In The Flesh S1E3 - "Episode 3" Recap

Steven and Sue are waiting for Kieren to come home. Steve wants to call Shirely but Sue, who thinks Kieren is simply out with Rick, warns him that if they do so, the treatment centre will be called and Kieren will be taken away.

Kieren is walking home when Rick and some HVF soldiers drive past him. The Rotters are still tied up in the back of their truck. They arrive at the Macy home and Bill goes inside. Rick gestures to her to no say anything and Bill gets what he needs before going back in the truck. Rick offers some help to his father, who in turn blows up in anger over his siding with Kieren. Bill tells him Kieren has to go and Rick must be the one to do it.

A hungover Philip wakes up following a night with Amy. He says he has an early council meeting and tells her she can't tell anyone they had sex. She doesn't want anyone to know she slept with someone like him and he leaves in anger. As he exits the front door, he encounters Shirley. They ask each other why they're there. Shirley says she knew Amy's dad and has brought some leftover belongings. Philip claims to be doing outreach. Neither believes the other but they carry on as Philip zips up his trousers and walks off.

Gary brings the bitten Dean to the quarantine compound and once he gets him inside, he locks the gate and says he's being quarantined. Dean assumes this is about his confession about loving Gary's girlfriend but Gary still walks away.

Kieren comes across the Roarton supermarket with one contact lens still missing and his mousse half off. He realises its the same one in which he killed Lisa Lancaster and finally remembers how the rest of the incident played out. Jem had come in looking for Lisa, killed the other Rotters and upon finding Kieren feasting on her body, she had prepared to shoot him.

Kieren returns home and goes upstairs past his parents who are sleeping on the couch. Kieren goes into Jem's room and she wakes up startled, pulling her gun on him. He confronts her about his newfound memories. She's still angry and asks if he's going to make excuses. He says it feels awful and doesn't believe what any of them did was alright or that killing the living didn't count. Jem asks if he thinks she's a coward and she says she's not. She says she lied to everyone, claiming she ran out of bullets, when she simply couldn't pull the trigger on her own brother. Kieren thanks her and says he's going to talk with Lisa's parents and try to bring them some peace. Jem asks him to wait so she can accompany him.

At their home, Bill is coaching Rick on how to kill Kieren and claim that he turned rabid. Janet is listening from the kitchen while Bill says that Rotters are evil, not people. Rick offers to go out and get some cigarettes for Bill and before leaving, he asks Janet for some change and leaves. When Kieren and Jem try to leave, Sue and Steve tell them they can't, as it is too dangerous out there.

Rick gets to the shop and calls the Walker house. They can hear the ringing but can't find the phone. Rick leaves a message warning Kieren he's in danger while Jem and Kieren go out the back. Rick says that if they see him or Bill coming, to simply run. He begins to talk about the previous night but then the time runs out on the phone and the line goes dead.

Bill calls the vicar and Oddie, saying he's bringing Rick in and needs them to perform an inspiring sermon. Janet comes over and tells her husband that Philip is painting something on the carriage door. Bill goes out with his shotgun and finds that Philip is painting the letters PDS. He says that the council passed a proposal that all houses with PDS sufferers must be identified. Bill fires a warning shot in the air and Philip runs off. Dean calls out from behind the gates, saying he knows how Bill feels. Rick arrives and asks what's going on. His father tells him to go inside to change and that they're going to church.

Kieren and Jem visit the Lancasters and Jem stops them from leaving for the service. The Lancasters show them fliers they've been making and Kieren confesses what he did in the supermarket. The Lancasters look relieved and ask if he was the one who moved the body. They're not angry with him, and it turns out that they've been hoping for her to return as a Rotter. Kieren tries to explain that the only ones who died before The Rising came back but Jem stops him, saying that it's possible. Kieren reluctantly agrees with her, understanding that hope is all they have left.

Dean tries to get a young boy walking boy to run to the shops to get him something to eat but the boy simply runs off with his money. He tries again with an old woman but she spits in his face.

At the church, Oddie is giving a sermon to rile everyone up against PDS sufferers. He says they're followers of the Pale Horseman, Death. Following the sermon, Bill thanks the vicar but Oddie warns him that there will be a Second Rising. When the first Risen are judged, there will be a second resurrection and God will bring back the righteous. Bill promises that it's the same Rick and leaves with his son.

Amy is listening to a web broadcast from the Undead Liberation Army and is interrupted by Gary knocking at her door to tell her he'll be painting her place with the PDS sign. She goes back to her room and resumes listening when Gary comes in and tells her she can't go around without covering up her condition with makeup. Amy tells him to get out but then he grabs her and smears lipstick sloppily on her mouth and face.

