I think
the show’s investigation game has changed a little with each season. In series 1, Hardy and Ellie would typically
focus on one suspect for an episode or two, largely eliminate them, and find
someone new. In series 2, they had
Hardy’s main suspect that they’d come back to amid occasional forays into other
possibilities. Here, there are a number
of potential suspects, and it’s still very much up for grabs.
The
investigation expands as another woman comes forward about being raped several
years ago, under circumstances that are disturbingly similar to Trish’s. Ellie and Hardy look for connections and try
to figure out which of their suspects might have had ties to both women. Meanwhile, a secret of Trish’s comes out and
has a ripple effect through her circle.
With the
widened scope of the investigation, I like seeing Ellie and Hardy compare the
details and speculate as to how they might fit together. It remains to be seen whether the rapes
really were committed by the same person (though personally, as a storyline,
I’m guessing they were,) but it’s interesting to see how that changes the
questions the detectives have as they examine the evidence.
There’s a
lot in this episode dealing with the affects of rape culture, which I
appreciate. Officer “Maybe She’s Making
It Up” has had her eyes opened a bit to the weight of what’s going on, and
while I’m not a huge fan of how the
show goes about that, it’s good to see her attitudes changing a little. I also appreciate the sentiment behind
Hardy’s slightly-stunned realization that the other woman didn’t report her
rape until now because she didn’t think the police would believe her, although
again, the execution feels a bit off. I
don’t know – maybe it’s in fact depressingly realistic, but to me, it feels a
little, “Is this your first rodeo, Hardy?
How do you not know this?” Trish
also experiences a pretty awful confrontation with someone she’s close to, in
which they throw an ugly rape myth in her face.
Hard to watch, but very real.
On the
Beth side of the proceedings, she has a few things going on. She has a debriefing session with a
colleague, getting into her own feelings about her work with Trish, and she
also deals with Mark’s continuing obsessions, questioning why she’s always
expected to shoulder the burden of his grief.
Overall, I’ve been liking what they’re doing with Beth this season. To be sure, Jodie Whittaker is good at
handling the intense emotions of the first two seasons, but at some point, it
starts to feel like the show has nothing for her outside of crying or
raging. Which is of course totally
understandable for where she is at that time, but it’s much more
narratively-satisfying to watch her have a chance to be more proactive, to
really channel her grief into something positive.
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