Something evil has come to London in Netflix and Tom Bidwell‘s crime drama The Irregulars. Based loosely on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, the series follows a band of misfits as they investigate supernatural crimes. In the previous episode, Bea (Thaddea Graham) uncovers the connection between Sherlock (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), Watson (Royce Pierreson), Alice (Eileen O’Higgins) and the Rip. In episode six, “Chapter Six: Hieracium Snowdoniense”, Bea suspects the collector is back and Jessie (Darci Shaw) approaches Sherlock about her nightmares.
It goes without saying that this recap will contain spoilers for The Irregulars. If you haven’t watched it, I highly suggest checking out the series here!
“Chapter Six: Hieracium Snowdoniense” opens with Bea and Leopold (Harrison Osterfield) discussing the night before while following Watson to a hospital. He storms out of the building, clearly angry about something. When they investigate, they find people missing different body parts that were there the day before and miraculously completely healed. Bea realizes that Watson must be angry because the collector, the last case Sherlock, Alice and Watson worked on but never solved, must be back.
Bea and Leo return to the cellar to update Jessie, Spike (Mckell David) and Billy (Jojo Macari) on the case. They think that someone is trying to build a person using parts from random people. Billy doesn’t seem to understand why they should be focused on this when there are hundreds of other monsters to deal with. Bea reminds him that Watson is interested in it and they are interested in Watson. Billy still thinks that this will get them no closer to finding the Rip. In fact, the only way they know is through Jessie. Spike suggests Jessie try again, but she doesn’t want to. The discussion gets a bit heated with everyone blaming someone else.
Finally, Spike tries to calm everyone down and asks Bea what she knows about the collector. They only have one name to go off of – Edith Dubios. Spike tells Leopold to get her address and when he gets back, they will all go together. But Billy has better things to do and tells them to deal with it and then storms out. Bea follows him out as Jessie decides she isn’t going. Spike tries to figure out what’s wrong with her, but she’s angry he would even mention the idea of her going back into her nightmares.
Bea chases Billy down on the street to try and figure out what’s going on with him. Bea tells him that Spike told him about his run-in with Vic Collins (Alex Ferns). Billy opens up to Bea about what Vic said and that he went to check the records himself and found out he wasn’t lying. He wants to hurt him for everything he has done to them – to Bea. But Bea reminds him that it wasn’t his fault. He shouldn’t throw his life away over someone who doesn’t deserve it. It looks like Bea is finally able to get through to him and convince him that Vic isn’t worth it.
Leopold heads out to find the address when he spots someone from the royal palace questioning people in the street. He turns around and dips into the Duck and Quiver to avoid being seen but comes face to face with Daimler (Edward Hogg). Leopold has no intention of going back to the palace, but Daimler warns him that once his friends know he is the Prince and England, they won’t take so kindly to him. Leopold realizes that Daimler hasn’t told his mother that he has left and uses that as leverage against him. He warns him that he will tell her everything and have him fired if he even lays a hand on him and then storms out.
Sherlock returns home to 221B. Instead of finding Watson home, he finds Jessie. Reluctantly Jessie is turning to Sherlock in need of help. Billy, Spike, Bea and Leopold arrive at Edith Dubois’s home to find it broken into, which Bea suspects to have been Watson. From the looks of it, he completely ransacked the place. Billy eventually finds what Watson was looking for – Edith’s diary. Inside it talks about how her husband’s disease was eating away at his body parts and she planned to rebuild him. Bea knows where to find Edith and points out that Watson must be desperate to find her and they need to figure out why.
On the way to find Edith, Bea tells Leopold that she is worried that one of these times, they won’t make it back alive. He tells her that she can turn back at any time, but Bea knows that isn’t possible. She does share that she is glad he is by her side through this. That with him, she is less afraid. He feels the same way and the two share a kiss.
