Based on a chilling true life murder. The first episode seemed to have skimped over just what the real life Peter Farquhar must have gone through.
In The Sixth Commandment, writer Sara Phelps wanted to put the victims, front and centre. Not delve on their suffering but going by the first episode it came across as a little sketchy.
Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall) is a teacher, a writer, devoutly religious and a closet homosexual. Now retired he plans to spend more time writing and is a guest lecturer at a university.
Into his life comes Ben Field (Eanna Hardwicke) an older student. He is also religious and despite having a girlfriend, he charms Peter. He immediately senses that Peter is gay and soon declares his love for him.
Both men become a couple, Peter even makes Ben his main beneficiary in his will. That is when trouble begins.
Peter becomes ill, forgetful, he collapses, his behaviour changes. At one point Peter is placed in a home.
All the time Ben has been playing a game, maybe slowly poisoning Peter. The charm is superficial he is after the money. Ben also has another victim lined up, Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid) a neighbour of Peter.
Now it might just be what happened to Peter will continue in later episodes in forms of flashbacks.
This was certainly fast moving and also well acted by the leads. Spall does well in conveying Peter's loneliness and conflict about his sexuality.
I was intrigued to know if Ben had specifically targeted Peter. The first scene of Ben is with sports clothing and Peter liked to look at sporting males on the internet.