The Woman in the Wall Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Cruelty Man

Lorna embarks on a quest to find the tiniest sliver of truth in her daughter’s alleged death on The Woman in the Wall Season 1 Episode 4, “The Cruelty Man.”

We’ve already gotten a taste of it, but this episode highlights the depths and efforts Lorna’s willing to go to uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, back in Dublin after being sent away by Massey, Colman is searching for any answers he can uncover on his birth mother, Father Percy, and the reasoning behind his continuous nightmares.

Missing Graves

Taking it upon herself to figure out if the death certificate is authentic, Lorna enlists the help of Michael to survey and search for the graves of over 300 babies. Lorna’s plea for his help comes after her multiple attempts to find Agnes’ grave and coming up empty.

It’s about time someone starts listening to Lorna and taking what she says seriously. There’s a woman on the loose pretending to be Aoife’s daughter. Aoife is in the wind, and her husband hasn’t been seen since episode 2.

In one of the most unsettling scenes of The Woman in the Wall Season 1 Episode 4, “The Cruelty Man,” we get one of the season’s best shots so far. Michael and Lorna are on the floor of her living room, surrounded by hundreds of candles lit for the babies that disappeared without a trace.

Out of the 300 death certificates the two combed through, only three babies were found to have proper burials. This realization leads Lorna to believe there could be a mass grave in Kilkinure made up of the children who went missing over the years.

Their new revelations are unsettling and only further beg the question: what happened to the babies? While new information suggests the presence of a mass grave hidden somewhere in the convent, I think it only partly plays into the truth.

As we’ve learned more about the practices of the nuns and priests in the convent, it’s become increasingly believable that they could’ve faked the certificates to throw the birth mothers off, something Colman confirms as a real possibility in the last few moments of the episode.

The Truth About Lazarus House

Through his thorough investigations and an honest conversation with his adoptive mother, Colman figures out that Father Percy played a much more sinister role in his life growing up than he previously believed.

His adoptive mother reveals that the continued nightmares he endures have been happening since leaving Lazarus House as a child. Additionally, she inadvertently unveils that the House of the Sacred Shepherd did not close their doors in 1979, as records suggest.

After getting fired for interrogating a bishop tied to Father Percy, Colman takes it upon himself to search through the burnt remains of Lazarus House, where he finds the tunnels he’s been dreaming of.

All of his detective work leads up to the revelation that as a child, he was kept in the “reject room,” a place where those in charge put all the non-white children they believed would not be adopted or wanted.

As the episode comes to a close, Colman reunites with Lorna back in Kilkinure, procuring a death certificate for himself made when he was four years old.

Finally, after spending the majority of the season working against one another, the two have come to the realization that they’re on the same side.

With only two episodes left in the season, I cannot wait to see Lorna and Colman finally team up to figure out the truth behind what happened at the convent, Father Percy’s role, and who Aoife truly is.

Other Thoughts:

• Sister Eileen is a twisted individual who most definitely knows more about what took place behind the closed doors of the convent. She’s content with what took place, making her even more of a disgraceful person who deserves to be hit with the complete book of the law.
• Massey’s role in these precarious situations is quite upsetting because he’s actively blocking the investigations. It feels like he’s so riddled with guilt about what happened that he can’t possibly admit to being part of something so atrocious.

What did you think of this episode of The Woman in the Wall? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Woman in the Wall is available to stream on Fridays and airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.

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