BBC drama series Baptiste took another twist this evening (Sunday, February 24) as further secrets came spilling out. Episode two of Baptiste was called Measure of a Man and shed further light on the mysterious Edward Stratton (played by Tom Hollander) as Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) dug deeper into the case. Much like the opening instalment, episode two also saw things ending on a tantalising scene.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Baptiste episode 2
Measure of a Man saw Julien making a grisly discovery in Edward’s basement after he found the head of the murdered man from episode one.
As fans will remember, an old man living by the sea was brutally murdered by a Romanian gang member posing as the gas meter man.
The head of the victim was then revealed to have made its way across the Channel and ended up in Edward’s basement where it remained rotting and attracting a multitude of flies.
We have yet to receive an explanation as to why the head is there, but it looks like episode three will reveal all after Edward looked like it was going to confess all to Julien.
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Whose head is in Edward Stratton’s basement?
Although we are still in the dark over why the man was killed in the first place, there have been some clues about his identity.
A quick glance at the cast list for episode one on the BBC’s official Baptiste website reveals the character is called Richard Stratton and the actor is Nicholas Woodeson.
The character is one of the few to have a full name – and it’s significant because it suggests a link between Edward and the murdered man.
Could this cast list be an Easter Egg left by the writers Harry and Jack Williams? The surname Stratton suggests there’s a deeper family affair here than one first glance.
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Edward appears to have ordered the killing of Richard, who appears to be a relative. But why would he want to bump off his own relative and then keep the head as a memento?
The killing also could be connected to the death of Edward’s daughter Lucy, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 19.
But to add another layer of confusion IMDb lists the character by the name of Peter – could this have been to throw off eager Baptiste fans?
With only a third of the way through the six-part drama, it’s too early to say at this stage why Richard/Peter was bumped off with the story set to unfold further next week.
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The one thing that seems to be becoming more apparent is that this is something deeply personal for Edward but it’s not clear how.
Edward’s daughter also seems to be an important part of this story after Julien discovered the truth about the businessman.
Clare (Clare Calbraith) – Edward’s ex-wife – revealed to a stunned Julien how they had split following Lucy’s death and his life had gone on a downward spiral.
Edward is in cahoots with the Romanian mafia but just how he’s connected remains to be seen.
Viewers will have to tune in next week when Edward is likely to shed further light on the case.
Baptiste airs on BBC One on Sundays at 9pm