Back at 221B, Sherlock tries to impart some fatherly advice onto Jessie about swearing, but she doesn’t want to hear it. She just needs him to help breakdown her nightmares. Jessie explains to him everything she has experienced and seen. She describes the tunnels and caverns filled with dead bodies and the dark creatures coming after her. Sherlock recognizes them as plague doctors from the Black Plague and does a bit of digging and believes they should be looking for a plague pit.
At the Royal Botanical Gardens, Bea, Leopold, Spike and Billy find a building they saw in the pictures at her house. As they approach, they spot a tied-up dog. Inside they come across Edith (Anna Maxwell Martin), who is currently piecing her husband (Tom Godwin) back together. She realizes that someone is there when she hears the door quietly shut behind her. Edith wants to know what punishment they have in mind for her. Bea tells her it’s all over and oddly, Edith agrees. But they have two different ideas of what “over” is. Bea thinks she has caught the collector, but Edith is already done all the collecting she needs.
Edith is finally ready to awaken her husband from his coma. She has created him to be strong and threatens that he won’t take kindly to them threatening her. Bea swears she won’t get away with it, but Edith believes what she is doing is right. She didn’t take anything that people need and took the parts from 30 different people and allowed them to live instead of killing just a few. She believes that because her husband was a surgeon and saved people, he didn’t deserve to become sick and suffer. Edith injects her husband with the serum to wake him up before they can stop her, but after a few moments, he collapses and dies.
Jessie and Sherlock continue arguing about her nightmares. He thinks she should just visit every plague pit in and around London and see if she senses anything, but Jessie knows they don’t have time for that. She remembers that the voices were whispering the phase ‘circles’ in her nightmares, but Sherlock isn’t interested in helping her anymore. Jessie breaks down and confides in Sherlock that she is terrified of her nightmares. He understands and remembers what Alice went through. Wanting to help her, he suggests they check the London Library, which has a plague pit underneath and a room called the Circle Room.
Back at the greenhouse building, Edith doesn’t understand how things failed. Bea asks her to tell them what she knows about Watson and the Rip in exchange for her freedom. Spike and Billy aren’t okay with Bea’s plan, but she doesn’t care. Edith realizes that they hate him just as much as she does. She thought they were here to save him. Confused, they find him tied up in one of the closets.
Jessie and Sherlock arrive at the library to investigate his theory. Sherlock thanks Jessie for coming to him. It reminds him of the old times. He tells her to cherish the bonds she has made through all of this because they don’t last forever. They reach the Circle Room, but neither can sense anything. Sherlock thinks that something is wrong with his compass. There is no way he can be wrong. But Jessie knows it isn’t here and Sherlock angrily storms off.
“Chapter Six: Hieracium Snowdonense” jumps back to the greenhouse where Spike, Billy and Leopold want to untie Watson but Bea tells them not to. She tells Edith her offer still stands – information on Watson for her freedom. Of course, Edith agrees. In a flashback, Sherlock hosts an event for the occult when Edith arrives at 221B and speaks with Watson. She thinks she has found a way to reach out to the other side and wants Sherlock to look into it. Intrigued, Watson continues to question her. It turns out Edith found a relic that can be used to reach out to the other side.
Watson visits Edith and her husband at home to investigate further. Upon seeing the relic, Watson decides to take it and test it. Edith isn’t okay with this at first, but he reminds her that she sought them out. That they are the professionals and allow him to study and uncover the relic’s secrets. She warns him that in all her research, only bad things came from using the relic. He promises to be in touch with her, but as we learn from present-day Edith, this never happened.
In another flashback, we watch Watson arrive at the gallows, open the case and recite an incantation. In his eyes, we watch as the Rip forms in front of him. Present-day Edith explains that a few weeks later, as her husband grew ever closer to death, she used a spirit board to reach out. This time though, something had changed and the power from the Rip infused her with her own powers. She could now understand plants on a molecular level. She chose to put her husband in a coma to buy her the time to collect the parts and rebuild him.
