T E L E V I S I O N / Suspects Series 2 Review

“There’s not many things that turn my stomach, Doctor. But, there’s a bloody awful smell in this room and it smells of you.” Though I am undoubtedly late to the party, series 2 of Suspects has returned and has gone just as quickly. With only 4 episodes under its belt this time around (one episode less than last series), Martha Bellamy, Jack Weston and Charlie Steele investigate, interrogate and round up the bad guys that plague the city. Last series, I had issues with the predictable and almost grudgingly slow pace that the show took in the first three episodes. Suspects found its footing to me in its final two. My last review of the show also commented on how I wanted to see more of the characters, their lives outside of their detective profession, things that defined them as people. Maybe someone from the Suspects writing crew checks out this blog, but all my concerns were more or less answered. (So if there is someone who does read this, can you say hi to Damien Molony for me? Get a video of him saying: “I love Christina” too?) I love the new format of the show, devoting two episodes for one case but also branching it out so it doesn’t seem as redundant. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I loved how the writing for the first arc episode really made you believe that the perp was Saul—the schizophrenic man—while the real killer hid in plain sight. I thought that was so clever and I applaud the writers on this decision. (However, I did have an issue with Sadie bragging about how the police were so stupid that they didn’t think it was her. Of course they didn’t doubt her. SHE NEVER GAVE THEM A REASON TO. Maybe this was just an error on the actress’ part? This show is still improvised, right?) While the story lines have gotten better at hiding their criminals, I also loved the fluid weaving of Jack’s background into the story and his development (or regression in the eyes of his co-workers) in this series. Though the episodes focuses primarily on solving the case, it also gave the audience an understanding of who these crime fighters are, what drives them, what has happened to them in the past to make them who they are today and even more about their personality—specifically their vices. Though this series seemed to primarily focus on Jack—and i’m not in the least bit complaining because I am more than happy for my DaMo fix—we also got to learn about Martha. In fact, we learn more tidbits of her in the transition of the first case to the second. Martha as both an excellent supervisor, maintaining her authority and composure, while also being a devoted mother (sighing over missed pizza nights with the kids and her daughter, Daisy, being a part of a dance academy, etc. It’s just these moments that make the characters more relatable and humanistic to the audience. I hope when series 3 rolls around next year, we learn more about Charlie because she is undoubtedly a character that has yet to be tapped to her full potential. I also hope with Jack’s “vacation” leave doesn’t mean that he’ll be completely gone from the next series. I may love that his character had to face some sort of consequence, I don’t want him away for too long. I need my Damien fix, and Suspects is the only way I’m getting any of that. Also, I just like to give a round of applause and a hearty pat on the back to the show's writers or casting directors or whoever asked Luke Newberry and Larissa Wilson to guest star in the two stories. It was bloody amazing. If only they could come back on again. Ratings: ★★★★☆ S U S P E C T S | Returns 2015 on Channel 5