The Game episode 2 recap: Is Huw dead? Huw's obsession with the Ripton Stalker lands him in grave danger

The Game is a gripping four-part thriller that sees a retired detective suspect his new neighbour is, in fact, the notorious serial killer he failed to catch.

Jason Watkins plays DI Huw Miller, who can’t quite settle into retirement, as he remains haunted by the memories of a case he failed to solve - that of serial killer, The Ripton Stalker.

But when the handsome and enigmatic Patrick Harbottle, played brilliantly by Robson Green, moves into a house on his street and utters the chilling phrase ‘catch you later’ - the sinister sign-off the stalker used to taunt Huw - he’s confident he’s got his man.

As an intense cat-and-mouse game between the neighbours ensues, will Huw finally be able to beat his most-feared opponent?

Here is everything that happened in The Game episode 2...

The second episode opens with Liz at home alone at night. She makes a coffee, then puts it down to close the blinds in her living room, but when she turns back, she is shocked to find her mug has gone. She knows she left it there a moment ago, and there is a coffee stain ring on her sideboard to prove it.

The following day, Huw is up early and is listening to a post-mortem report about how one of the Ripton Stalker's victims was tied up for days and left with ligature wounds.

Back at home, Alice is getting ready for work and tells Huw that Liz thinks that her husband, Steve, is having an affair with his PA because he is away with work again.

Later, when Alice is at work, Huw gets a call from his neighbour, Tina, who has asked him to babysit for an hour while she gets a manicure. She says the babies are napping and shouldn't wake up and dashes out the door before Huw can say anything. But while he is making a cup of tea later, he jumps when Patrick comes up behind him in Tina's kitchen. Huw asks how he got into the house, and Patrick says Tina has a leaky tap and so she gave him a key to come round and fix it. Patrick says he can't fix the tap now the babies are asleep, and leaves - but has clearly enjoyed the fact he has rattled Huw.

Later, Huw follows Patrick and finds his shop in town, where he fixes things for people. He shows him around his workshop and is keen for Huw to see a doll's house he has been working on. While Huw is looking, he spots a ballerina on the bedside table in one of the doll's house bedrooms, and it reminds Huw of something, so he asks if he can take a photo, but Patrick turns cold and firmly tells him no before shutting the house up and walking off.

At home, Huw looks at the case files he stole from work about the Ripton Stalker as he remembers that one of the victims, Ruth, had a ballerina on her bedside table. When he looks up the police photos from the case, he sees the ballerina is exactly like the one in the doll's house.

Huw goes to see Ruth and she is thrilled to see him. She has been in a bad way, but is trying to get her life back on track after her ordeal. We learn that she would be dead if it wasn't for Huw and while she praises him for saving her life after the Ripton Stalker hid in her wardrobe while she slept, Huw puts himself down because while he might have saved Ruth from being killed, the Ripton Stalker got away that night and avoided being caught.

Huw asks Ruth about the ballerina on her bedside table and she seems surprised when he brings it up and tells him that she got rid of it ages ago. When Ruth starts to get upset as they talk about what happened Huw realises he shouldn't have come and makes a hasty exit, leaving Ruth upset.

The next day, Jenny comes to see Huw and tells him that she looked at Frank's postmortem and that he was right - there were concerns becasue there is no mention in the report about empty pill packets or syringes for Frank to have administered the drug himself. Jenny tells Huw that he needs to stop jumping to conclusions, though, because she talked to the paramedics and they can't remember whether there were any packets or syringes, as it was a busy day. Huw is cross that mistakes were made, but Jenny points out there were no marks on Frank and that he hadn't put up a fight, and it is unlikely that he let a stranger walk into his flat and let them inject him without resisting. Huw knows she is right, but is distracted because behind Jenny, Patrick is leaving his house.

Once Jenny has gone, Patrick gets the spare key from under Frank's gnome and lets himself into Patrick's house. But as he is trying to look in the briefcase under Patrick's bed, Patrick comes home and seems to know instantly that Huw is upstairs. Instead of confronting him, though, he leaves the house and goes straight to Huw's house, where Alice lets him in and asks if he wants a coffee. He asks if Huw is there and she says he is in, but she hasn't seen him for a while. Meanwhile, Huw escapes Patrick's house and has to pretend that he has been putting the bins out, and as they talk in the kitchen with Alice, Patrick tells him in an indirect way that he knows he was just in his house.

