It has now been over a week since Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) graced our television screens for the last time and yes, I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. The finale saw Luther down a partner after Ripley (Warren Brown) was gunned down by the vigilante killer Tom Marwood (Elliot Cowan) and possibly a girlfriend after Marwood goes after Mary Day (Sienna Guillory). He's also still the subject of a rather ham-fisted investigation into his activity by DCU Stark (David O'Hara) and the now rather conflicted DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird). However, as these threads begin to unravel and tie him up in knots, an old friend in the form of psychotic Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) shows up to help out.
I'm still in two minds about this finale because it felt like an episode of two halves. On the one hand, you had the culmination of the Marwood plotline which followed directly on from the previous episode and featured some of the tensest scenes Luther has been involved in. On the other, there was the desire to wrap up Luther's story in a satisfying way to ensure that the fans got the ending that the character deserved. We also had this ongoing investigation into his methods, which by this point was weaving between the two narratives, but is very much a leaden weight to both. It's an odd mix and Neil Cross managed to largely succeed in making both plotlines work, but not necessarily together.
First of all, the Marwood narrative is one of the more interesting ones tackled by Cross; the idea of a vigilante killer in Luther's messed up world poses some intriguing questions for both the audience and Luther, as discussed in last week's review. Yet in his brutal killing of Ripley, an innocent, Marwood crosses a line and in this episode, he crosses that line and then sprints some way into the distance. Thus ensuring that we know he's completely unhinged by kidnapping an innocent woman to persuade her husband into killing the imprisoned murderer of Marwood's wife. Elliot Cowan's performance has been excellent throughout; Marwood's a broken man trying desperately to get some recognition for what he's done.
It's that desperation that Luther latches on to and there is an absolutely brilliant scene in which he and Alice wear Marwood down, filming him with his own camera in order to puncture his vigilante hero reputation. Any scene between Cowan and Elba was a delight, but the extra spark of the excellent Ruth Wilson elevated it above the rest. It was one of two key scenes in Marwood's plot that stood out from the episode, the other being the confrontation on the top of Paragon Tower safe house in which he tried to force Luther to choose between Mary and Alice. The tensions was ramped up the right amount but came more from the fact I didn't really care about Mary but was desperate that Alice survived. Luther's clever decision picking Alice (who would've let Mary die) ensuring that Mary saved her was a good twist and provided a most satisfying ending for Marwood.
And then there was the other plot thread in which Stark's demented investigation continued, but managed to suck any tension out of the proceedings once the odd couple of him and Gray appeared onscreen. Arresting Luther for the murder of Ripley and attempted murder of Mary was just a bit ridiculous on both level of plot and in terms of the characters' decision. Plotwise, it seemed to be there just to continue the parallels to Zoe's death in the first series and to put Luther in an adverse position, which he sort of was already. Granted, it did introduce Alice back into the mix (and what an entrance), but it didn't feel necessary to the proceeding hour.
In fact, the investigation plot didn't feel necessary in these last two episodes full stop. O'Hara's performance became a grizzly one note that wasn't menacing, but irritating and I was curiously indifferent to the moment in which Stark got blasted away. Gray's sudden change of heart just felt like a last minute attempt to redeem the character. It was a plot that was wrapped up in the second episode with the declaration from Ripley in which it provided an interesting dynamic to the fetish killer narrative. Here, however, it was just a dead weight. I would have much rather have spent more time with Marwood's plot and allowed that to breathe more; it was the much more compelling storyline.
The performances in this episode were largely excellent, particularly Cowan as I have mentioned. Yet it is to the two starring roles that we must turn because, when all is said and done, Alice came back. A fascinating character in her own right, Wilson's Alice is so gleefully demented that she provides a great balance to Elba's darker introspection. The actors' chemistry is electric and this episode proved that the third series really missed the banter that passed between them. With rumours of a movie and an Alice spin-off, Luther's ending left it suitably open-ended, but one thing was absolutely clear; Luther and Alice were going off together.
And let's face it, that was the ending we always wanted. He could've kept the coat though...
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here.
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Following on from last week's nailbiting terror of an episode, Luther (Idris Elba) finds himself investigating the murder of the woman and her husband and attempting to track down the fetish killer before he strikes again. He also had a successful date with Mary Day (Sienna Guillory), though spends most of the episode trying to get back in touch with her. DS Ripley (Warren Brown) is still working with DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and DSU Stark (David O'Hara) to bring down Luther by observing his unorthodox methods and reporting back to the pair of solemn investigators. Ripley is also trying to wrap up the murder of Jared Cass on his own whilst Luther busies himself with the other killer.
Anyone worried that the second episode of Luther couldn't live up to the sheer thriller that was the opening needn't have bothered. The same tension was not present at the beginning of the episode but writer Neil Cross and director Sam Miller kept up the chilling atmosphere throughout before ramping it up to near-unbearable levels once again as we followed the two nurses around their home, knowing that the killer was in there. Miller is an assured hand and let the lengthy POV shots speak for themselves, lingering on the victims and teasing the audience for what seemed like an age before the killer reveal.
The link back to the previous cases proved to be an interesting development and the scenes between the fetish killer and cancer-suffering murderer William Carney (Ned Dennehy) were creepy to say the least. It also leant an interesting development to Paul Ellis, the killer, and rather than being the silent absolute of a serial killer, the audience was granted an insight into his past as well as his current life. Clearly we are never meant to empathise with him (the dependence on murdering women in their homes puts paid to that), but it is always refreshing to find villains presented as multi-dimensional characters too, building into the believability of Luther's already heightened version of reality.
