Thirteen. I missed the original BBC showing of the
five-episode showing of Thirteen, the fictional account of a young women who at
the age of 26 escapes after 13 years of captivity for sex. The episodes are
available on the BBC I Player. She is found
by the police and DNA confirms
she is the missing daughter of a couple
who have separated, the husband living with his personal assistant at
work and a young daughter who is about
to marry and lives with her fiancé at the family home, Despite warnings that
adjustment back will be difficult
daughter and her mother and mother insist on an immediate return home and mother also insists on the husband
moving back into the household in order to re-establish a normality as things were
13 years before. Ivy, the victim, appears as determined as her mother to recreate
the situation before the adduction.
The
police have questions, not the least to identify and apprehend the perpetrator
and are concerned what appears to them to be a reluctance rather than an inability
help find the location. When they do they find evidence of inconsistency in the
story presented that Ivy was never allowed out of the basement where she was
held and which has been cleared along with the rest of house to provide no evidence
or clues of what has happened and where the captor could now be. Then the
discovery of female clothing in any upstairs bedroom suggests that she was
allowed out of the basement and then the discovery of torn passport size photo indicates
she was out of the house. Ivy claims that although this happened there was
never an opportunity to get help or escape.
CCTV footage from a shopping mall demonstrates this also was not true.
The
next development is the identification and location of the captor’s mother to a
residential home where it established she died sometime previously but had
another son. The finding that there was a younger half-brother adds to concern about
the story Ivy has given. The female
police detective has been the most sceptical about the story presented and
works out there is more space in the cellar area that what appears and discover
a false wall behind which is the skeleton of the half-brother. The evidence of
his age confirms that he was present in the property during the time Ivy was captive
and it is her DNA on the covering of the remains. She admits she was present
when the captor killed his half-brother and is charged with attempting to
pervert the course of justice.
Through
social media Ivy had contacted a boy with whom she had been close when she disappeared.
It is evident she had hoped he had remained faithful in his commitment at the
time to her. He hides the fact that he has married and is guilty about
establishing a life for himself and where he fails to share his developing
contact with his wife and which causes Ivy and his wife to distrust him when the
truth emerges. Ivy was on her way to meet up with two school’s friends on the morning
she disappeared and one of the friends returns, guilty at the decision not to
attend the meeting and at first is forgiven by Ivy because of all the other if
only events had not happened that day. What is not forgiven is failing to
disclose she had stayed with the former boyfriend and his wife on returning and
knew he was married.
It
has emerged that the captor had worked at the school but does this fact alone
account for the panic by the Headmaster at the news that Ivy has returned and over
the series we discover that the cause of his guilt is that on the morning on
her disappearance he was having a secret assignation with the girl’s mother. The younger sister at first convinced the
returning young woman was not her sister changes and the two become conspiratorial
and this undermines the relationship with the fiancé. The programme highlights
the anger victims feel with their families over having found ways to move on.
Concern
by police mounts when another young girl is kidnapped and by the same captor
and because of having killed his half-brother the welfare of the kidnapped girl
becomes urgent and paramount. The captor contacts the police asking for a
meeting with Ivy. Everyone is reassured that Ivy will be protected at the
meeting in a shopping centre with 50 plain clothes officer monitoring. Despite
this the captor has contact undetected and makes his escape with Ivy on the
basis the new kidnapped girl is released which she is unharmed and reunited
with her parents[CS1] .
Worse
is to follow because the captor can escape further to an unknown destination by
causing the chasing vehicle with the two detectives to crash, seriously
injuring one. We switch to house where Ivy is being half again and we learn
that she had been pregnant at one point and the man appears determined to reinstate
their previous relationship. She manages to escape from the house which
explodes in a burst of flames in a planned suicide attempt by the captor as the
police who with the help of the recovered girl have located the property. What
is also clear is that the substance of Ivy’s story is proven. The outline of
the story fails to convey the insight into the complex impact of being taken,
raped and held for years has had on Ivy and need to block out and go back to
the girl and situation as before. While there are some credibility issues in
the storyline there are several excellent other performances. I am still left
with the question Entertainment no so what has been the point?
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