Catherine confronts Frances’s delusions
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Catherine enters Frances's home, carefully avoiding an aggressive demeanor, while noting sparse details such as a crucifix and a picture of Jesus, with the photos of Tommy and Ryan gone.
Catherine attempts to build trust with Frances by suggesting she is not a bad person and that she believes she has acted for the best regarding Ryan and his father, Tommy Lee Royce.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Defensive infatuation bordering on desperation. Surface: indignant, dismissive, morally superior. Subsurface: terrified of losing her fantasy of Royce’s redemption, ashamed of her complicity, and secretly aware of the truth (hence her accusatory outbursts). Her final line (‘You’re jealous’) is a last-ditch effort to regain control.
Frances moves through the room with a brittle confidence, her engagement ring catching the light as she touches it repeatedly—a nervous tic. She stands near the crucifix, as if drawing strength from it, but her arguments lack conviction when pressed. Her voice wavers between defensive and pleading, especially when Catherine names Royce’s victims (Ann Gallagher, Kirsten McAskill). She interrupts Catherine often, her interjections growing sharper as the conversation progresses, but her eyes dart away when confronted with direct questions (e.g., ‘Does that not worry you?’). By the end, she’s physically withdrawn, arms crossed, her denial crumbling but not yet broken.
- • Protect her belief in Tommy Lee Royce’s redemption at all costs, even if it means denying undeniable evidence.
- • Deflect Catherine’s accusations by shifting blame (e.g., ‘Lewis Whippey did it’) or attacking her motives (e.g., ‘You’re jealous’).
- • Tommy Lee Royce is a victim of circumstance who can be ‘saved’ through kindness and love.
- • Catherine Cawood is motivated by jealousy and bitterness, not concern for Ryan’s safety.
Triumpantly absent. His crimes are the elephant in the room, and his absence forces Frances to defend him—proving his control. Catherine’s rage is a testament to his enduring impact, while Frances’ delusions are his greatest weapon.
Tommy Lee Royce is physically absent but looms over the entire confrontation, his influence manifesting through Frances’ defenses, the missing photos, and Catherine’s barely suppressed rage. His crimes—rape, murder, grooming—are the unspoken third presence in the room, cited repeatedly by Catherine and dismissed by Frances. The engagement ring on Frances’ finger is a tangible symbol of his hold over her, while the crucifix and cuddly toy represent her twisted justification for his actions (‘We condemn the sin, not the sinner’). His absence is a power move: he doesn’t need to be present to control the narrative.
- • Maintain his grip on Frances’ loyalty to ensure continued access to Ryan.
- • Undermine Catherine’s authority by making her appear ‘jealous’ or ‘negative.’
- • Frances is a pawn whose devotion can be exploited to reach Ryan.
- • Catherine’s objections are irrelevant because he operates outside conventional morality.
Absent but palpable. Her trauma is the subtext of Catherine’s arguments and the unspoken horror behind Frances’ defenses.
Ann Gallagher is invoked by Catherine as a victim of Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes, her name serving as a stark counterpoint to Frances’ delusions. She is not physically present but her trauma is the emotional undercurrent of the scene—Catherine cites her rape as proof of Royce’s monstrosity, while Frances dismisses it as ‘Lewis Whippey’s doing.’ Her absence highlights the systemic failure to protect women from predators like Royce, and her name becomes a weapon in Catherine’s arsenal.
- • Serve as evidence of Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes, undermining Frances’ narrative.
- • Represent the broader failure of the system to protect victims like Becky and Ryan.
- • Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes have lasting, devastating consequences for survivors.
- • Denial of his crimes enables further harm (e.g., to Ryan).
Absent but erased. His murder is treated as an afterthought, his humanity dismissed.
Brett McKendrick is mentioned briefly by Catherine as another of Tommy Lee Royce’s victims, his death framed as ‘self-defense’ by Frances. His name is a footnote in the larger argument, but his inclusion completes the litany of Royce’s violence. Like Kirsten and Ann, his absence is a void that Frances refuses to acknowledge. The fact that his murder is dismissed so quickly (‘only in self-defense’) reveals the depth of Frances’ denial—she’s willing to overlook even the most egregious acts if it means preserving her fantasy of Royce’s innocence.
- • Highlight the cumulative weight of Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes.
- • Challenge Frances’ selective memory (‘only in self-defense’).
- • Tommy Lee Royce’s victims are expendable if it serves his narrative.
- • Denial is a form of complicity.
Absent but exploited. His name is a tool in Frances’ denial, his real suffering ignored.
Lewis Whippey is cited by Frances as the ‘real’ perpetrator of Ann Gallagher’s rape and Kirsten McAskill’s murder, his name becoming a shield for Tommy Lee Royce. Catherine swiftly dismantles this claim, citing ‘very solid forensic evidence,’ but the fact that Frances even attempts this deflection reveals her desperation. Lewis’ absence is telling—he’s a convenient scapegoat, his own victimhood (e.g., murdered by Royce) erased in Frances’ narrative. His invocation underscores the moral bankruptcy of Frances’ position: she’d rather blame a dead man than confront Royce’s guilt.
- • Serve as a distraction from Tommy Lee Royce’s guilt.
- • Reinforce Frances’ delusional narrative (‘Not Tommy’).
- • Tommy Lee Royce is incapable of the crimes attributed to him.
- • Blame can be shifted to more convenient targets (e.g., the dead).
Absent but all-consuming. Her suicide is the emotional core of the scene, the reason Catherine will fight to the death to protect Ryan.
