Luther Season 1, Episode 6

With his wife dead and Reed turning everyone on the team but Justin against him. Luther has to enlist some unlikely assistance from both Alice and Mark. On the run, and looking for a way to exonerate himself and punish Reed for what he’s done, Luther’s choices bring his innocence further into question, and a confrontation with Reed turns out far from the way he’d planned it.

My Thoughts:

Someone needs to slap Rose straight across the face. I have no idea how she – or any of them, really – could believe Luther capable of killing Zoe. Good on Justin for trusting the man. And good on Schenk for looking past what was being put in front of him. Also, I’m really pleased with the growth in Mark’s character – he started out the show, hating Luther (or at least extremely disliking him) and now he knows enough of the man to realize he could never kill his wife.

The pacing of this episode is kind of amazing. It’s exhilarating but not so fast paced that you get lost in what’s going down. And just when you think the stakes couldn’t get any higher, there’s one more thing added to the precarious stack and you’re certain it’s about to topple.

The ever quickening descent into madness for Ian reed is kind of delightful. What started in the previous episode has quickly devolved into pure terror at being caught, and it’s making him jumpy. I really enjoy when a character can put the antagonist on the ropes like this… but no one else understands how mental he is.

I do love Luther, Alice and Mark as a team. I really hope they find a way to work together again. Also, I was not expecting Alice to kill Ian. But I am happy there was a small amount of closure to this season (though this was technically a cliff hanger).

I am really happy with Alice’s progression through the series. She’s not what I expected, and I think that makes me like her more…

Luther Season 1, Episode 5

When an art dealer’s wife is kidnapped and the demand is set for the diamonds the kidnappers don’t know are in the woman’s stomach, Luther and the team work quickly to save her. Unbeknownst to them all DCI Ian Reed has been helping London’s underbelly for a cut of the profit, and when the possibility of being outed becomes too real, he decides he needs to take matters into his own hands, and Luther’s wife may be the one to pay the price.

My Thoughts:

Note to self, never swallow diamonds. (I don’t think I’ll ever need that disclaimer, btw). This is an interesting episode, because the show’s normal held together-ness starts to shatter and the fact that people Luther thought he could trust, can’t be is a scary thought.

I’m really weirded out by the fact that DCI Reed turned out to be a baddy.  He seemed so unassuming at first. And I’m flabbergasted by the fact that he actually killed Zoe. It should be really interesting to see how this plays out – especially with the amount of blood on his hands now.

It is quite telling, that Zoe still loved Luther enough to risk her own life to keep him safe. And it’s incredibly sad how that turned out. (Were this any other genre of show, I might hold out hope that she’d survive… but this isn’t that sort of a show.)

(More in the next Episode – since this one leads into it)

Luther Season 1, Episode 4

Three women have turned up dead in a month’s time and the killer’s timeline seems to be escalating. When the killer takes a necklace from his latest victim, giving to to his unfaithful wife, he unknowingly seals his fate. As Luther investigates, he realizes the only way a young woman would get into a car with a man she doesn’t know is that the killer is a taxi driver. When they bring in the suspected man’s wife for questioning, the necklace in the picture of his third victim – and subsequently around her neck – proves to be more than the woman can handle. But nabbing the man is going to be trickier than he’d suspect.

My Thoughts:

I have a problem with the man’s wife, because she felt too weak to be likable. I understand that she didn’t want her husband to kill himself, but honestly, if you’re in a situation you need to get out of, you find a way to do it. Leaving someone does not make you responsible if their cowardly enough to take their own life.

The wife braining the husband with the hammer was not that much of a surprise. Afterall, her reaction to the necklace was particularly violent, and it was apparent that she loved the man she was having an affair with – where she didn’t love her husband – so another, more violent, reaction was the most plausible outcome there.

Luther Season 1, Episode 3

When a woman goes missing, her newborn asleep in the crib upstairs and her walls covered in satanic script written in blood, Luther knows a killer who’s been silent for 10 years is back. Knowing who the killer is isn’t enough, and catching him doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be able to save his latest victim.

My Thoughts:

The setup for this episode almost feels like something you’d see on Criminal Minds. It’s interesting how they’ve portrayed such a violent-seeming crime, so you get the effect, without giving away that the woman taken, wasn’t the woman who’s blood is on the walls – at least not before you’re meant to know.

The fact that he leaves the baby is odd to me. I suppose the writers didn’t want to make him into too much of a monster, but still.

I do love Luther’s not-by-the-book detecting. There’s something incredibly comforting in someone who’ll do what it takes to get the job done, because he truly wants to save a life.

The call DCI Reed makes to the killer was a little worrisome at first – I honestly thought there was a possibility the man was a dirty cop. ETA: Damn. Now I wonder if he didn’t do this by himself, and then when Luther needed it, he offered…

ETA: The exchange: “What you’re doing is wrong.” “Yeah, I know.” “Why do it then?” “Cause it’s right.” Is probably my favorite bit of dialog from this entire series… because it explains the heart of what Luther is about.

Luther Season 1, Episode 2

As police officers are killed by someone who appears to be military trained. As the death toll rises, and the attacker puts out a video, demanding his father be released – or more will die – Luther and the rest of the team scramble to get a hold on the situation before anyone else has to die. Knowing where the killer is, Luther confronts him alone and unarmed.

My Thoughts:

I understand the reasoning behind the hurry up and catch the bastard mentality this episode has… and I get that, as the audience, we have that dramatic Irony of knowing what’s about to happen before it does, but at the same time I feel like there were a lot of cock ups in this episode that could have been avoided, had the higher ups taken a breath and evaluated the circumstances.

Pretty much hate that dude’s dad right now. What a wanker. I think the thing about him I dislike the most, though, is that he’s a reality. And that is utterly depressing. And the son is a tragic case, but if he’s been so brainwashed by his father, then it’s really not safe to turn him loose.

This is one of those episodes where I am struck with the reality that guns are illegal in England and therefore the police don’t carry them… (As the daughter of a police officer, I’m used to seeing the standard issue strapped to a hip – even for detectives)

Luther Season 1, Episode 1

DCI John Luther returns to duty after a seven month suspension because his arrest of a serial killer puts said serial killer in a coma. His first case back concerns the home invasion and deaths of Douglas and Laura Morgan, found by their daughter Alice.

At first, it seems as though it might be a perfect crime, but with the help of DS Justin Ripley, Luther works a hunch and is convinced Alice killed her parents, but evidence is lacking and means are hard to prove. And while she doesn’t admit it, Alice enters into a psychological game with Luther, threatening his wife and keeping Luther on his toes.

My Thoughts:

At this point, I feel as though Alice is setting up to be Luther’s Moriarty… and at the same time, I don’t think they’re going to go that route. I’m just not sure about her. She’s feisty, I’ll give her that, but her motivation for killing her parents is off for me – and that makes her less than likable at the get go… I guess we’ll see how that progresses.

I don’t know how I feel about his wife. Indira Varma is a pretty amazing actress, so I’m hopeful that she’ll take the character in a direction I’m not expecting. (Also, how awesome is it that her boyfriend is the 8^th Doctor?) So far, I only care about her because Luther cares about her, and I feel pretty stabby about the fact that she’s having her affair.

This is a wait and see series. I’m not sure how things are going to evolve, and that makes me want to watch more, but as of yet, I’m not completely enthralled.