The majority of strands opened up in the previous five episodes get wrapped up here, in a tense and convincing episode. The story may not be particularly original - but then again, what is in the world of police procedurals given the sheer quantity of them - but it is well acted and transcends what almost verges into soap opera drama, somehow skirting it in a way that's really quite hard to pull off. The up-tight major characters bend a bit here, adding a touch of humanity and there are pleasing elements of nuance that are often absent in shows of this nature. If the show stretches to a third season, I'd be happy.
4 Reviews
Season Two Review
southdavid29 March 2022
Having recently finished the first season of "Traces" which I thought was watchable enough, if a little wooden - we crashed on into the second season. If anything, the dichotomy of the show was even more pronounced with this second run.
With the trial of her mother's murderer approaching, Molly (Emma Hedges) is increasingly apprehensive and Daniel (Martin Compston) is conflicted about the potential outcomes. As the trial date approaches, Dundee is rocked by a series of explosions and DCI McKinven (Michael Nardone) brings Professor Gordon (Laura Fraser) in to work on the aftermath. As his feelings for her grow, his life is made more complicated by his wife Azra (Laila Rouass) joining the case as the technology expert.
Even more so than in the first season, it struck me this time what the show is. It's "Doctors", the BBC's daytime soapy drama, just with a darker case at its heart. You have all the business about the love between Sarah Gordon and McKinven - and the effect that will have on their marriages. Professor Torrance has a B-Story that runs the length of the season, regarding an argument with the dean of the university that becomes a vendetta. Once the court case is completed, Emma and Daniel are immediately written out of the story, presumably never to return - again, like it's a soap opera and the characters contracts are up.
But also this soapy nonsense is up against a bombing spree that is rocking the city, that (without giving too much away) is linked to an incel terrorism group with a storyline ripped from the headlines, but then has to work quite hard to explain some of the terms of this community to an audience that would be unfamiliar. The performances, generally a bit shaky in the first season, were, for me, even less convincing here. With the love triangle being a particularly badly done aspect of the show, almost like none of the three actors involved were convinced by it either.
All that said, I would still probably come back and watch a third season, if one was made, as I'm reasonably invested in who these people are now, even if they aren't wholly convincing.
With the trial of her mother's murderer approaching, Molly (Emma Hedges) is increasingly apprehensive and Daniel (Martin Compston) is conflicted about the potential outcomes. As the trial date approaches, Dundee is rocked by a series of explosions and DCI McKinven (Michael Nardone) brings Professor Gordon (Laura Fraser) in to work on the aftermath. As his feelings for her grow, his life is made more complicated by his wife Azra (Laila Rouass) joining the case as the technology expert.
Even more so than in the first season, it struck me this time what the show is. It's "Doctors", the BBC's daytime soapy drama, just with a darker case at its heart. You have all the business about the love between Sarah Gordon and McKinven - and the effect that will have on their marriages. Professor Torrance has a B-Story that runs the length of the season, regarding an argument with the dean of the university that becomes a vendetta. Once the court case is completed, Emma and Daniel are immediately written out of the story, presumably never to return - again, like it's a soap opera and the characters contracts are up.
But also this soapy nonsense is up against a bombing spree that is rocking the city, that (without giving too much away) is linked to an incel terrorism group with a storyline ripped from the headlines, but then has to work quite hard to explain some of the terms of this community to an audience that would be unfamiliar. The performances, generally a bit shaky in the first season, were, for me, even less convincing here. With the love triangle being a particularly badly done aspect of the show, almost like none of the three actors involved were convinced by it either.
All that said, I would still probably come back and watch a third season, if one was made, as I'm reasonably invested in who these people are now, even if they aren't wholly convincing.
Bombs Away On The Banks Of The Tay
Lejink2 June 2022
Second series of this six-part "Silent Witness" wannabe series set in that hotbed of crime and terrorism, Dundee, although if they can convince the public of threats to humanity in Shetland of all places, I guess they'll buy anything.
It begins by returning the viewer to the end of the first series as Martin Compston's character's dad goes on trial for the years-ago murder of his young girl-friend, Molly Windsor's mother. This puts pressure on the pair's relationship, especially as they're now living with the accused's estranged wife, i.e. Compston's mum, who it's fair to say, isn't a fan of their coupling. Things ratchet up further when Windsor thinks she's pregnant and by episode three, the trial verdict on the bad dad is in...and that, oddly enough, is the end of that story line with still half the series to go.
