Anyone who has been watching Sky’s The Third Day over the last couple of weeks is likely feeling a bit confused at the moment. Tomorrow’s episode (episode three) marks the end of Jude Law’s character Sam’s story – the final three episodes will focus on Naomie Harris’ character, Helen, with the live ‘theatrical’ episode preceding them – but we’re still none the wiser about Sam’s connections to the island and what the hell is actually going on.  

Because just when we thought The Third Day couldn’t get any weirder, the folks at Sky gave us episode two. At this point in the series, it’s getting pretty difficult to decipher what’s real and what’s not on Osea Island. Is everyone on drugs? Is there something in the water? Is it all in Sam’s imagination? Who knows.

The only thing we do know for certain is that the second episode of Sky’s new psychological thriller was anything but straightforward – and we’ve got a lot of questions that need answering.

At the beginning of episode two we find Sam in bed with Jess (Katherine Waterston) after their wild night at the island’s one and only pub. At the end of episode one we saw Sam covered in blood after he ran across the island in pursuit of the little boy he keeps seeing – but when the second episode begins, it appears that was all a dream. Or at least that’s what we’re supposed to think.

After finding himself stuck on the island for another day (he keeps conveniently missing the low tide when the route off the island becomes accessible,) Sam digs deeper into the island’s quirky rituals and strange inhabitants and finds himself fearing for his life – only for the pub’s landlords, Mr and Mrs Martin, to reassure him that his fears are simply a result of his overactive imagination.

Cue the return of nightfall, a ritualistic festival and a couple of tabs of acid (as if this show needed more chaos), and Sam’s life is left hanging in the balance. 

All in all then, the second episode of The Third Day left us with more questions than when we started – and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Sam in the concluding episode of his story next week. For now, however, we’re left to ponder all the strings that were left untied at the end of episode two. Let’s take a closer look. 

What’s with the caravan?

When Sam is dreaming at the very beginning of the episode, we see him stumble upon a burning caravan adorned with red markings. The door, which is locked, seems to be buckling from the force of someone trying to kick it open from the inside.

Later on, when Sam is (supposedly) awake, we see him come across the same camper during his exploration of the island – only this time, it’s completely burned out, suggesting that scene from Sam’s dream carried some truth.

We also learn that the man who killed Sam’s son – the Romanian asylum seeker who confessed to the crime – had something to do with the caravan (in a newspaper clipping from the time of Sam’s son’s death, we see his killer sat in front of the caravan before it had been burnt).

Did Sam carry out revenge on his son’s killer and lock him inside the burning caravan? Or is he only dreaming of doing so?

Also, Sam said he’d never been on the island before he met Epona – has this caravan made its way from the mainland, or did Sam forget about a previous trip to this strange place? 

Is someone spying on Jess?

There are a number of moments in episode two of The Third Day when a character drops what sounds like a clue – only for the narrative to move on to some other crazy occurrence. Jess’ story about her abusive husband is one of them.

In a conversation with Sam over breakfast, Jess reveals that her husband gained full custody of her daughters after a period of depression led her to turn to drinking, and that now she has to be on her best behaviour in order to make sure she can see her girls.

But she also reveals another, more sinister-sounding detail – that her husband never lets her leave the country without someone reliable to spy on her and ensure she’s on her best behaviour. Is anyone spying on Jess on Osea? And if so, who? 

What “intense call” was Sam dealing with when his son disappeared?

In a similar scenario to the one above, Sam reveals what sounds like a key detail when talking about the disappearance of his son, only to move on without any further explanation.

As he’s telling Jess about losing his son to a murder when he was six years old, Sam reveals that he turned his back on his son while dealing with “an intense call,” only to turn around and find he had been taken. He then goes on to explain the details of the case, including the discovery of his son’s body in a river and his murderer’s death by suicide.

Am I the only one wondering what on earth this “intense call” could have been about? Sam is definitely hiding something – and this phone call could be one piece of the complex puzzle.

Who is Mimir, and what do the masked men want with him?

After Jess tells Sam about the local archivist Mimir – whose name he appears to recognise – he pays him a visit and finds him passed out on the floor with a bottle of alcohol outside his rather dilapidated home.

However, after taking him inside, Sam uncovers folders full of newspaper clippings – one of which is from the time of his son’s death – and realises that Mimir was the man who carried out the autopsy on his son.

While in the process of confronting him, Mimir urges Sam to hide before masked men barge into his home and take him away at the end of a crowbar.

Although I have very little idea of what’s actually going on here, it’s clear that Sam, his son and the island are interconnected in some way.  

What is the darkness?

After leaving Mimir’s house, stumbling upon the burnt out caravan and being chased by a load of hooded figures, Sam finds himself at the end of Epona’s dad Jason’s shotgun, who tells Sam it’s his fault that his child is dead (we later find out Epona is alive, but that she had a brother who passed away in a farming accident).

Luckily, Sam manages to talk Jason down and get him to lower his shotgun – but after a lengthy proclamation about hate and grief, he says something rather sinister which left us scratching our heads.

“It’s coming. The darkness. The darkness is coming.”

We’ve got no idea what Jason is talking about, but we’ve got an inkling it could be pretty significant. 

Is Larry trying to kill Sam? And if so, why?

We already know Larry (John Dagleish) is a super shady character, but why does he seem to have it out for Sam?

While Sam is hallucinating (as a result of the acid he took with Jess), the Martins appear and tell him he needs to flee because Larry is coming to kill him. After Mrs Martin drags Sam away by the hand (a moment which we see through the eyes of Sam’s hallucinatory state), he finds himself in the middle of a clearing next to a church on his own. 

Lo and behold, Larry appears (or at least Sam thinks he does) and hits him round the head, where the episode ends. 

Because of all the acid and Sam’s history of psychosis, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what he’s imagining – but if we take Sam’s word for it, Larry is out to get him, and we don’t really know why.

The first two episodes of The Third Day are available to watch now on NOW TV and Sky Go.

Images: Sky