Still
wary – there’s a lot here that’s being done sensitively and right, but there’s
also stuff that makes me nervous. This
season is going to depend greatly on how the Trish storyline is handled.
With
evidence that Trish’s rape was premeditated, Hardy and Ellie are trying to hit
the ground running on the investigation, but it’s difficult. There are a number of variables in the case,
they have limited resources, and while Hardy is anxious to get Trish’s full
statement as soon as possible, Ellie doesn’t want to push Trish before she’s
ready. Beth, serving as an advocate for
Trish, feels caught between what her client needs and what the police want.
I’m still
taking a wait-and-see approach here. As
I said, there are aspects of this plot that I think are done well. I like the recognition that there are fewer
department resources devoted to sex crimes, and as I said last week, it is
realistic that not everyone believes Trish’s story (I just don’t like that
seemingly the one voice of suspicion is from a young woman.) I also appreciate that Trish isn’t a “perfect
victim” – she was drinking the night of the attack, and she has a history of
casual sex, neither of which negate what happened to her or make her feel any less
violated.
It’s just
a matter of what the show does with this moving forward. I’d like some acknowledgment of how police
disbelief can negatively impace a case, and I’m kind of nervous about Hardy’s
preoccupation with a “rapist in the bushes” figure prowling the streets. I hope the season gets into myths about rape,
and I hope we get to see some of the women really taking others to task over
their misconceptions.
I love
Jodie Whittaker in this episode. As
Trish’s advocate, Beth admits that she doesn’t have all the answers and can’t
“fix” things for Trish, but she can assure this survivor that all her feelings
are normal and valid, that what happened to her wasn’t her fault, and that
she’s stronger and braver than she thinks.
Beth’s first meeting with Trish is a really beautiful scene – even if
Beth has doubts in her own abilities, it’s obvious that she’s brimming with
compassion and wants to help Trish take charge of her own healing process.
Something
else I like about the episode is how it shows the lingering effects of Danny’s
death. Three years later, that grief is
still strong, but without an investigation or a trial to focus on, there isn’t
as clear a place for it, and the characters struggle to know what to do with
it. That feels very believable to me,
and I look forward to seeing their ongoing journeys on this.
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