In the ’90s, a businessman in the Greater Manchester area finds himself in heaps of trouble when his past starts to catch up to him. Created by Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman, Power of Parker stars Game of Thrones veteran Conleth Hill alongside Sian Gibson and Rosie Cavaliero in lead roles, and the first season contains six hilarious episodes. This comedy reflects life and keeps things lighthearted until Parker’s store goes up in flames, which also happens to be the first scene of the series. Here’s what happens in this BBC comedy, The Power of Parker.
Spoilers Ahead
Who are Katherine and Diane?
Martin Parker is a strapping man in the middle of his life, and he’s apparently everything that people in their 20s aspire to be by the time they push 50. Parker rides his red Merc to his massive electronics store, which was handed down to him by his dad, and at night, he drives back to his villa of a house in one of the poshest parts of the town. Back home, he’s got a beautiful and loving wife, Diane, and his two brilliant kids, who are so well-behaved that they might be the most boring characters of the whole series. Honestly, what more could a man ever ask for in his life?
Of course, there’s a twist. Parker’s happy business and married life are but a façade after all, and he’s neck-deep in problems. He’s had a mistress, a ditzy and carefree Katherine, who’s really excited to celebrate their anniversary, or rather, 25 years of being Martin’s mistress. He’d managed to put her in a flat and would take care of all her financial needs, and what’s more, they’d made plans to go away together. However, the debtors have come knocking, and Martin, the successful businessman, needs to pay a massive sum of money to some local upstarts called the Slater Brothers, who ride bicycles and threaten to mess up the silver-haired, upstanding gentleman. With the mortgages for his house piling up constantly and his son’s school fees left pending, Martin can no longer pay for his girlfriend’s accommodations and has to end things with her with arrogant urgency because the water has gone above his head.
Fuming, Kath goes up to Martin’s house, where they’re partying, and she scratches up his fancy Merc, but when Diane comes outside to investigate the ruckus, Kath has to flee in a hurry, leaving behind her keys. Driven out of her flat, Kath has to move into an old people’s home, with her room next to the ancient Beverly. Diane visits the pensioners’ home and discovers that her husband has been in a 25-year-long relationship with her own sister, Katherine!
What is Martin forced to do?
The two women get into a fight and start hitting each other before both need to collapse on the cushion and rest, and strangely, they start bonding over their mutual anger over the one man who’s betrayed both sisters. Meanwhile, Dougie, the ladies’ father, and Martin’s father-in-law learn of Martin’s infidelity and go into Parker’s Electricals to square up to the uppity man. However, he’s laid flat on his back by the comparatively younger son-in-law, and Dougie ends up in the hospital, having had a mild heart attack. But things aren’t going well for Martin either. While his wife and his girlfriend tend to their injured father, the lenders keep harassing him, and when he blows off their youngest brother, Martin is kidnapped. He finds himself in some woman’s house, and the middle kid hands him a packet of drugs and demands that he deliver it to a certain part of the town as a drug mule. Martin uses his opportunity to escape through the bathroom window and reach his office, only to find the drug packet sitting on his table.
How Does Martin Lose Everything?
Sometime later, Kath comes over to his office and plays sultry music to distract him as she steals a file. This is all part of the plan cooked up by the two sisters, who spoke to Martin’s accountant, Alan, and learned that both of them had been shareholders in Martin’s company and were capable of aggressively taking it over. The women knew that more than either one of the two sisters, Martin loved his company the most, so they’d hurt him in the worst possible way by seizing it from him. To do that, though, they needed the file about the shareholders, and so Kath snuck into Martin’s office and left with a big box. Hilariously, what she thought contained the papers actually contained the drugs that the Slaters had dropped off for Martin to deliver, and now Martin was in deeper muck than he could imagine. He’d have to drive to the pensioners’ place and fetch the box back, but the female orderly had already removed the bag of pills.
Perhaps the only good thing that Martin had going for himself was that a friend had agreed to make him the treasurer of the Rotary Club, meaning Martin would be able to pay off the debts. However, on the night he was to visit the friend with his wife Diane, Martin couldn’t have imagined how comeuppance would come at him. Diane got drunk on champagne and blabbed everything about their financial issues, and like clockwork, the secretary or friend showed up the next morning in Martin’s office to let him know that he wouldn’t be getting the position. Desperate for a loan of 1200 pounds, Martin went into the bank, where he found his wife and his girlfriend, who’d united and signed the papers to take over Parker’s Electricals from him. To add to that, Diane demanded a divorce, leaving Martin penniless and without a family. Kath told her sister that she’d signed the company over to Diane and that she’d never wanted a penny of the business. Besides, she’d made a huge profit off the pills that the orderly sold.
What Happens After The Store Burns Down?
That night, as the Slater Brothers broke into the shop to destroy the property and probably send Martin to the hospital, or worse, he’d already made plans for the immediate future. The Parker family’s fax machine received a paper about the insurance details of the Parker Electricals, and the Slater Brothers found that the whole store was going up in flames. Martin had set his store alight, starting from his office, and the brothers fled as everything caught fire. Three months later, there was a brand-new store that stood, as Diane was the new owner, and she’d hired her family as the crew. Her kids and her dad were part of the crew, and everything looked brilliant and much posher. She’d done well for herself, and a woman who’d never dreamed of being anything other than a housewife was now a successful businesswoman.
Watching the ad on TV was Kath, who smiled with pride at seeing her sister flourish when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Martin, as gorgeous as before, standing with a takeaway packet from their favorite food joint. She hugged him as he asked if there’d be room for two—Martin and Katherine—to go away as they’d always planned. She looked pensive as she hugged for a moment, but then gave into the moment.
‘Power of Parker’ Ending Explained
Martin Parker seemed to be at his wit’s end by the time the final episode of Power of Parker rolled in, until he surprised us all with a sudden twist out of nowhere. Although we could’ve guessed where the story was heading right from the first scene of the episode, a lot of us would’ve blamed it on arson or revenge. The fact that Martin lit up his own store just so that his family didn’t suffer says a lot about the redemption that his character experiences. It was an open fact that Martin loved his store, so being willing to burn it to get the insurance money for his family that he won’t even be a part of anymore spoke volumes about the development he went through and how he learned to pick the important things. In the end, he picked Katherine because, in a way, that’s who he’d loved more than her sister, and he’d said so in one of the heated arguments. However, we don’t know what fate holds for Martin or Kate or how he escaped the fire. In case he committed another fraud to escape punishment, Power of Parker season 2 might bring some retribution on the former businessman, but till then, do enjoy Season 1.
