Things got dark this week in Marcellaland, perhaps a little too dark. The death of a child is always a difficult proposition for drama, particularly a primetime ITV drama. Which doesn’t necessarily mean it should be off-limits – only that I’m not sure Marcella quite has the maturity or thoughtfulness to pull off such a devastating development.
Unlike a few of you in the comments, I think Anna Friel has done reasonably well in conveying Marcella’s scratchy, grief-soaked energy, and I did buy her anguish over little May’s death. But Friel’s frequently let down by duff writing: the use of the child’s mobile as a signifier of Marcella’s sense of loss is as clunky and cliched a conceit as I’ve seen on TV for some time.
On the plus side, Marcella does seem to be finding some sort of momentum in its plotting, with its many storylines finally beginning to cohere. Only two episodes to go now, airing back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday next week. Can this infuriating series stick the landing?
Detective. Witness. Suspect
The death of May was preceded by an admittedly actually quite exciting chase around London, led by Marcella in full maverick cop mode – pinching her superior’s vehicle, opening the boot of a burning car and generally looking a bit wide-eyed and frantic. The reason for this level of agitation soon became clear when she found May face down in the wastelands by City airport and, while attempting to resuscitate her, started whispering “come on Juliette”. We’ve all long since figured out the significance of Juliette – lord knows it’s been strung out – but the grim details of what happened to Marcella’s daughter still remain elusive. Was Juliette abducted like May? And did an act of negligence, like May’s father’s decision to leave her unsupervised at home, play a role in Juliette’s death?
Regardless of the circumstances, it was Juliette’s death that upended Marcella and Jason’s marriage, with Jason beginning his affair with Grace three years later. Marcella believes she and Jason should have soldiered on, though Jason suggested things have changed irrevocably. Certainly I can’t see them rebuilding their family life after all that’s befallen them (especially given other predicaments in Jason’s life – more on that in a moment).
Meanwhile, as suspected, Marcella’s involvement in the Gibson murder hasn’t simply gone away because she’s convinced of her own innocence. Mo, the taxi driver who, witnessing a woman dragging what looked like Grace’s body from her house, began a long chain of events that led to his brother Hassan’s death, is clearly convinced of Marcella’s involvement both in Grace’s death and the murder of his brother. He takes vengeful retribution here, breaking into Marcella’s house (people are extremely adept at sneaking into houses in this show) and clonking her over the head with a blunt object. Thwack!
Also under suspicion
Yann is this week’s prime suspect in the “bag over the head” killings. His DNA is found on May, and he owns the same tie binds and masking tape used in the other murders. Of course, I say that he owns them, but they could quite easily be his partner’s: Matthew was linked to those threatening messages sent to Cara all those weeks ago, and is just about vanilla enough to provide a shocking reveal when we do eventually find out the identity of the killer.
Still, Yann’s the one in a holding cell for the moment, suffering some particularly brutal psychological treatment from Marcella, including some rather intense staring. Certainly Yann’s an erratic enough character to fit the profile of a killer – we know about his issues with alcoholism and see a flash of his violence in the way he lunges at Marcella in the interview room – but there’s also an emotional weakness there too, which might undermine that notion. You get the sense that Marcella isn’t entirely convinced of his guilt.
Other goings on
The Gibsons congregate for Grace’s funeral, but there’s another death they should be concerned about. Andrew Bailey’s body has been discovered and the pathologist has figured out that the handful of sleeping pills that killed him were probably forced into him. Bad news for Jason, who unwittingly gave the nod for the hit on Bailey and is now trying desperately to cover his tracks by paying off Stuart, Andrew’s killer. Unfortunately he decides to do said paying off in broad daylight with the cash wrapped in a remarkably conspicuous-looking parcel. Someone spotted him and is now blackmailing him by text. Even worse news for Jason: the man investigating Bailey’s death is Tim, the DCI who’s been clinking beers on Marcella’s sofa, and who Jason threatened earlier in the same episode. You’re done for, Jason.
Stuart, meanwhile, is in some trouble of his own. His decision to tell his lodger Bendik to sling his hook hasn’t gone down well. Bendik managed to crack into Stuart’s computer and now has salient information on Bailey’s murder, and is blackmailing his landlord. Bendik’s price? To live rent-free at Stuart’s for the foreseeable. Well, that’s one way to solve the problem of spiralling rental prices.
Notes and observations
- So Yann has a lawyer present for his questioning, but Cullen – a convicted criminal who has been through this process before – doesn’t?
- Marcella has offered up some very funny bit players in the past week: last time around it was Claire Shaw and her computer, this time it’s the wonderfully droll pathologist working on Bailey’s murder.
- I really enjoyed the unintentional black comedy in the big boss’s suggestion that the team, shellshocked by the death of May, should “get out of here and do something normal … Grace Gibson’s funeral’s at 3”.
