While the first episode of Code of Silence opens with Alison being arrested, we’re taken back to three weeks earlier for the rest of the episode. It’s time to find out what she did and which side she ended up on.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Code of Silence season 1, episode 1.
We quickly get to know that Alison’s superpower is the ability to read lips. She can tell that two police officers are having some sort of affair or forbidden work relationship, as DC Ben Lawford reminds DS Sara Burns that she would leave him, but now she says that she can’t do it. That’s sure to come up at some point.
For now, we just know that DS Ashleigh Francis wants to speak with Alison, and so Alison goes to see what Ashleigh wants. Why would a cop want to speak to a Deaf canteen worker?
Ashleigh needs Alison’s help on a case in Code of Silence
As Ashleigh explains that all the other lip readers are on other assignments, we learn that she got Alison’s name from the Community Skills Database and would like her to help. Of course, DI James Marsh isn’t all that convinced that a canteen worker can do it, so he puts her to the test. Alison makes it clear that she can do it, and she’s given the task.
There’s a gang that has been planning a robbery. They know the gang is likely meeting the next day, but it’s impossible to know where. So, they need Alison to lip-read to find out the location, and she’s not allowed to tell anyone about what she’s doing.
Alison’s homelife isn’t all that easy to live
Alison is simply trying to survive. She constantly debates whether people are saying things about her, and she’s struggling with her mom, who is also Deaf. When she asks her mom about her dad, Julie says that he’s gone. That’s it.
We also learn that she was with someone called Eithan, but they’ve broken up and Eithan has returned Alison’s things. Alison has been avoiding him, suggesting that the breakup was on her side rather than his. She also later finds out that her landlord is looking to sell the estate they live on to a management company, and this could threaten their livelihood.
With all this, it’s no wonder that Alison is eager to prove herself to the police. It’s not surprising that she’s taken to doing something dangerous to feel alive, and when she gets a call from Ashleigh, she jumps into action.
Alison starts to form a connection with Liam
A woman called Helen Redman seems to be getting the old gang back together, sending a message about meeting at a picnic bench on the south side of the park to three numbers, with two of those numbers potentially belonging to Braden Moore and Joseph Holhurst. Another member, Danny Heath, is still in prison.
A group who are nicknamed Cruella, Wolf, and Hulk get together, and Alison watches everything on the cameras as a man the police don’t recognize walks up to the group. Alison notes that his name is Liam, and it’s possibly either Barlow or Marlow, giving us a realistic view of lip-reading. It’s not always perfect.
Despite never meeting the man, Alison quickly gains an obsession of Liam, who is Barlow and not Marlow. She can’t help but look through images of him. However, it’s still early days, and she does start by working with the police and giving them the information she learns from the next conversation between the group.
She also shares a few of her hunches. While the group is known for jewelry heists, Alison doesn’t think that thi sis what its about. She thinks it’s about biometric security, and Liam could be a computer hacker. Of curse, not everyone is happy that she’s started asking questions or coming up with her own theories, so she’s pushed further and further out.
She decides to head to The Canterbury Tap, a location that is one mentioned by the group. That’s where she meets Liam, and she strikes up a conversation about craft beer, only later to admit that she actually knows nothing about it. If it wasn’t for this being an investigation, it would be cute. Well, except for Liam accidentally knocking her over when she starts to follow him afterward. They do get a cute moment at the hospital, where Liam shares a little more about him, including that he’s new to town.
The end of the episode sees Liam meeting with the group again after going to an electronics shop. He tells them that he couldn’t make the meeting because he knocked someone off his bike, and he couldn’t call for an ambulance because of the police potentially turning up. Of course, James wants to know what the group is saying, but can Alison tell them the truth?
Code of Silence airs on Thursdays on BritBox.
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