Three Pines season 1 episodes 5 and 6 recap & review

Episodes 5 and 6 of Three Pines revolves around the murder of Julia Morrow as Inspector Gamache investigates her closest family members to find the killer. The episodes are streaming on Prime Video.

Episode 5 recap: The Murder Stone part 1

The family of Charles Morrow gathers to find out the contents of his will. Peter and Clara Morrow are there as well since Peter was Charles’ younger son. His daughter Julia is the last to arrive, much to the annoyance of the others.

Charles gives his children Thomas, Peter and Mariana 20,000 each and leaves the rest of his estate to his wife. He leaves his hotel to his daughter Julia, which surprises everyone.

The solicitor then lets them know that there’s one final gift, walking them out to a grotesque stone statue of Charles.

Armand and his wife are at the same hotel celebrating their anniversary. When they head down for dinner, Armand notices how frosty things are at the Morrow dinner table.

The next morning, Juila is found dead under the fallen statue of Charles but there is evidence that she was murdered. Inspector Gamache immediately hones in on the rest of the family as Julia wasn’t well liked for some reason.

He finds out from Julia’s mother, Irene, that Julia got pregnant as a teenager and Charles forced her to give the baby up for adoption and Julia left the house soon after.

Peter says he was in bed but the CCTV footage reveals that he was outside. When Armand asks him why, he says that he was simply looking for Julia but doesn’t go deeper into it.

Clara explains that Julia told Peter she would be eloping with her boyfriend after she got pregnant and he told his father so he blames himself for what happened to Julia.

They question the others and learn that Thomas, the oldest son had money troubles and had recently approached his father for a loan but was denied. He was also miffed because according to tradition, he was supposed to get the hotel.

There is evidence in Julia’s room that there was someone else there and a note asking her to meet at the statue at night.

Isabelle gets a call from Kevin Kis, who says that he saw the news about his brother Tommy and Blue Two Rivers and wants to clear his name. He tells her to come alone to a location he decides so that he can talk to her.

Armand also talks to Maurice, the hotel manager who has been with the Morrows since he was a child because his mother worked for them before he did.

Thomas’s handwriting is a match for the note in Julia’s room and he’s aggressively questioned by Armand and Jean-Guy. He gets away from them, grabs a rifle and then threatens to kill himself as Armand tries to talk him out of it.

Episode 6 recap: The Murder Stone part 2

Charles takes his children out on a hunt and they stop at a felled deer as Charles orders Thomas to land the killing shot but Thomas hesitates.

In the present, Thomas holds the gun to his head as he apologises to his father for letting him down but Armand manages to calm him and get the gun away.

His wife Sandra admits that Thomas had left the room for a while and when she couldn’t find him, she went to the kitchen for some food. Thomas says that he was calling his creditors to ask for more time and he kept it all a secret from his wife out of shame.

Armand asks Peter about the shooting of the stag and Peter says that Thomas couldn’t go through with it. He assumes that Julia must have been the one who shot it instead.

Isabelle goes to meet Kevin, who tells her that they were stopped by the cops while he was making a delivery and he ran because he had priors but he did hear gunshots and when he returned there was nothing left behind and no sign of Blue or Tommy.

She calls Armand to tell him that Kevin might be getting framed by the police and lets him know that she’ll go to HQ and check out the records.

Jean-Guy and Armand sit down for a drink and Jean-Guy start talking about the difficulties going on in his marriage. Armand gives him some advice on the matter.

Armand gets up because of a nightmare the next day and calls his wife to talk about it. He later talks to Irene and Mariana who tells him that Charles liked to change his will on a whim so Armand digs into that further.

The evidence clears Thomas of any wrongdoing and he and Peter get into a fight before making up eventually. Because of Sandra’s testimony, their attention is drawn towards Elliot, the waiter who earlier admitted to spending some time with Julia before she died.

Inspector Gamache finds out that Charles’ previous will split the estate into 5 equal parts before he changed it and Sandra says that Charles apparently had affairs according to what Irene told her.

Isabelle goes to a gas station near where Kevin claims they were pulled over and she confirms through CCTV footage that they were being tailed by a cop.

Jena-Guy searches Elliot’s room and finds out that he’s living under an alias and he also finds the murder weapon. They capture him and take him in since he has no clear alibi.

Armand looks at a picture of Charles and the children with the stag and he asks Peter who clicked it. Peter says that it was probably Maurice who went along with them but usually went unnoticed.

Armand goes to see Maurice who is packing his stuff. He figures out that Maurice was Charles’ illegitimate son and felt wronged for being written out of the will.

Maurice knocks him down, goes downstairs and grabs a knife from the kitchen. He finds Mariana’s daughter and takes her hostage as everyone else faces him with their guns out.

Kevin calls Isabelle and agrees to meet Armand so she tells him to hold tight while she gets there. But she reaches the hotel just as Maurice’s truth is revealed and they are held up.

Maurice reveals how he told Julia the truth but she laughed him off and he was so angry for not being appreciated by his father or his step-family that he killed her.

After arresting Maurice, Isabelle and Armand leave to see Kevin but they’re too late. He’s at the bus station with a ticket to New York City but he gets arrested by the police.

However, when Isabelle and Armand visit him in jail, they find him dead in his cell.

Review

• The mystery in these episodes is more predictable than in the previous ones which makes it less engaging. With a contained setting and lesser suspects, the case does not have the same kind of intrigue.
• Armand’s past and his demons continue to haunt him but it’s still unclear what the cause is. He’s definitely affected by Missy’s suicide but the rest of the signs are confusing.
• His chemistry with his fellow officers is warm and wonderful to watch. The different ways he’s a mentor to the rest of them, not just in police work but in matters of life as well are nice moments.

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Also Read: Three Pines season 1 episodes 3 and 4 recap & review