That's fair enough, there are plenty others in the ether to choose from, the main one being an escalating bombing campaign in Dundee wrought by an archetypal lone-bomber who identifies with the Incel Movement (no, I hadn't heard of it either) as attention switches to lead professor Sarah Gordon (Laura Fraser) who assists D. I. MacInven, Michael Nardone, in the race against time to stop the perp before he climaxes his campaign with literally a big bang.
You want more, well, things get a bit soapy as Gordon and Nardone get the hots for each other, which turns out to be especially awkward when the detective's profiler wife joins the team. Gordon's second-in-command Jennifer Spence meanwhile rubs up against both the new University Dean and a young student helper at the same time while investigating the separate deaths of two bodies which turn up in the Tay.
In summary, I enjoyed the series a bit more as it went on, although the Compston-Windsor axis still felt unresolved, so much so that I kept waiting for that story to return before the end for a better sense of closure. The trail of the young bomber was reasonably tense and exciting if a little second-hand as I feel I've seen many a double-episode of the afore-mentioned "Silent Witness" deal with similar subjects in half the time.
I wasn't always convinced by the acting of the cast which I felt often failed to rise above "River City"-levels (not a compliment, believe me!). A lot of the situations too, especially the relationship stuff, just didn't ring true and had more than the whiff of padding about it.
In the end then, I found this second series to not really be any better or worse than its predecessor. With a couple of plot-ends left dangling at the end, I wouldn't be surprised therefore if this team returned to deal with another Dundee disaster in a third series which I'll probably just about get up enough enthusiasm to watch, if they do.
It begins by returning the viewer to the end of the first series as Martin Compston's character's dad goes on trial for the years-ago murder of his young girl-friend, Molly Windsor's mother. This puts pressure on the pair's relationship, especially as they're now living with the accused's estranged wife, i.e. Compston's mum, who it's fair to say, isn't a fan of their coupling. Things ratchet up further when Windsor thinks she's pregnant and by episode three, the trial verdict on the bad dad is in...and that, oddly enough, is the end of that story line with still half the series to go.
That's fair enough, there are plenty others in the ether to choose from, the main one being an escalating bombing campaign in Dundee wrought by an archetypal lone-bomber who identifies with the Incel Movement (no, I hadn't heard of it either) as attention switches to lead professor Sarah Gordon (Laura Fraser) who assists D. I. MacInven, Michael Nardone, in the race against time to stop the perp before he climaxes his campaign with literally a big bang.
You want more, well, things get a bit soapy as Gordon and Nardone get the hots for each other, which turns out to be especially awkward when the detective's profiler wife joins the team. Gordon's second-in-command Jennifer Spence meanwhile rubs up against both the new University Dean and a young student helper at the same time while investigating the separate deaths of two bodies which turn up in the Tay.
In summary, I enjoyed the series a bit more as it went on, although the Compston-Windsor axis still felt unresolved, so much so that I kept waiting for that story to return before the end for a better sense of closure. The trail of the young bomber was reasonably tense and exciting if a little second-hand as I feel I've seen many a double-episode of the afore-mentioned "Silent Witness" deal with similar subjects in half the time.
I wasn't always convinced by the acting of the cast which I felt often failed to rise above "River City"-levels (not a compliment, believe me!). A lot of the situations too, especially the relationship stuff, just didn't ring true and had more than the whiff of padding about it.
In the end then, I found this second series to not really be any better or worse than its predecessor. With a couple of plot-ends left dangling at the end, I wouldn't be surprised therefore if this team returned to deal with another Dundee disaster in a third series which I'll probably just about get up enough enthusiasm to watch, if they do.
Rapidly went downhill
hhtkmxckh22 April 2022
Series 1 was excellent; series 2 began ok but suddenly new characters were parachuted in with jarring effect. Then the 2 main characters- together with their key plot line- suddenly disappeared without trace. Quite bizarre. Then the series descended into a nonsense melodrama rather like EastEnders. Quite quite bizarre; a real fall from grace.
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