So, did you manage to make it all the way through last week's rather laborious, blood-soaked episode of The Fall, in which pretty much nothing actually happened?
If you did, this week's instalment comes as something of a reward for sticking with it, with creator/director/writer Allan Cubitt delivering a taut slice of drama that focused on the fall-out of Spector's crime spree for everyone involved.
Stella and boss Jim are under investigation for their handling of Spector's case, leading to an intense quizzing by investigator Kinkead (Genevieve O'Reilly), who almost out-freezes Stella during their icy blonde staring contest.
She asks some of the questions that we as an audience have pondered: Why wasn't Spector wearing a protective vest when they took him out into the woods? And why did they rush to open the car boot, which could have been booby-trapped, when it might have been safer to get to Rose Stagg via the car's rear seats?
The police handling of Spector's little excursion in the forest to find Rose isn't the only interesting aspect of this episode. Spector himself is still unconscious for the first half, which gives us time to see just how the other people in his life are faring, especially now that the police have released his name to the press in connection with the Belfast Strangler case.
Psycho-in-the-making Katie (Aisling Franciosi) is acting out again – seriously, shouldn't she be getting some mental health care? – which means piercing her own nose, lurking around the hospital dressed like a hooker, and getting seriously vindictive when she discovers her friend has sold her story to the papers.
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While Katie's character is incredibly irritating, the fact that she is still around makes you wonder what Allan Cubitt's endgame is. Could Katie follow in Spector's footsteps and end up killing someone, or is she so obsessed with him she will help him to escape from the police? Hopefully not the latter, as that twist would be pretty ridiculous.
More involving than Katie's teenage theatrics is the effect the publicity is having on his wife Sally Ann (Bronagh Waugh) and children, especially daughter Olivia (Sarah Beattie). It's heartbreaking as Olivia tells her mother what she has heard about her father ("he's killed ladies"), and distraught Sally Ann is told she should keep her children out of school.
The performances from Waugh, Beattie and Valene Kane's poised Rose, who demands to leave hospital when she realises Spector is in a bed only a few feet away, are all affecting in this episode, but the most moving performance of all is Jamie Dornan's.
Yes, you did read that right. When Spector regains consciousness, Allan Cubitt delivers a kick to the guts – Spector thinks the year is 2006, and that he is the survivor of a car crash, not a bullet.
A ridiculous twist? We'd forgive you for thinking so, but the look of confusion on Spector's face (assuming he's not pretending) as he sees his older-than-he-remembers wife and daughter is heart-rending, and a reminder of what a terrific actor Dornan can be.
Despite everything, you feel sorry for Spector, disoriented by his amnesia and blissfully unaware of his crimes. Well, you do until we move from his hospital bed to the lock-up Stella and her officers have discovered that belongs to Spector. A lock-up that has evidence he may have committed other murders.
Damn it, Cubitt – it took two episodes, but you've really drawn us back in…
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.












