I don't normally write reviews, but both seasons of this drama have really grabbed me. I didn't mind the slow pace, because it had me buying in, and I'm a sucker for a bit of neo noir. That's why I wanted it to be perfect.
I was really taken in by this at an emotional level, probably because of some great performances. Maxine Peake, of course, but also the girl playing Ella, who for a 13 year old was pretty amazingly good. I think you can tell when everybody really believes they're involved in something good.
However, part of the pleasure of watching this was meant to be that you were watching something that tells it like it is, and the writer (Peter Moffatt) would surely be disappointed by the ease with which people have been able to pick holes in the plot, not just the procedural details.
A few that were mentioned here and elsewhere: - Why did the Police arrive on the scene before the Ambulance, when they didn't know there had been a crime committed yet? - Would a deeply depressed and controlled woman jump on her doctor (maybe, but would the Doctor let her?) - A judge who knew the deceased would never be allowed, plus several other things that are driving the legal professionals on here nuts e.g. a solicitor would not be cross examining the main witness at an important trial. The QC would do this.
To which I would add: - Would a 13 year old witness to one parent stabbing the other be allowed to give evidence in open court, as much as they might wish to? (In fairness the car crash this would invite is indeed what happened) - If Juliet is not visibly pregnant on the fateful night, and she spends six months on remand, how is it that she gives birth some time before the trial? Time is a bit tight there.
I'm sure there are plenty more! There are also a couple of moments where where we slide into melodrama. Why does Joe have to be shown dying at the precise moment that his daughter is visiting? I just thought that was a bit much.
But as I say, if I didn't care, I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to find fault. Just enjoy having a good wallow in all the misery...
I was really taken in by this at an emotional level, probably because of some great performances. Maxine Peake, of course, but also the girl playing Ella, who for a 13 year old was pretty amazingly good. I think you can tell when everybody really believes they're involved in something good.
However, part of the pleasure of watching this was meant to be that you were watching something that tells it like it is, and the writer (Peter Moffatt) would surely be disappointed by the ease with which people have been able to pick holes in the plot, not just the procedural details.
A few that were mentioned here and elsewhere: - Why did the Police arrive on the scene before the Ambulance, when they didn't know there had been a crime committed yet? - Would a deeply depressed and controlled woman jump on her doctor (maybe, but would the Doctor let her?) - A judge who knew the deceased would never be allowed, plus several other things that are driving the legal professionals on here nuts e.g. a solicitor would not be cross examining the main witness at an important trial. The QC would do this.
- Psychiatric reports would be hugely important in a trial such as this. Juliets' state of mind is basically the centre of the piece. That determines whether she is guilty of murder or not. You'd think they might ask an expert.
To which I would add: - Would a 13 year old witness to one parent stabbing the other be allowed to give evidence in open court, as much as they might wish to? (In fairness the car crash this would invite is indeed what happened) - If Juliet is not visibly pregnant on the fateful night, and she spends six months on remand, how is it that she gives birth some time before the trial? Time is a bit tight there.
- Would Ella really be allowed to go into the trial without being warned that the degree of her trauma, and the counselling she has received, would be used to argue that her recollections are unreliable? Presumably that's a standard line they'd use on traumatised witnesses all the time, if it had any validity.
I'm sure there are plenty more! There are also a couple of moments where where we slide into melodrama. Why does Joe have to be shown dying at the precise moment that his daughter is visiting? I just thought that was a bit much.
But as I say, if I didn't care, I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to find fault. Just enjoy having a good wallow in all the misery...