So, here we are at the feature-length finale to the second season of The Fall. And following the heavily praised conclusion of that other tense drama, The Missing, earlier this week, writer/director Alan Cubitt certainly has a tough act to follow.
More importantly, if he lets serial killer Paul Spector go free at the end of this episode to leave things open for a third series, he'll also have thousands of angry viewers sending the BBC switchboard into meltdown. So what's he going to show us for 90 minutes, bearing in mind that his bad guy was arrested in last week's episode?
Well, first the matter of who was in the burnt-out car is swiftly cleared up. It seems it is Spector's car (not poor Rose Stagg's), and the foot we saw in the cliffhanger last week isn't actually human but belongs to that mannequin Paul was always partial to. Phew.
The discovery of the car leads Stella to find the abandoned house Paul hid Rose in, too – so she walks straight in without backup to check it out. As you do. There's no Rose, but there are signs she has been there – including Spector's video camera. So where is she now? And why didn't the armed cop with Stella go in with her?
Meanwhile, back in jail, Spector is having a nice rest with a smug look on his face. He's so completely calm you get the feeling this was all part of his plan and is leading up to something he wants to happen.
Things may go askew, however, as there is one thing Spector hasn't planned on – the psycho Jimmy, whose wife Liz, Spector used to counsel, has cut off his ankle tracker, and is about to discover where his missus has been hiding. To make matters even worse, resourceful Jimmy has nicked a reporter's car to get to her.
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Back at the station, Stella is getting all hot under the collar watching the video babysitter Katie made of a naked Spector (and she gets even more flushed when young detective Tom watches with her). Hmmm. Stella's getting very breathy around the young policeman. No wonder she sends him in to interview the besotted Katie about her relationship with Paul, and the poor detective gets the full X-rated fabrication that Katie seems happy to deliver.
Now, remember the pervy manager at the fleapit hotel where Spector stayed? I thought he would pop back up, and while we don't see him again we do get to see his handiwork – yes, he had been covertly taping his guests, so the police now have footage of the night when Spector tied Katie to his bed and left her there.
Even with photos in front of her, she still defends him. The evidence is stacking up against Paul though and it's obvious that it will only be a matter of time before we get what we have been waiting two whole seasons for – Spector and Stella facing off in a room together.
And 45 minutes in, we get our wish. Before that, there are a few plot developments: Sally Ann miscarries her baby, Katie continues to lie for Paul even when threatened with prison, and Jimmy turns up with a gun to the shelter where Liz lives and bashes a few women about before running off when police arrive, and a psychiatrist gently questions Spector's daughter. They are all just stepping stones to the big scene with Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson, and when it comes, it doesn't disappoint.
Changing into a clingy red sweater (does Stella have this lying around the police station, just in case of some sort of sexy emergency?) she goes in to question Spector at his request and the two leads get their chance to really shine. Stella's boss Jim thinks it's a bad idea, and she manages to make him feel about an inch tall by reminding him how he had crossed the line when he was in her hotel room a few nights before.
When she asks Jim whether his plan was to "f**k me? Nail me? Bang me? Screw me?" I wanted to stand up and give her a round of applause. You tell him, Stella!
While one could question the logic of sending a lone female cop into an interrogation room without a chaperone, especially as there have always been at least two cops in every other questioning session in the series, it makes for a dramatic setup. The direction of the scene between Dornan and Anderson is superb, with lots of tight close-ups, talking direct to camera, and to-ing and fro-ing that equals 15 minutes of edge-of-the-seat, teeth-gnashingly good TV.
Stella asks Spector about his past, his childhood, his feelings and his family – the only time his calm, smug, veneer slips – and ultimately gets him to confess to all the murders and the feeling of power he got from them. Both actors get some sharp dialogue, but best of all is the moment when Paul – after being asked why he didn't kill earlier in life explains that he was too busy raising his young children.
"You're a barren spinster so you wouldn't know, but small children take up all of your time," he snarls at her. Dornan is so intense at this point that you can really see why he was cast in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey – although one assumes he'll tone down the intensity a bit or we'll all be worrying that the movie will have a rather darker ending than EL James's steamy bestseller.
But, enough of all this dancing about, Paul Spector. There's only 25 minutes left of the episode. Where the bloody hell is poor Rose?
Charged with the crimes he has admitted to, Paul isn't saying anything. Instead we see Katie and her pal chatting, and Katie finally admits she knows he committed the crimes, but smiles dreamily as she says it. Dear Alan Cubitt, please don't make Katie a copycat killer in series three, I beg you.
Meanwhile, Stella's in her slinky silk robe in her hotel room and... oh wait... who's that in her bed? Yes, our Stella has done the nasty with pretty detective Tom. And in the morning, all he is worried about is whether she's gone to bed with him because in some twisted way he reminds her of Spector. Ick. Not really the pillow talk she was hoping for, I suspect.
Their conversation is interrupted, however, when a call comes through – Spector wants to make a deal. In return for seeing his daughter, he will take the police to Rose's forest location (whether she is dead or alive, he doesn't reveal). A trip with a prisoner out into the wilderness in exchange for information – methinks Alan Cubitt is a fan of David Fincher's movie Se7en – this is not going to end well.
With just nine minutes to go, Cubitt ratchets up the tension. While Stella, Tom (who she has requested to accompany Spector), various other cops and Spector head in cars to the woods, armed baddie Jimmy and the dim-witted reporter head off in pursuit. Gosh, I wonder what is going to happen?
And while it is all a bit inevitable, Cubitt's taut writing keeps you watching even when you think you have it all figured out. Deep in the woods, following Spector's directions, Stella searches for Rose and finds her car (erm, why doesn't she have a handful of cops with her?) while Spector waits behind, cuffed to Tom.
Inside the trunk is an almost-dead Rose ("She's alive!' Stella announces over a walkie talkie. "Unexpected," Spector deadpans with a smile when he hears the news). They've found her! But there's still a couple of minutes to go, just enough time for Jimmy to appear from out of the trees, firing his gun. Tom's hit, and Spector.
He looks like he's dying and is about to say something to Stella ... and then the end credits roll. And I'm not sure whether I want to slap Alan Cubitt for leaving us hanging, or hug him for not tying everything up in a tidy bow.
Either way, I do want to suggest to any BAFTA members reading this that there is a Best TV Actress award to give out next year, and it really should have Miss Gillian Anderson's name on it.
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