The flashbacks continue and we now see Watson visit Edith a few months after the Rip was opened. He knows what she has been up to and explains that Sherlock was able to uncover the Snowdonia Hawkweed. But she was prepared for this. She tells Watson to go back to Sherlock and tell him he was wrong or she was going to uncover his secrets. She knows he used the relic to try to contact the dead and, in turn, blew a hole in the side of the universe.
Bea begins to piece things together and realizes that Watson is the reason her mother is dead. He opened the first Rip and then pretended to go along on this adventure with Sherlock and Alice. He explains that he was trying to find another way to close the Rip. That he didn’t want her mother to get hurt and knew he needed time. Watson swears to Bea that this time around, it wasn’t him. After everything happened the first time, he took the relic and threw it into the Thames. As Bea is about ready to storm out, Edith tells everyone to stay where they are, or she will kill them all.
Back on Baker Street, Jessie asks Sherlock why they can’t keep looking. He tells her that he doesn’t want to help her and continue to be humiliated because he isn’t who he used to be. Whoever he was is gone and that side of him is never coming back. She tells him that he is just afraid and he finds that extremely funny. Sherlock believes if anyone is holding back because they are afraid it is her. Jessie has all the answers inside her head but is too afraid to venture further into her nightmares.
Sherlock tells her that the city is falling into chaos and if she was had even an ounce of bravery, she could save them all. Jessie tells him that she didn’t need him to be brilliant. She didn’t need the incredibly smart Sherlock Holmes. She just needed him to fight with her. This strikes home with Sherlock as this is something that Alice has said to him. But before he can change his mind, a gunshot rings out and draws Jessie’s attention. He tells her it isn’t safe and should get off the streets before shutting the door behind him.
At the greenhouse, Bea reminds Edith that they had a deal. But Edith knows they were lying; they would have never let her go. She reveals that the only reason she kept Watson alive was if her husband needed a new heart or organ that required someone to die for. Just before Edith is about the drop the vial of poison, her husband comes back to life. She quickly puts the vial away and goes to his side. But her husband isn’t happy that she caused him to suffer instead of letting her die and kills her.
The gang decides it isn’t safe to stay there any longer. Watson begs Bea to untie him and not leave him behind. After a moment of contemplation, she decides to save Watson’s life. They successfully get him untied and make a break for it. Bea stops for a moment and the man tells her to leave instead of trying to attack her. After everyone is out safely, he drinks the vial’s contents and dies along with his wife.
Jessie has made her way back into the Linen Man’s (Clarke Peters) world. He tells her that he is just a few hours away from London. Jessie confides in him that Sherlock felt more connected with Watson and Alice while working on the cases, but she doesn’t feel the same way about her friends. They are trying to force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. The Linen Man explains that they just don’t understand her anymore. But Jessie believes that Bea understands that she has changed and that she still sides with her.
Back at the Duck and Quiver, Bea is frustrated that they are now out of leads. They had been banking on Watson knowing something, but he has nothing to do with this new one. After everything they have been through, there is nothing to show for it. But, she isn’t ready to give up yet. She knows there is still another way. We then see Bea return to the cellar in search of Jessie. But instead of finding her, she finds Daimler instead. He tells her he has some very interesting information for her.
Up on the street, Spike and Billy are chatting about the increase in monsters and how London has grown quiet. Billy apologizes for how he has been acting and how he was with Spike but promises he is all better now. Spike steps away for a second and Billy starts to pace the street when Vic Collins starts following him. Leopold returns to the cellar to find Bea going through his things. She tells him that he has five seconds to tell him who he is.
The scene then flashes back to Billy as Vic is trying to pick a fight with him. He accuses Billy of going to the workhouse and causing trouble by telling them about who Vic really is. Vic believes that if Billy really has a problem, he should have come to him like a man. Billy tells him he isn’t going to fight him, but Vic has other plans and starts beating him. Down in the cellar, we see Bea and Leopold fighting. She is angry that he wasn’t honest from the beginning and put them all in danger. He tries to say that if he had told them, they wouldn’t have let him get close, but she argues not to make it their fault.
