Every Inside No. 9 Twist Ranked
12. Diddle Diddle Dumpling - David Is A Grieving Father And He Owned The Shoes All Along
Plot: David (Shearsmith) finds an abandoned shoe and becomes obsessed with tracking down its owner.
The ending of this fantastic episode reveals that David was the real owner of the shoe all along and that he was so unwell he'd just forgotten where it came from. This feels a little far-fetched, but everything else about this ending is superb.
The reveal that David's daughter is a twin whose brother is dead turns this episode into a very powerful portrait of grief and David's quest to reunite the lost shoe with its other half was an extremely clever and original way to represent this.
It also changes the entire episode for a second viewing. The first time around, it's very intriguing but watching it again and knowing what the shoe means for David, it makes for a seriously emotional watch.
At the end, David has blood on his hands and sirens are heard. It's not clear exactly what he's done (he doesn't remember) but it's strongly implied he's killed or seriously hurt someone: either his young daughter, to reunite her with her dead twin, or a friend (Matthew Baynton) of his wife's who she'd got to pose as the owner of the shoe to put David's obsession to rest.
Whatever happened, it's absolutely haunting stuff.