Elba is, as ever, the dependable centre of the show, brings such presence to Luther; he's the strong centre of the show, yet, as evidenced here, that comes with a certain level of self-doubt. His relationship with Ripley has been the one constant throughout the three series and watching it fracture in last week's episode was an odd development, as I discussed previously. However, it seems that my fears were unfounded as Ripley, recorded on a dictaphone, gave an impassioned defence of his boss. Elba's performance in this particular scene was wonderfully understated and his sense of relief is palpable.
Speaking of Ripley, Warren Brown's performance over the last two episodes has been excellent, particularly in this instalment as he faces pressure to wrap up the Jared Cass murder as well as rat on his boss. His scenes with Lucian Msamati as the grieving and now one-handed Mr Barnaby were the calmest moments in the episode, yet imbued with that same sense of dread. It takes someone very special to be able to deliver a line like "your hand is now with our forensics team" and not even blink.
Elsewhere in the episode, we also had the developing romance between Luther and Mary, who thankfully toned down the Manic Pixie Dream Girl aspect of her character this week, just enough for me to start liking her. However, it is also looking likely that she has something to do with the vendetta that is keeping our DCU Stark so dogged on the trail for Luther. The women in Luther's life are always an interesting study, though it seems we've finally escaped the shadow of his deceased wife Zoe. I'm still rooting for Alice to appear though because Mary may be lovely, but there is nothing like the chemistry between Elba and Ruth Wilson.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of Luther's first episode here.
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Luther returns to our screens, two years after the last series aired, walking out of a burning building dragging a suspect behind him, not even stopping to pause as an explosions rips through the doorway he has just moved away from. Of course he does. It's a great opening for one of the gruffest detectives around and a welcome return for Idris Elba in the role. Neil Cross' series about the titular police man with a dark and tortured past has never been anything but gripping and whilst the change in format for the second series didn't quite match up to the brilliance of the first, it remains here. The current run is four episodes consisting of a pair of two-parters, allowing for some lengthy character development and also, some nasty, nasty crimes.
Heading up the Serious and Serial Crime unit, you always know the criminals in Luther aren't going the of the fluffy bunny variety and so it proves again. Tell me, did you check underneath your bed last night and make sure all the doors and windows were locked? I certainly did, because those two murders in last night's episode were terrifying. A testament to Sam Miller's direction, the first sequence with Emily Hammond was torturously slow and took place in complete silence before some screeching strings that frightened the life out of me as the fetishistic murderer's head popped out from underneath the bed. I already knew he was there thanks to the long, lingering shot of Emily's feet from under the sheet, at which point I was already shouting at the television telling a fictional character to get out of their house (Luther does this to me).
The suspense didn't end there though and the playing with horror conventions worked really well throughout the episode to ramp up the tension to the point of it being almost unbearable. This was particularly effective with the closing murder scenes of the episode, playing like a house invaders narrative, albeit with less build up than something like The Strangers. The murderer again hiding in the house, though this time in plain sight under a dust sheet in the attack. Again, Miller takes his time with the set up, allowing the husband to get perilously close in near silence before the murderer struck loudly and violently. This was another shouting at the television moment, I'm not ashamed to admit.
One aspect that Luther has always handled well is the multiple strands to each story that is presented. Whilst Luther and the ever-dependable Ripley (Warren Brown) were investigating the Hammond murder, they were also given the murder of Jared Cass, an internet troll and now part of a post-mortem graffiti exhibition. This led to one of the finest scenes in the episode as the pair were led to the Barnaby family, whose daughter had been killed and later defiled on the internet by Cass. Lucian Msamati's grieving father was heartbreaking to watch and made even more painful by Luther's decision to warn him obliquely that they knew he was the killer. As the blender was plugged into the wall, I hid behind a cushion and shouting at the television once again. This episode put me through the wringer.
However there was another plot strand that didn't work, or at least wasn't allowed the time to develop that it perhaps should have been. With the antagonising DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird) returning with a big ole grudge for Luther and hiring an unhinged DCU Stark to work the corruption charge she's just been dying to hit Luther with. They do this by recruiting Ripley to their cause. Yes, the same Ripley that risked his career and life back in the first series because he believed that Luther hadn't been the one to kill Zoe. The same Ripley that has been by Luther's side loyally for a huge amount of time. Apparently, all it took to turn him was a bit of casual strangulation.
Now Ripley has always been Luther's moral compass of sorts, tasked with reining him in when the DCI gets a bit violent or unhinged and I can understand that that would take its toll on a person. Yet it was unbelievable in such a short space of time, with little to no development leading into it. It's a character moment that jarred and whilst Brown has performed excellently, I can't help but feel this could be a bit of a bum note in the series, designed to add yet another menace to Luther's progression. On a positive note though, the interaction between Elba and Brown in the scenes where their relationship starts to fracture was deftly handled with just a couple of quick glances to let you know of Luther's suspicion or Ripley's shifty attitude. It just could have done with some more build-up.
Finally, in amongst all this death and tension, there was also a nice bit of light relief as Luther met someone who was labelled 'love interest' from the moment her bumper clashed with our detective's old banger (not a euphemism). Sienna Guillory's Mary Day emerged from her car (told you it wasn't a euphemism) in a slightly Manic Pixie Dream Girl-ish way, but I won't hold that against her just yet as I liked her scenes with Luther. A nice bit of banter between the two about his name, which also provided some neat character analysis, was a welcome break from the episode's darker moments.
I can't be the only who is missing Alice already though right?
- Becky
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