Catherine Exposes Tommy’s Crimes to Frances
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Frances reveals her engagement to Tommy Lee Royce, a shocking revelation that Catherine tries to absorb while keeping calm and collected.
Catherine, despite her internal reaction, calmly informs Frances of Tommy's past crimes—the rape of her daughter and subsequent suicide—attempting to break through Frances's idealized view of him.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not physically present, but his absence is felt acutely. The tension between Catherine’s protective fury and Frances’ delusional enablement revolves around his safety and future.
Ryan is the central focus of the conflict between Catherine and Frances. Frances argues for his right to a relationship with his father (Tommy), while Catherine vehemently opposes this, citing Tommy’s dangerous nature. The absence of Ryan’s photo in Frances’ home is noted as a deliberate erasure, hinting at shifting allegiances. Ryan’s well-being and protection are the underlying stakes of this confrontation, with Catherine determined to shield him from Tommy’s influence and Frances unwittingly facilitating that influence.
- • To be shielded from Tommy’s influence by Catherine
- • To avoid being groomed or manipulated by Frances on Tommy’s behalf
- • To grow up free from the shadow of his father’s crimes
- • To maintain a normal, healthy life despite his family’s trauma
- • He deserves a relationship with his father, if Tommy were truly reformed
- • His grandmother’s protection is his safest path forward
- • Frances’ intentions, though misguided, may stem from a desire to help
- • The truth about his father’s crimes will eventually surface
Controlled anger and disappointment, masking deep grief and urgency. Her surface calm contrasts with the underlying intensity of her mission to protect Ryan and expose Tommy’s influence.
Catherine enters Frances’ home with calculated restraint, deliberately avoiding aggression to build trust. She methodically dismantles Frances’ delusions about Tommy Lee Royce by listing his documented crimes (rape, murder, attempted murder) and exposing Frances’ grooming and psychological manipulation. Her body language is controlled, but her internal struggle is evident as she suppresses her visceral anger and disappointment, particularly when discussing her daughter Becky’s trauma and suicide. She warns Frances that her denial will eventually collapse, revealing the true damage Tommy has inflicted, and accuses Frances of being groomed by Tommy to access Ryan.
- • To shatter Frances’ delusional belief in Tommy Lee Royce’s innocence and redemption
- • To expose the psychological manipulation and grooming Frances has endured at Tommy’s hands
- • To warn Frances about the danger she poses to Ryan by facilitating Tommy’s access to him
- • To prevent Frances from enabling Tommy’s continued influence over Ryan
- • Tommy Lee Royce is a predatory psychopath who will never change, regardless of Frances’ delusions
- • Frances has been groomed and manipulated by Tommy to serve his agenda of accessing Ryan
- • The truth about Tommy’s crimes will eventually break through Frances’ denial, but time is critical to protect Ryan
- • Frances’ infatuation with Tommy is blinding her to the real danger he poses
Defensive, infatuated, and resistant to Catherine’s truths. Her surface calm masks deep anxiety about losing her belief in Tommy, and she lashes out with accusations of jealousy when cornered.
Frances defends Tommy Lee Royce’s innocence with fervor, insisting he is a product of trauma rather than evil. She clings to her delusional narrative, dismissing Catherine’s evidence of his crimes (rape, murder, attempted murder) and framing his actions as self-defense. She reveals her infatuation with Tommy, including their engagement, and her belief in his potential for redemption. Despite Catherine’s warnings, she doubles down on her denial, refusing to acknowledge the danger, even as Catherine exposes the age disparity between them and accuses her of being groomed. Her engagement ring and defensive posture underscore her emotional investment in Tommy’s narrative.
- • To defend Tommy Lee Royce’s innocence and potential for redemption at all costs
- • To justify her relationship with Tommy, despite the age disparity and grooming implications
- • To maintain her delusional narrative that Tommy is a victim of circumstance, not a predator
- • To resist Catherine’s attempts to expose the truth about Tommy’s crimes and her own manipulation
- • Tommy Lee Royce is not inherently evil but a product of his traumatic childhood
- • Her relationship with Tommy is based on love and mutual understanding, not manipulation
- • The court’s verdicts and forensic evidence are flawed or biased against Tommy
- • She is the only one who truly understands and can redeem Tommy
Not physically present, but his influence is palpable—cold, calculating, and predatory. His absence makes his control over Frances even more insidious.
