Warning! Contains major spoilers for The Woman in the Wall episode 1.
Opening with a compelling hook, The Woman in the Wall‘s episode 1 makes several revelations about its main character’s dark past, her present mental health conditions, and her potential role in two murder mysteries. Created by Joe Murtagh, the murder mystery show unfolds in a fictional town called Kilkinure, Ireland. In its opening moments, it presents Clare Harner’s poem “Immortality,” which sets the bleak tone for the story ahead.
Almost throughout its runtime, The Woman in the Wall‘s episode 1 goes back and forth in time to reveal what happened to its main character, Lorna, and how her traumatic past is affecting her present. While unraveling the mysteries of Lorna’s past and present, the show introduces Detective Colman Akande as its secondary protagonist, who crosses paths with Lorna through a murder investigation. Although The Woman in the Wall‘s episode 1 leaves viewers with more questions than answers, it drops enough clues for one to speculate what the murder mysteries surrounding Lorna could mean.
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10 Lorna Receives A Letter From A Stranger Who Knows About Her Dark Past
The stranger’s letter presents the show’s overarching mysteries
In The Woman In The Wall‘s opening arc, Lorna receives a letter from a stranger that reads, “I know what happened to your child.” Lorna uses the number behind the letter to contact the sender. However, instead of answering her call, the sender asks her to meet at the Thin Man Pub at 8 p.m. This sets the stage for the show’s three main overarching mysteries: who sent the letter, what do they want from Lorna, and what happened to Lorna’s child?
9 Lorna’s Flashback Reveals Her Child Was Taken Away From Her After Birth
Lorna’s past explains her present mental health conditions
A flashback in The Woman in The Wall‘s episode 1 reveals that Lorna’s child was taken away from her right after birth. The flashback suggests that the nurse who took her child was a nun, but the episode takes its time to unravel the tapestry behind Lorna’s mysterious past. Lorna’s present timeline reveals that losing her child was scarring for Lorna, and because of the trauma she sustained from the incident, she is often found sleepwalking around the town by the people who know her.
8 Lorna Was Sent To The Kilkinure Convent After Getting Pregnant
Lorna’s trauma in The Woman in the Wall stems from being sent to a convent
Another flashback delves deeper into Lorna’s past and provides more context to what might have happened to her baby. It discloses that she had an unwanted pregnancy when she was much younger. Distressed by the situation, her parents had sent her to a convent against her will. The final shot of this flashback shows her departing her parents’ home in a green car driven by a priest.
7 Someone Kills Father Sheehan
Father Percy Sheehan was a key figure in Lorna’s past
Other than giving enough exposition to Lorna’s past, The Woman in the Wall presents another mystery that revolves around the murder of Father Percy Sheehan. DS Colman Akande is asked to investigate Sheehan’s death, and when he arrives at the crime scene, he learns that the Father might have died from a blow to his head. As Akande sets out to solve Sheehan’s murder, he learns that it might have something to do with the convent that Lorna and several other young women were sent to.
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6 The Kilkinure Convent Was A Magdalene Laundry
Akande learns the truth about Father Sheehan and his Kilkinure history
Amy, who is revealed to be one of the many women sent to the Kilkinure convent when they were younger, gets approached by Akande at her store. When Akande tells her about Sheehan, she reveals that the convent was a Magdalene Laundry, where the father held many young girls like her and Lorna captive. She even expresses how happy she feels about Sheehan’s death, which makes Akande suspicious. After they leave the store, Sergeant Aidan Massey tells Akande that they had previously carried out an investigation to find the laundry but never found any concrete evidence to prove its existence.
5 Lorna Finds An Unconscious Woman In Her Home
Lorna discovers the identity of the sender of the letter
When Lorna goes to the Thin Man Pub to meet the person who had messaged her, she gets into a confrontation with a man who recognizes her from school. The confrontation escalates, and Lorna slips and passes out. When she wakes up in her home, she finds a box and an unconscious woman in a room. After suspecting that the woman might have been the same person who sent her the anonymous letter about her child, Lorna calls the number on the letter. The unconscious woman’s phone rings, confirming that she was, indeed, the sender of the letter.
4 Father Percy Connects To DS Colman Akande Past
The Woman in the Wall sets up a complex murder mystery case for Akande
While Akande goes through Father Percy’s belongings, one of his fellow investigators notices a picture of young Akande with Father Percy. Akande reveals that he used to be a troubled child before Father Percy took him under his wing. Unlike the women from the convent, Akande seems to have fond memories of the priest. This will likely tie into the overarching conflict of the show, as Akande will face a complex moral dilemma while struggling to believe that Father Percy was responsible for running the laundry and harming so many women.
3 Akande Grows Suspicious Of Lorna After Learning About Her Past
Many clues point towards Lorna being Father Percy’s murderer
The more Akande learns about Lorna and her sleepwalking, the more he gets suspicious about her involvement in Father Percy’s murder. Peggy and Deidre also tell him that Lorna had broken into the convent about a year ago and destroyed the Virgin Mary’s shrine with an axe. To question Lorna, Akande visits her home, but she does not open her door for him. Although Akande leaves, assuming that Lorna is not home, he will likely visit her again because she is the primary suspect in the crime.
2 Sleepwalking Lorna Burns Down Father Percy’s Car
Lorna’s sleepwalking makes her a primary suspect in the crime
In The Woman in the Wall episode 1’s final arc, Lorna sees Father Percy’s green car getting towed to a secure location for investigation. This brings back her past trauma, reminding her of how her parents sent her away with Father Percy in his car. The memory stays with her, and she later sleepwalks to the car before lighting it on fire. As she heads back home from the scene, she suddenly gains consciousness and realizes what she has done. To prevent herself from sleepwalking again, she returns home and scribbles a reminder: “Stay Awake.“
1 Lorna Buries The Unconscious Woman Behind Her Wall
Lorna could be the killer but there is likely more to the murder mystery
Lorna realizes that the dead woman in her home was a nurse at the laundry, which explains how she knew about her child. Before the episode’s credits start rolling, Lorna buries the woman’s body behind a wall in her home to hide all evidence of her murder. Throughout its runtime, The Woman Behind the Wall‘s episode 1 presents Lorna as an unreliable narrator. Although it explicitly shows that she burned Father Percy’s car, it never discloses whether she murdered him and the nurse. Most clues in The Woman in the Wall‘s pilot point towards her and make her the primary suspect, but there is likely more to the murder mystery than meets the eye.
The Woman in the Wall
The Woman in the Wall is a 2023 crime-drama thriller series created by Joe Murtaugh. When a woman named Lora wakes up to discover a body in her home, she is forced to investigate and uncover the truth behind the body – even if it means she may be the murderer.
- Release Date
- September 24, 2023
- Cast
- Ruth Wilson , Daryl McCormack , Simon Delaney , Philippa Dunne , Mark Huberman
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Joe Murtagh
- Writers
- Joe Murtagh
- Network
- BBC , Showtime
- Directors
- Harry Wootliff , Rachna Suri
- Where To Watch
- Prime Video