Becky Cawood is invoked by Catherine as the ultimate victim of Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes, her suicide the direct result of his rape. Her absence is a wound that never heals—Catherine’s voice catches when she says, ‘She took her own life,’ and Frances’ dismissal (‘That was nothing to do with him’) is the scene’s most chilling moment. Becky’s ghost haunts every exchange, her trauma the reason Catherine will never let Royce near Ryan. The fact that Frances can so easily dismiss her suffering reveals the depth of her delusion.
- • Serve as a warning of what Royce is capable of inflicting.
- • Reinforce Catherine’s moral authority (‘I was there’).
- • Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes have generational consequences.
- • Denial enables further harm (e.g., to Ryan).
Absent but damning. His invocation exposes the fragility of Frances’ defenses.
Jimmy Savile is invoked alongside Ian Brady by Catherine to shatter Frances’ delusions. The name alone is enough to make Frances’ face pale, her denial faltering. Savile’s absence is a dark joke—his crimes were hidden in plain sight, just as Royce’s are hidden behind Frances’ infatuation. The comparison is brutal: if Royce looked like Savile, Frances would never have believed him. The implication is clear: her belief is not about truth but about how she wants to see him.
- • Force Frances to confront the moral emptiness of her position.
- • Undermine her claim that Royce is ‘redeemable.’
- • Monstrosity is performative (Frances judges by appearance, not deeds).
- • Denial is a form of collusion with evil.
Absent but revelatory. His invocation strips away Frances’ defenses, exposing her infatuation as superficial.
Ian Brady is invoked by Catherine as a rhetorical device to expose the hypocrisy of Frances’ infatuation. The mere mention of his name—along with Jimmy Savile’s—causes Frances to flinch, her composure cracking. Brady’s absence is a specter, a reminder of the monstrosity that lurks beneath surfaces. Catherine uses him to force Frances to confront the reality: if Royce looked like Brady, she’d never believe a word he said. The implication is damning: Frances’ belief in Royce is not about truth but about how he looks.
- • Force Frances to confront the moral bankruptcy of her position.
- • Undermine her claim that Royce is ‘not evil.’
- • Monstrosity is skin-deep (Frances judges by appearance, not deeds).
- • Denial is a form of complicity in evil.
Absent but haunting. Her murder is the unspoken horror behind Catherine’s warnings and Frances’ evasions.
Kirsten McAskill is mentioned by Catherine as another of Tommy Lee Royce’s murder victims, her name dropped like a stone into the conversation. Frances immediately deflects, attributing the murder to ‘Lewis Whippey,’ but the damage is done—the image of Kirsten’s ‘hideous’ death lingers. Her absence is a ghost in the room, a reminder of the violence Frances is enabling by protecting Royce. The contrast between her brutal end and Frances’ sanitized view of Royce (‘good and kind’) is the scene’s central irony.
- • Underscore the severity of Tommy Lee Royce’s crimes, making Frances’ denial untenable.
- • Represent the cost of inaction (her death could have been prevented).
- • Tommy Lee Royce’s violence is not isolated but part of a pattern.
- • Denying his crimes enables future harm.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The missing photos of Tommy Lee Royce and Ryan—once displayed but now removed—are the most damning absence in the room. Frances blames ‘your people’ (the police) for taking them, but the empty spaces on the wall are a tacit admission of guilt. Catherine notes their absence immediately, using it as evidence of Frances’ shifting loyalties and the pressure she’s under. The photos’ removal symbolizes Frances’ inability to hold onto her delusions without external reinforcement; she can’t even keep a visual record of her ‘family’ without interference. Their absence is a void that Catherine exploits, forcing Frances to confront the instability of her narrative.
The cuddly toy, a lone soft object in Frances’ otherwise sparse and austere sitting room, serves as a silent rebuke to her delusions. Its childlike form contrasts sharply with the religious severity of the crucifix and the absence of photos of Tommy and Ryan, symbolizing Frances’ twisted maternal instincts toward Ryan. Catherine’s gaze lingers on it, a visual shorthand for the unspoken question: How can a woman who surrounds herself with symbols of innocence justify protecting a monster? The toy’s presence underscores the cognitive dissonance at the heart of Frances’ belief—she clings to the idea of nurturing Ryan while enabling the man who destroyed his mother.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Frances’ sitting room is a battleground of clashing ideologies, its sparse decor reflecting the emotional void at the heart of her delusions. The crucifix and picture of Jesus suggest a search for moral grounding, but the absence of photos of Tommy and Ryan—and the presence of a cuddly toy—undermine any pretense of piety. The room’s dim lighting casts long shadows, mirroring the moral ambiguity of the confrontation. Catherine’s calculated movements (sitting only after permission, keeping her hands visible) contrast with Frances’ defensive posture (arms crossed, touching her engagement ring). The space is small and intimate, forcing the two women into close proximity, their words bouncing off the bare walls like accusations. The room’s austerity amplifies the tension, making every silence feel heavy with unspoken horrors.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Catherine arrives at Frances' house aiming to stop the harm to Ryan, and tries build trust by suggesting she she isn't a bad person. Paralleling their efforts."
Key Dialogue
"FRANCES: Ryan should have a relationship with his father. However difficult things are."
"CATHERINE: Tommy Lee Royce is a psychopath. He’s a sex offender. He raped my daughter. She was traumatized. We are going to have different versions of the same story, but please credit me with [some]... I was there. When she gave birth. And after. I know what she went through."
"FRANCES: I believe that no-one is born evil. He may have done things... but we all do that, we’re all human. But he isn’t evil. He’s a product of his childhood... With help—and kindness—I believe he will become the person he was always capable of being. Good and kind and gentle and thoughtful."
"CATHERINE: He’s using you. He’s used you. To get close to Ryan. He’s groomed you. You’ve been groomed. You’ve been picked, you’ve been chosen, for what he can get out of you."
"FRANCES: You’re jealous."