‘Unforgotten’ Star Nicola Walker Reacts to That Shocking Season Finale
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Unforgotten Season 4, Episode 6.]
Rest in peace, Cassie Stuart.
The PBS series Unforgotten said an emotional goodbye to Nicola Walker’s character in its Season 4 finale Sunday night. The London detective chief inspector, who was also the soul of the series thanks to Walker’s beautifully nuanced performance, died from injuries she sustained in a car crash, leaving her family, colleagues, and viewers shattered.
In the previous episode, Cassie’s car was hit by a speeding vehicle she didn’t see because she was physically and emotionally drained from returning to work when she’d wanted to remain on medical leave. Initially, it looked as if Cassie would pull through, but in the end, her loved ones were told that she was unlikely to regain brain activity.
Cassie’s fate may have caught viewers by surprise, but it was something Walker had discussed with the show’s creator and writer, Chris Lang. “We were talking from the beginning, really, about what he was doing with this character and this story he wanted to tell,” Walker told TV Insider. “Chris and I were always interested in looking at the cost of being involved with these sorts of cases that we all love watching on television. Cassie does not have superpowers. She’s an ordinary person who’s really good at her job, and it took her to the place of having an emotional breakdown.
“We talked a lot after Season 3 about where it was going to go, and it was a joint decision,” she adds. “I think the clues were there in Season 3. The title of the show is Unforgotten and I think there’s a great deal of narrative beauty to this woman. She’s not going to be forgotten. I felt like she was quietly very unusual on television because she was a real person.”
Cassie’s death was a blow to her father, Martin (Peter Egan), who had been at odds with his daughter over his will. After learning that he’d never speak to her again, Martin listened to the last voicemail message she left him, an apology and a declaration of love: “I will be better. I promise. And then, for however many years we’ll have together, we’ll try to get back to normal… I love you so much.”
Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Mainstreet Pictures LTD)
In her absence, Cassie’s devoted detective colleagues, led by Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar), solved the 30-year-old murder of Matthew Walsh when Dean Barton (Andy Nyman) broke down and confessed to the killing because he believed Walsh murdered Dean’s own brother.
Nyman’s performance was nearly as heartbreaking as the episode’s final scenes, which show Sunny putting flowers on Cassie’s grave. Her epitaph reads, “She longest lives, who most to others gives, herself forgetting.”
Accompanying these moments was a voiceover of Sunny’s touching eulogy. “I can say without a scintilla of doubt that she was the best I’ve ever met,” he praises. “So we can be sad that we’ve lost someone we adored, and who we will miss every day, but we can also be grateful for the time we did have with her and for the impact she had on all our lives. Cass Stuart was my colleague. She was my mentor. She was my friend, and I loved her.”
It’s a sentiment Walker shares. She was sad to say goodbye to a character and colleagues who meant a great deal to her, but she did get to take a valuable souvenir from the set: Cassie’s badge.
“It’s hanging in my office,” she says. “I think that’s really all I took, but that was the most meaningful thing to me because it was around my neck the whole time. That’s what she was carrying around, this weight. It’s a really nice thing to have to remember her by.”
The loss of Cassie doesn’t mean the end of Unforgotten, however. Lang is at work writing Season 5, and although Walker may not be in it, she promises she’ll be watching.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she says. “I’m going to become a fan now.”
Unforgotten, Season 5, TBD, PBS
Conversation13 Comments
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G
I have to say I was completely devastated. Her character, for four seasons, was so brilliant. She never gave up pursuing truth and justice. I think she deserved better from her superiors who didn’t acknowledge the emotional toll the job took. In the end, it cost her life. How sad!
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P
What a brilliant show. The acting is/was stellar and the writing, all I can say is "Wow." If only all shows showed this much depth, and writing expertise. Thank you for the excellence.
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G
There was such a deep humanity to Cass that Nicola portrayed to perfection. I truly felt as though I knew this woman personally and understood the overwhelming empathy that ultimately did her in. The soft admiration, great respect and brilliant chemistry between Sunny and Cass is something I will miss very, very much. It was a beautiful thing to experience, and again, the casting of Sanjeev in the role of Sunny, couldn't have been better. He is brilliant in his own right. Thank you for the gift of this cast, these stories, and the unique heart of this show.
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C
Sigh. Beautiful performances, beautiful writing. Farewell Cass, you will never be forgotten.
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L
Cassie's death was presented in a heartbreaking and shocking way that will not be soon forgotten. Seeing her hooked up to all the machines was extremely realistic and well done. It heightened the emotional impact of losing a beloved character. The writing and performances were superb. Thank you to everyone involved In the making of this amazing series.
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P
Wow, did not expect that ending. I remember the first time I saw Nicola Walker. It was in "Scott and Bailey". I will be looking forward to seeing Nicola Walker in another series. She is a great actress and DC Cass was a very good character.
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G
Just watched it here in Denver, forgot about it after season 3, then it showed up on PBS pay per view! We watch a lot of BBC , ITV, etc TV for the acting and plots that are usually much better than what is produced here in the States, and this show was one of the better, quality is hard to come by. Unique plot and twits and turns, I hate the long interims between seasons though, and the unsuspecting cancellations from the UK!
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O
Just wow... What an amazing experience it is to watch Unforgotten. The cast and crew have managed perfection in every episode, and each new season has somehow topped the last.
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I’m as broken up as I am over this. After all, Cassie was a character created on a keyboard, and yet I’m mourning her like she was my sister and best friend. Kudos to Chris Lang and Nicola Walker for bringing this compelling character to life.
I thought nothing could ever kill me to the extent of Breaking Bad and it’s stunning Baby Blue finale, but Unforgotten just did it. I’m completely shattered.
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B
You won't often hear me react to anything on TV. I rarely laugh out loud, and it is even more rare that I tear up. When I heard Cass's prognosis my chest tightened and I emitted weird strangled sounds. Even now, just reading about the show deeply saddened me. It will be interesting to see how the show's ratings do.
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O
I’m so disappointed in this ending. The star character dying in a car crash IS lazy writing. They couldn’t have let her retire after this case and live happily ever after?
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G
This is such a great series. Excellent characters, beautifully actress. So good, and yes, heart-wrenchingly sad.
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B
She is a great actor. I enjoyed her performances in everything she has done to date. She won't be off the small screen very long. If you think she is good in "Unforgotten", catch her performances in "MI-5"
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C
I hope they didn't actually pay Lang for that laziest bit of writing I've seen in decades. Take the character that almost single-handedly made the show what it was, and relegate her to a bit part in the finale? You obviously ran out of either money or ideas. If you wanted to kill her character off that's fine, but to render her unconscious for the entire episode, and give her maybe 5 lines at the end, was an insult to the audience.
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