Silent Witness's Nikki and Jack take another big step in their relationship – but it's overshadowed

Contains spoilers for Silent Witness season 29, episodes 5 and 6.

While marriage is undoubtedly a big commitment – and Nikki and Jack tying the knot felt especially significant given just how patiently Silent Witness fans had been waiting for them to arrive at that point – season 29 sees them make an arguably even bigger commitment to one another: buying a house.

For a lengthy stint, Nikki and Jack were locked in a will-they-won't-they dynamic, with a lingering look here and a kiss there. But eventually they became official and, in the season 27 finale, he popped the question, with the pair marrying in the season 28 finale – although the lead-up to their big day certainly wasn't without some drama.

"There's that commitment that's been made, and... we see Jack trying to plan the perfect wedding and Nikki is sort of paralysed by how much there is to put into arranging a marriage," Emilia Fox said on The One Show last month.

"So she doesn't even know where to begin."

But her anxieties eventually dissipated when they opted to marry in a humble courthouse ceremony, with Kit as their witness and Harriet as Jack's best man.

"I don't think she was reticent about Jack at all," Emilia Fox told Radio Times. "I think she was reticent about what marriage means – how one makes that commitment, and whether you do it with all the pomp and ceremony of a big wedding, or choose something more intimate.

"So it was about stripping it back to what marriage meant to her and to them, and he understood that – and that gave us something to play."

Cut to the most recent episodes – which were due to air last week but were pulled from the schedule – when the pair are in the thick of house viewings following their move to a new city, and eventually settle on their perfect property.

And it seems they've made the right choice when one of their new neighbours pops over to say hello, bringing flowers and homemade food. For all of the turmoil and division in the city present in episodes 5 and 6, there are some small yet heartening moments of community to restore one's faith in humanity.

But while the couple are the most solid they've ever been, and getting the keys to their new home is a cause for celebration, Jack's contentment is cut abruptly short when his phone pings.

It's a video of none other than Jack himself discussing Ross, the man who murdered DI Kayla Baran's partner, Destan, after he assaulted her.

"He was attacked from behind by a Muslim asylum seeker who came over in one of the boats, and he defended himself," Jack says in the video, peddling a bare-faced lie. "Since when was self-defence a crime? He's a patriot."

He then gestures to the vigil for Destan outside the school, beside which he's standing, adding: "We got one. We need to get more."

But of course, that's not Jack at all – it's a deepfake video being used to stir up racial divisions in the city, something Hamza Ahmed also falls victim to. The clips are shared by two accounts which both originate from the same server in Cyprus, controlled by a Russian national.

The clips are also based on "legitimate" social media posts from real people, later corrupted and distorted using AI, including material from the far-right group Jack unwittingly found himself drawn into after meeting them at the gym.

It's revealed that DC Jonno Magath was part of that group, although he had begun to question its true purpose when members started legitimising murder.

And while Jack has tried to distance himself from them, it seems they're not quite done with him.

"He's more affected by the trials and tribulations of his work, and we see that play out majorly in this series," said David Caves. "Jack is really tested in one story – a very personal odyssey he must go on alone."

How that video impacts him long-term, both personally and professionally, remains to be seen.

Silent Witness seasons 1-28 are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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