Alice suggests that Patrick and Huw should go to the pub together and they are forced to agree. But while they are there, talk turns to Frank, and Patrick tells him he is sorry for his loss, but everything that Patrick says seems false.

The next day, Huw goes to see Ruth and apologises for racing off the last time he saw her. She is pleased to see him and happily accepts when he asks if she would like to go for a walk. As they wander through town, he pretends to be surprised to find themselves at Patrick's workshop and tells Ruth he would like to introduce her to his new friend. He is clearly hoping that she might recognise Patrick as the man who tried to kill her, but she doesn't seem to flinch when she meets him. Meanwhile, if Patrick is the Ripton Stalker, he plays the game perfectly, not giving anything away if he does recognise Ruth. Huw asks to see the doll's house, but Patrick tells them that the owner has picked it up and accuses Huw of having an affair with Ruth, which he obviously denies.

Later, Ruth and Huw go for lunch, but as he grills her on whether she thinks she might recognise the voice of the man who tried to kill her, she gets upset in the restaurant and Huw realises he is pushing her too hard and backs off. But as he backtracks, she realises that Huw thinks Patrick is the Ripton Stalker and is horrified at the fact he used her as bait to lure Patrick into tripping up, and she runs out of the restaurant, screaming.

Huw gets home that evening and is twitchy and distracted after his afternoon with Ruth. He is shocked to find his daughter, Margot, there and she is home because she had a fight with her boyfriend.

Margot notices that Huw is acting off and asks her dad if he is okay, commenting that her mum has pointed out that he has been a bit stressed recently. Huw points out he doesn't have anything to be stressed about now that he is retired, but they end up having an argument and Margot leaves. However, as she walks out of the house, Patrick sees and seems to be enjoying the family rift.

Liz is home alone and she hears loud music suddenly starting to play from upstairs and she is shocked to find the radio has apparently come on by itself. As she turns it off, she hears the front door close and she is terrified as she walks downstairs to see who it is. But as she gets to the bottom of the stairs, the door goes again and she screams; however, she's relieved to see it is Steve, who is back from his work trip. Liz is thrilled to see him, but he is concerned that she isn't herself, especially when she tells him her things have been moving about by themselves.

While Margot comes home again after their fight and sits down with her parents for dinner, Huw tells his wife and daughter that being retired has made him realise what is important in his life and that is both of them. They all seem in a much better place, but meanwhile, Jenny is working late and gets a call to say Ruth has come to see her.

Jenny heads to Huw's and interrupts their family dinner, tells him that the DCI has sent her as Ruth has been to the station and made some serious allegations against him. Huw manages to fob Jenny off and get rid of her, but Alice and Margot are horrified that he is digging around in the past, and Alice asks if he still thinks Patrick is the Ripton Stalker. She is horrified when he says he does, but that he lied that he didn't to make her happy. They end up having another huge fight and he walks out.

Huw heads to Ruth's house to apologise, but she won't let him in as he bangs on the door. He leaves, but while she is making a cup of tea, she hears her ballerina jewellery box playing music upstairs in her bedroom. She races up and turns it off, but then is terrified that someone is in her house and grabs some pepper spray and creeps downstairs to see if anyone is there. But when she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she hears the music playing again upstairs and as she races out her front door, terrified, someone grabs her and drags her back inside.

Meanwhile, oblivious to what is happening with Ruth, Huw goes home with his tail between his legs, but Alice won't let him in, telling him that until he lets the Ripton Stalker thing go, he isn't welcome in their house.

Huw goes to the pub and gets drunk, but as he walks home, he sees Patrick's front door is wide open and he goes to see what is happening. However, once in there, Patrick welcomes him like he was expecting him to arrive and sees that Huw is drunk. He grills him about Ruth and plies him with drink, but as they talk about the Ripton Stalker case, Huw drunkenly asks Patrick if he is the stalker, and he confirms that he is, but before Huw can do anything, he realises his drink has been spiked and passes out cold but still alive on Patrick's living room floor.

The Game airs on Channel 5 over four consecutive nights from Monday, May 12 to Thursday, May 15 at 9pm. It is also available to stream on 5.