Leopold tries to explain that he never had anyone. No friends or those he would consider close. He wanted to be apart of what they had. But Bea feels betrayed. She let him in, told him things and shared the most intimate of moments and he lied to her. She tells him to leave and that she never wants to see him again. The scene then flashes back to Billy again, who is trying to resist a fight with Vic. He taunts Billy, telling him that he made him a man and demands that he fight him just like he was taught. Billy finally has enough and hits him a few times before Vic falls into a pile of bricks and dies. Billy looks terrified at what he did as the people around him call for the police.
Back at the cellar, Jessie has returned to find Bea waiting for her. She tells her about her day with Sherlock and explains that he wasn’t interested in helping her. Jessie tells Bea that Sherlock called her a coward for not venturing into her nightmares. And Bea kind of agrees. Not that Jessie is a coward, but that if she would just go back into her nightmares, then she can help stop everything that has been happening. She explains that neither Watson nor Sherlock can help and that Jessie is the only one. Understandably, Jessie is angered and feels betrayed by this. She tells Bea that the Linen Man was right and no one will ever understand her.
We then get a few scenes back to back showing everyone separated and on their own. Sherlock is at 221B about to use again before changing his mind; Leopold returns to the palace feeling defeated, Bea is in the cellar by herself, Spike was left alone in the bar after everyone left and Billy is in a jail cell. We finally settle on Jessie, who has made her way to the docks where the Linen Man arrived. But something is off and all the people are dead. She also sees the boat that was in her mind has run ashore.
She finds the Linen Man, who starts questioning her about where the Rip was located. Jessie explains that she knows it is at a plague pit but doesn’t know exactly which one. He tells her that she is too weak and too scared. All she needed to do was dive a little bit deeper. Now that he is here, though, he can take care of everything. Jessie tells him together, they can find and close the Rip, but he has other plans and doesn’t want to close the Rip. He removes the enchantment he placed on her wrist and forces her back into her nightmares. This is where “Chapter Six: Hieracium Snowdoniense” comes to a close.
Oh man, I really needed a moment after this one. Up until this point, The Irregulars has been steamrolling forward and each episode gets the gang one step closer to their ultimate goal of closing the Rip. But this one derails all of that work but opens so many other doors. I knew deep down there were a lot of unsettled things that needed to be dealt with and I think that they were tied up in the best way possible. Billy wasn’t going to get away from Vic Collins that easily and Leopold, no matter what, is the Prince of England. This episode started with everyone together and now it seems like they couldn’t be further apart.
What makes Leopold’s betrayal more impactful now than any time before this is because Bea has gotten to the point of trusting him. Even after she learned what happened between Sherlock, Watson and her mom, she took a leap of faith and now feels betrayed. This also comes after discovering that Watson is the reason the first Rip opened and why her mother is dead. We still aren’t even sure why he did it in the first place. We can see the shock and feelings of betrayal in Bea’s eyes when she puts the pieces together. Finding out that Leopold was lying, in the end, was like the icing on a very shitty cake.
We see Jessie experience this in the same way. First Spike, Sherlock, followed by Bea and then the Linen Man, tries to convince her to go into her nightmares. Don’t even get me started on the Linen Man! I knew there was something fishy about him and he has proven to be the worst of all of them. At least Spike, Bea and in some odd way Sherlock actually care about Jessie and are trying to do everything for the right reasons. But Linen Man over here is just using her to find the Rip for who knows what. He also fed into her insecurities about being different and how her friends were treating her. He really set her up to doubt everyone who cared and caused the small rift between them to break open.
“Chapter Six: Hieracium Snowdoniense” may have solved a few questions, but it presents so many more. But first, we need the gang to piece themselves back together one way or another because none of them will be able to get through this without the others.
RELATED: Check out all of our recaps for The Irregulars!
Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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