In the first episode of five part UK crime thriller Better, Detective Inspector Louisa ‘Lou’ Slack (Leila Farzad), based in Leeds, is living a double life. To the world, she is an upstanding citizen and a successful police officer, but she has been secretly working for Col McHugh (
Andrew Buchan), the city’s top drug trafficker, for the past two decades. Lou and Col have used each other to climb the ranks in their respective fields and have become close confidants.
As the episode begins, Lou is heading out on another assignment for Col, much to the dismay of her husband, Ceri (Samuel Edward-Cook). Lou arrives at a dilapidated pub that has been converted into a drug lab, only to find it ruined by what appears to have been a gunfight. She locates the object she was sent to retrieve—a pistol. As she leaves, Lou witnesses a young man, a casualty of the gunfight, take his last breath.
Back home, Ceri expresses his frustration with Lou’s tendency to keep him in the dark about her work with Col. Their son, Owen (Zak Ford-Williams), has been unwell with a fever, adding to Ceri’s concerns. The following day, Lou prepares for Col’s birthday party, but Ceri refuses to attend, choosing to stay home and care for Owen. Lou attends the party with Col’s associates, Bulgey (Garry Cooper) and Noel (Kaya Moore). Before entering, Noel takes Lou’s phone for security purposes.
When Lou finally retrieves her phone after the party, she is met with a flood of frantic messages and missed calls from Ceri. Owen has been rushed to the hospital after Ceri found him unconscious and covered in rashes.
Better, Series 1, Episode 1 airs Sunday, 15 September 2024, at 9:20 pm on ABC.
