It’s baaaack! After almost two years, we’re reuniting with our Unforgotten friends — new and old. If you needed a reminder on everything that happened last season, including the introduction of New Cassie, who I suppose we might as well finally call by her actual name, which is Jess, recaps can be found right here. Season six begins with our pal Sunny out at a semi-fancy restaurant. Alone. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to unpack the implications of his dining choices, because before he can even order, he gets a call from DS Beanpole. You can guess the rest: there’s a body. It’s old (comparatively). Pathologist is already checking it out.

While Sunny dashes without even getting to dine, Jess arrives back at home to find that 1: her kids are happily playing upstairs, 2: Dirtbag Husband has a long, lady-type hair on his coat that definitely doesn’t match hers, and 3: Dirtbag Husband has prepared a perhaps suspiciously nice dinner for everyone. A perhaps suspiciously nice dinner which will obviously not get eaten, at least by her: she’s off Whiteney Marsh to look at remains. And while we all gaze upon the mud-caked, skeletonized torso, we get the obvious questions out of the way: could this be an ancient body? No: it’s got a metal rod for treating scoliosis attached to the spine, which wasn’t really a thing in the UK until the 1950s. Also, there’s cut marks at the top of the spine, which really does suggest shenanigans (the nasty, dismembery kind).

Sunny: So, what do we think?
Jess: I think my Dirtbag Husband is at it again… but if we’re talking about the case, then I think we can assume that whoever did this did their dismembering somewhere else and brought the parts here.
Sunny: In a car, presumably. And then obviously you’d want to kinda spread the parts around so they’re harder to find.
Jess: Right. Which is harder than you’d think, so…
Sunny: 200 yards in either direction?
Jess: Yeah. And I don’t think most people can throw body parts very far. It’s hard to dismember a body, so it’s not like we’re talking about little pieces. Arms are probably the lightest… how far can you throw one of them?
Sunny: This is a weird thought experiment, for the record. Not sure, but I do think they wouldn’t have walked into the marsh. Too easy to get caught.
Jess: So let’s search 200 yards in either direction and like 40 feet out just to be safe. See what we find.

One thing we do know? Dirtbag Husband has, rather vindictively IMO, not saved Jess’ plate of possibly guilt-motivated dinner, and has instead fed it to the dog. Joke’s on him though, because he HAS left his phone out on the table, which is practically an invitation if your wife is 1: a cop and 2: was cheated on by you last season. Obviously, Jess snoops… or tries to (Dirtbag Husband changed his login pin).

While she mulls that over, we start to meet the the mix of folks who are somehow connected to this murder. First up is a crusadery journalist type in Ireland who’s called her in-studio colleague to discuss the case of an underage woman whose husband murdered a bunch of British people. No additional context, so that’ll be interesting. We also see a young man who’s studying for the UK citizenship test while driving through the countryside, a mum who’s just found out that her daughter got into a fight at school and will now be suspended, and a young man who’s scattering flowers in the ocean as a birthday tribute to his dad.

First up for more detail: the crusader journalist type, actual name: Melinda. She’s arrived at a rehab facility just in time to watch her partner finish a challenging walking exercise. Melinda tells him she’s proud of him, and they kiss, but she also shoots a concerned look to one of the specialists which suggests she’s worried about the progress he’s making. Melinda’s partner is very insistent that he’ll walk into their wedding unassisted, and she believes in him, but is also concerned that he’s hurting himself by pushing too hard.

Next, we visit a shipping container at the docks. Huddled inside is a large group of refugees attempting to make their way into the UK undetected. Two young men in the group are watching a soccer game on a phone screen and dreaming of one day getting to see a match at the actual stadium. But first, they need to get into the country safely. After bringing the shipping container into the countryside, the driver stops at a seemingly random location, unlocks the back, and helps the folks inside get into the nearby woods. After a short walk, they arrive at a gas station, where one of the football fans gets into the car driven by the fella who was prepping for the citizenship exam earlier. The rest of the men get into a van. Unfortunately, a cop car just happens to be refueling right next to said van, which might not bode well for most of the group. But our friends in the car? They’re ok. As they catch up, we find out that our new arrival, Hassan, is from Afghanistan, and that both men had a friend who was recently killed for working with the British forces during the second gulf war; a job that our more assimilated immigrant, Asif, encouraged him to take.