Tommy Lee Royce is the central but absent figure in this confrontation, his influence looming over every exchange. His crimes—rape, murder, and psychological manipulation—are listed by Catherine as evidence of his predatory nature, while Frances defends him, framing his actions as self-defense or products of trauma. His engagement to Frances and his grooming of her to access Ryan are exposed as part of his broader scheme. The missing photos of Tommy and Ryan in Frances’ home symbolize his erasure of their relationship, while his psychological hold over Frances is the driving force behind her denial.
- • To maintain his influence over Frances to access Ryan
- • To ensure Frances continues to defend and enable his narrative of innocence
- • To exploit Frances’ infatuation and denial to further his agenda
- • To undermine Catherine’s efforts to protect Ryan and expose his crimes
- • He is entitled to a relationship with Ryan, regardless of his crimes
- • His victims (Becky, Ann, Kirsten, etc.) are complicit in their own fates
- • Frances’ devotion to him is a tool to be exploited for his benefit
- • His version of events is the only truth that matters
Not present, but his invocation carries weight—cold, clinical, and damning. The comparison is designed to shock Frances into confronting the truth.
Ian Brady is invoked by Catherine as a counterpoint to Tommy Lee Royce’s appearance. She asks Frances if she would believe a word Tommy said if he looked like Brady, Sutcliffe, or Savile—monsters whose depravity is undeniable. The comparison underscores the moral equivalence Catherine sees between Tommy and these notorious serial killers, despite Frances’ denial. Brady’s name serves as a shorthand for irredeemable evil, highlighting the disconnect between Frances’ delusions and reality.
- • To serve as a benchmark for the kind of evil Tommy embodies
- • To undermine Frances’ delusional narrative by association
- • To reinforce Catherine’s argument that Tommy is no different from these monsters
- • To force Frances to confront the moral inconsistency in her beliefs
- • Predators like Brady, Sutcliffe, and Savile are beyond redemption
- • Tommy Lee Royce belongs in the same category, regardless of his appearance
- • Frances’ denial is enabled by her refusal to see Tommy’s true nature
- • The law and forensic evidence are objective measures of guilt
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The missing photos of Tommy Lee Royce and Ryan Cawood in Frances’ sitting room are a deliberate and loaded absence, serving as a visual clue to the shifting dynamics of their relationship. Frances blames ‘your people’ (the police) for their removal, but the empty spaces on the wall underscore the erasure of Tommy’s influence—whether by external intervention or Frances’ own subconscious acknowledgment of the truth. Catherine notes this absence as part of her methodical dismantling of Frances’ delusions, using it to highlight the instability of Frances’ narrative. The missing photos symbolize the fragility of Frances’ belief in Tommy’s innocence and her unwitting complicity in his schemes.
The cuddly toy in Frances’ sitting room serves as a poignant symbol of her delusional nurturing instincts toward Ryan. Its soft, childlike form contrasts sharply with the room’s sparse, almost sterile decor—including the crucifix and missing photos of Tommy and Ryan—highlighting the disconnect between Frances’ self-image as a caring figure and her enabling role in Tommy’s manipulation. Catherine’s notice of the toy underscores the irony of Frances’ maternal delusions, as the object becomes a silent witness to the unraveling of her denial. Its presence also reflects Frances’ emotional detachment from reality, clinging to comfort in the face of Catherine’s revelations.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Frances’ sitting room is a battleground of ideologies, where Catherine’s relentless pursuit of the truth clashes with Frances’ delusional devotion to Tommy Lee Royce. The room’s sparse decor—a crucifix, a cuddly toy, and the empty spaces where photos of Tommy and Ryan once hung—creates an atmosphere of moral and emotional barrenness, reflecting Frances’ detachment from reality. The dim lighting and quiet tension amplify the confrontation’s intensity, as Catherine methodically dismantles Frances’ narrative. The room’s austerity contrasts with the emotional storm unfolding, serving as a physical manifestation of Frances’ psychological state: orderly on the surface, but hollow and unstable beneath. The absence of personal touches (beyond the religious symbols) underscores Frances’ isolation and her reliance on Tommy as her emotional anchor.
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: We’re getting married."
"CATHERINE: He’s a sex offender. He raped my daughter."
"FRANCES: He was very fond of your daughter."
"CATHERINE: Tommy Lee Royce is a psychopath. He’s a murderer and he’s a sex offender. And you must know—you must realise—that I think you have allowed yourself to be deluded by this dangerous man because you’re infatuated with him."
"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."
"CATHERINE: On the inside... he looks exactly like them. And one day... the scales will fall away from your eyes. Because they always do. And you’ll realise how foolish he’s made you look. And how much damage he’s inflicted on you."