Jem and Kieren are walking home and she tells him he is braver than she is while everyone thinks she's braver than she actually is. They reach the rail station and spot Amy on the platform. Jem tells Kieren to go to her and she turns around to head home. Kieren gets closer and finds Amy wearing her mousse and contact lenses, saying she's leaving Roarton because people won't accept them for who they are. She wants to go and find the ULA commune and asks Kieren to come with her. He thinks they're dangerous and turns her down, at least for now. Amy says he's doing this because of Rick and asks if she thinks Rick and his father will change. Kieren thinks they will and Amy says he's very optimistic. The train pulls up and Kieren reminds her she needs daily injections. Amy replies that the ULA have a stockpile of what she'll need and promises to be back for their wedding, hugging him goodbye and boarding the train.

Shirley is holding a support group for mothers of PDS sufferers. One woman is horrified by the erotic fanmail her son is getting. Sue admits she's conflicted with her emotions and feelings. The other mothers agree. Sue says she's angry at Kieren for killing himself because the family fell apart because of it. Janet says she understands and then admits she is afraid of her son Rick.

Bill is teaching Rick how to use his knife to pierce Kieren's brain and kill him. Rick takes a moment alone in the bathroom and begins to wipe off his mousse. Janet is telling the support group that she's happy her handsome boy is back and that he is the same no matter what Oddie says. Rick comes out to Bill without his mousse and contacts on, saying he doesn't want to hurt Kieren and that if Kieren is evil then so is he. Bill says something is wrong and he wants to help, hugging a crying Rick and saying everything will be all right.

Dean calls out to Ken, asking for food for his diabetes. Ken takes the list of food and as he walks away, Dean apologises for what he has done. Ken pauses and then continues walking. Jem takes down the photos in her room of her killing Rotters and removes her HVR armband. Bill gets paint from the attic and paints over the PDS sign on his house. Jem removes her military jacket and unloads her revolver before taking it out to the shed. While there, she finds the family phone and hears Rick's message warning Kieren to stay away from him and Bill. She takes off running to the station to try to find Kieren but he is already gone. Kieren is standing on a railway overpass and Bill drives by, surprisingly ignoring him.

Janet comes home and asks Bill where Rick is. Bill says he hasn't seen Rick for five years since they waved him off at the airport before heading overseas. She also finds that Bill has put the shrine back up. Kieren comes home and finds Rick's corpose propped up in front of the garage door with a knife stuck in the back of his skull. Kieren cries, closing Rick's eyes and whispering "I love you" in his ear. He pulls out the knife and walks off as Jem arrives back home. She is shocked to find Rick's corpse and Ken watches the whole scene from across the street.

Janet answers the door after someone is pounding on the door and finds it is Kieren with the knife in his hand. He goes inside and tells Bill to stand up. Bill only says Kieren is barred from the house and calls him an animal when he sticks a knife in Bill's armchair. Kieren reminds him he had already banned him years ago when he had given Rick a mix CD. Bill says Kieren will still be banned when Rick comes back during the next resurrection when only the good dead will come up. He says that Rick was an impostor and he knew it as soon as he stood up for Kieren. Janet becomes distraught upon realising what Bill has done. Kieren screams that Rick's return was a gift and he ruined it. Janet cries out, grabbing the knife and slashing Bill's hands. Kieren restrains her, comforting her as Bill stares shocked at the blood on his hands, finally realising what he has done. Bill stumbles outside and is shot in the chest by Ken with a shotgun. Dean says he didn't see anything and Ken continues on down the street. Janet and Kieren come out and Kieren walks off while Janet begins calling for help.

Kieren heads to the cave where he had previously seen the Rotters and goes inside. At the Walker home, Jem assures her father that Kieren wouldn't leave them again and that he'll be back. Kieren looks at a rock where he and Rick had carved a message that they'd be together forever. He hears someone coming towards him and eventually realises it's his mother. He becomes emotional, saying he needed to be somewhere he and Rick used to go and Sue comes and sits down, assuring him he didn't get Rick killed. She says Bill is the one to blame and that says that this time he needs to stay. She says she knows how it feels to lose someone and shares that she had dated an RAF pilot with whom she had hoped to settle down with. He ended up dumping her and dating her friend whom he thought more socially acceptable. She had quit college, came home, and decided to kill herself. The chemist had refused to serve her sleeping pills and she had burst into tears. The man had got her tea and let her talk. He listened, made her laugh, and says that Kieren doesn't know that Steve can be very funny when he wants to be. She says Steve is probably having a nervous breakdown at home because he couldn't bear to come out to the cave with her.

Kieren and Sue return home and Steve says he understands. Kieren says he shouldn't let him off easy, as he didn't think of any of their feelings. He wants Steve to tell him off and Steve grounds him. Kieren asks for more and Steve grows increasingly angry, saying he was worried sick. He had gone to the cave, saw Kieren sitting inside with blood on his hands. He breaks down crying and Kieren hugs him.

Kieren and Steve serve as pallbearers at the Macys' funeral. Kieren watches as Rick's coffin is lowered into the ground and dirt is shovelled onto it.

In The Flesh will return for Series 2 on BBC Three.