By the seaside, the fella who scattered flowers in the ocean has interrupted a woman standing in front of him in a queue at an ice cream truck to ask questions about her dog, including whether he can take a photo. She’s on guard and uncomfortable, which is probably because he’s been a bit awkward and pushy, and isn’t picking up on social cues. Later, after he’s gotten his ice cream, he gets a call from his mom: he’s supposed to be at the clinic! He forgot! Dropping his ice cream, he runs off to his appointment. When he arrives, the receptionist is reassuring, but does insist that he’ll have to come back for the next open appointment, which isn’t for a couple of days.

Later, when he returns home, it becomes clear that the living situation for this man (who’s called Martin) and his mother is not good. She’s been ill, the house is very disorganized, and while Martin is able to prepare her a sandwich, he’s not aware enough about food safety to realize that neither of them should be eating off unwashed plates OR having lunch meat that’s been sitting out on the counter.

Finally, the mom with the suspended kiddo, Juliet, has just finished up her teaching schedule for the day (she’s a university professor) and is about to go pick up her daughter when she’s pulled aside by a coworker. Why? Because there’s been a complaint from one of her students, and it’s serious enough that it needs to be discussed. In private. Reluctantly, and annoyed, she agrees to come back that evening to talk it over. But first, she’s got to go escort her grumpy teen, Taylor, to the car.

Juliet: So. You’re just fighting people for no reason now? What did she say to you?
Taylor: You really want to know? She made a joke about you and dad. Specifically, that having seen you, she understood why dad died by suicide. Happy?
Juliet: Why didn’t you tell the teachers about this?
Taylor: It wouldn’t make a difference. And don’t even suggest again that I see a therapist. I’m not doing it!
Juliet: You only did a few sessions last time, and this kind of thing takes months, maybe years, to process!
Taylor: Fine, then YOU go to therapy.
Juliet: Ok, let’s do it! We’ll go together! Family therapy is a thing!
Taylor: And you’d tell them the truth?
Juliet: What does that mean?

I’m just as curious as you are, reader, but we’ll have to wait for answers. First, Juliet has to go back to school to meet with her boss. It turns out that one of Juliet’s students has filed a complaint against her.

Juliet’s Boss: Ok, so she says she came to you and said that she thought the reading list was too white.
Juliet: Yeah, that happened. I didn’t engage too much, for obvious reasons.
Juliet’s Boss: Obvious reasons?
Juliet: Come on, man. We’re all terrified of getting something wrong. Look, I listened to what she had to say, said I’d think about making changes for next term, and gave her some books from my own collection written by writers of color.
Juliet’s Boss: Ok, so to clarify, the books you offered were your suggestions, not you reacting to specifics she asked about? These were entirely your idea?
Juliet: Ah. Now I see what the issue is. The Black woman who wrote the book you’re clearly worried about deliberately used that word to confront the racist system she was reacting to!
Juliet’s Boss: That’s not the issue. The issue is that you didn’t warn the student before she was confronted with that word.
Juliet: Dude. This student is white.
Juliet’s Boss: Not sure why that’s relevant?
Juliet: I’m not sure how that WOULDN’T be relevant. So what does she want to happen?
Juliet’s Boss: An apology. And the union wants you to go to a microaggression class.
Juliet: I’m sure I can apologize to her for accidentally causing upset. But the union can shove it.

So, basically, none of our new friends are having a very good time. And back at the crime scene, Sunny’s just finished a call with one of his daughters. They’re both busy with school and life, which is great, but it also means that Sunny’s clearly spending a lot of his time alone and lonely. Good thing he has a non-soul crushing career to pour all of his energy into! Oh, wait… Anyway, back at the office, Sunny tells Jess that the marsh was drained from 2009-2011, and while they both agree that technically the body COULD have just been hanging out in the open during that time, it’s more probable that the remains were dumped some time after 2011. Something which seems even more likely when, at the scene, the recovery team finds a pretty fresh looking leg wrapped in plastic.

