same time, Patrick arrives at the restaurant for his first day. His boss orders him to change into something more appropriate since he’s part of the back-of-house staff. While chopping onions, Patrick experiences flashbacks of his mom’s murder. He winds up cutting his hand. Elsewhere, Dan hangs out with Tony Gilfoyle (Charlie Creed-Miles), whom he urges to lay low and watch his back. It’s the same message he told Kim on the phone. Tony reminds Dan that he always minds his own business. He’ll be fine.
Saving a Life
Then, while driving, June gets a call from Markham regarding their investigation. She claims they found some “interesting details” about June that she’d like to discuss in person. However, June notices an unidentified number is calling her, so she puts Markham on hold. Jasmine informs June that she has an anonymous caller on the other end. Could this person be the woman from before?
We learn her name is Maria De Souza. Jasmine connects Maria to June. Tearfully, Maria reveals she’s trapped in the bathroom, trying to get away from her boyfriend, who’s on a rampage. June calmly walks her through everything, asking if she has house keys or anything she can use as a weapon.
Maria replies that she has keys. June urges her to shove them into her boyfriend’s face when he opens the door and then run. Maria’s on the ninth floor, so climbing outside is not an option. June calls for backup to arrive at Maria’s complex. She urges Maria to stay on the line. However, when the call cuts out, June panics, racing toward Maria’s flat. As June runs into the building, she sees a body fall from the sky. Unfortunately, Maria jumped to her death. June reaches out to other officers, informing them that a dangerous killer is on the loose. June heads up to the ninth floor to confront the man. Who knows what (or who) she might find…
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Do you think Errol Mathis is innocent? Will June find Maria’s boyfriend in the next episode? What else is Dan hiding? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Criminal Record streams new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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