Ep 4. Faith

Set in the picturesque town of Portwenn in Cornwall, England, Doc Martin tells the story of a brilliant but socially awkward doctor named Martin Clunes, who moves from London to the countryside to work as a GP. In season 8 episode 4, titled Faith, viewers see Martin dealing with the aftermath of an arson attack that took place in the previous episode. The town's popular and longstanding pub, the Crab and Lobster, was burned down, and the arsonist is still at large.

The mood in Portwenn is tense, and Martin is particularly affected by the incident as the pub was a place where he and his wife, Louisa, used to go for a drink. Meanwhile, Martin struggles with the fact that Louisa is going back to work at the local school, leaving him alone to care for their young son, James.

In Faith, the episode opens with the revelation that the Crab and Lobster's owner, Skip, has been receiving threatening letters in the run-up to the fire. Martin and PC Penhale (who is also the town's police officer) are trying to track down leads, and Martin spends a lot of time questioning Skip's brother, who has a history of starting fires.

As Martin tries to piece together what happened and who is behind the arson, he is also dealing with a patient who is convinced that she has a serious illness. Despite there being no medical evidence to support her claim, the woman, named Faith, is convinced that she is sick and demands that Martin run a battery of tests.

Throughout the episode, viewers see Martin struggling to balance his workload and his personal life. Louisa's return to work is a big source of stress for him, and he is worried about being able to manage James on his own. He also gets into a heated argument with his aunt, Ruth, about her plans to sell the family farm and leave Portwenn for good.

As the episode progresses, Martin begins to suspect that there is more to Faith's ailments than meets the eye. Her insistence on being tested for obscure medical conditions piques Martin's interest, and he starts to dig deeper into her history.

Without giving too much away, Faith's story takes several surprising twists and turns, and Martin finds himself drawn into her world in unexpected ways. He also gets closer to identifying the culprit behind the arson attack, but not before there is another violent incident in the town.

Overall, Faith is a tense and dramatic episode that showcases the best of Doc Martin. The show's unique blend of dark humor, intricate plotting, and memorable characters all come together in this installment. Martin's struggles with balancing his personal and professional life are especially poignant, and the episode ends on a tantalizing cliffhanger that will leave viewers eager for more.