Back in the lab, Pathologist explains that the leg isn’t necessarily fresh, just very well preserved due to the plastic wrap and the conditions in the marsh. She’s ready to guess that the leg belonged to a man, and was sawed off. The good news, if you’d call it that, is that the sawing happened after the victim died. The bad news? No immediately obvious cause of death. But after more analysis, Pathologist can at least estimate that the man was between 40 and 60 years old, and shorter than average. She’s also able to make a good guess on cause of death: the leg is so well preserved that she’s been able to see a small cut in the upper thigh which severed a major artery.

That evening, at Jess’ house, her mum is preparing to leave after having come round to take over for Dirtbag Husband, who claims to have been at a client meeting during dinner. Obviously this is waving major red flags at Jess, but is also totally unnoticed as a potential problem by her mum. Jess’ Mum also asks whether our hero has given any thought to her sister’s birthday.

Jess: Uh, like what? Is Dirtbag Husband invited? Maybe the two of them can go reconnect.
Jess’ Mum: So, what? No more family gatherings ever again?
Jess: I’m not saying that.
Jess’ Mum: It’s been six months! Just think about it!
Jess: Fine, sure, I will.

Reader, I don’t know what to tell you. Six months isn’t actually very long to get over your sister hooking up with your husband, in my humble opinion. But what do I know?

Later, Melinda gets camera ready. Her evening segment, which is filmed remotely, turns out to be about the woman she was discussing with her producer earlier in the episode: a young person who married an ISIS fighter and has now lost her UK citizenship following her husband’s on-camera killing of a journalist. Despite what our host said off camera earlier about thinking this young woman was groomed, her script on the teleprompter is extremely conservative. Melinda, or her on-air persona, at least, has no pity for the woman in question. How does she balance this conflict? Booze, and a giant cuddly blanket, both acquired the second she goes off camera. Somehow I don’t think this is going to end well for her! And speaking of things that may not end well, Melinda’s next stop is to talk to her fiance’s doctor, who gives her some less than ideal news: based on her partner’s injuries, it is unlikely that he will ever regain full function in his legs. While he’s making good progress now, that progress will eventually peter out.

Rehab Doctor: I think it’s likely that he’ll need a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Melinda: Do you think he knows?
Rehab Doctor: That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you; I don’t think he knows at all, and I think you’re going to have to help him understand.

Meanwhile, Juliet prepares to leave for work, telling a barely responsive Taylor where she can find lunch options. Just before Juliet walks out the door though, Taylor extends an olive branch: she’s willing to try therapy again. If her mom joins her. And at the police station, Sunny tells Jess that they’ve gotten everything they can from the remains other than DNA, which Pathologist is collecting right now.

Across town, our newly arrived refugee friend Hassan is escorted inside his friend Asif’s house. Inside, Hassan meets a man who will house him, once the kid currently staying in his home moves on. This man, who was a cardiologist before immigrating to the UK, seems like a very nice person, which bodes well for Hassan, especially since it turns out that the new arrival is also a doctor. He never got to practice, but hopes that will change now that he’s here in the UK.

Hassan: So, do you practice here?
Kindly Benefactor: Nope. I’m a delivery driver. We do what we have to for our kids.

Later, Hassan tells Asif that he’d like to go down the path for legal citizenship, which will involve making a case for asylum.

Hassan: I have a really clear cut case; I can prove that I’ll be killed if I go back. I can’t end up like this nice man, delivering pizzas. I’m better than that!
Asif: Do what you have to, dude. Of course you’re better than that, but so was I. And they still put me in a detention center like a criminal.

Later, Martin discusses fringe right wing politics in an online chat. I frankly do not know enough about the UK version of this stuff to be able to completely follow what they’re saying, but with a mention of the new world order and an online buddy named ChadHunter, it doesn’t seem like a super healthy way to spend his time.

The next day, at the station, Sunny runs inside clutching a report, which he takes straight to Jess. There’s been a DNA match: the body they’ve found belongs to Juliet’s husband/Taylor’s dad Gerry. Gerry was reported missing by Juliet in 2021, and despite an investigation finding no body, the cops concluded that he’d died by suicide. The weird part is that the officer in charge of the case was jailed for corruption charges soon after. Even weirder? That officer in question was Ram Sidhu, who you might remember as the businessman/former cop who helped three other suspects hide a body in a freezer back in season 4, and who I called DCI Suspect in my recaps. The plot, as they say, thickens! What happened to Gerry? We’ll just have to wait until next week to find out more!