When I started watching this I wasn't entirely sure what to expect; I didn't know if it would be a 'gritty' drama, a mystery or a psychological thriller, as it turned out it has elements of all three. Paula Radnor is a probation officer who has served a three month suspension because a man she was meant to be supervising committed another murder; Ben Somers is a convict who has just served ten years for the murder of his girl friend, a crime he pleaded guilty too, inevitably Paula's first case after returning to work is Ben. In the opening episode we see him getting used to life outside; moving into the bail hostel, getting a job, meeting old friends and even getting a girl friend. The first twist comes at the end of the episode when he turns up at Paula's house claiming that he was innocent the whole time. Having changed his story Paula is forced to raise his threat level which leads to him losing his job and eventually his girlfriend. He does not take this well and gets more and more angry and it looks as if he will be sent back to prison but Paula gives him another chance and in the second twist states that she now believes he is innocent. As the story approaches its conclusion it looks as if it will end with Ben back in gaol and Paula out of a job
until there is a surprising revelation.
This was a surprisingly gripping series with fine performances from Joe Armstrong and Anna Friel in the lead roles. Armstrong did particularly well making the viewer think that he genuinely is dangerously out of control. In the first episode I thought it was turning out to be a drama about a murderer coming out of prison but after his claim of innocence it became a mystery too; was he really a killer and if not who killed his girlfriend all those years ago? Unfortunately things unravelled somewhat at the very end; just when it looked as if all was lost and we'd never learn who is the real killer the murderer hands himself into the police we don't even get the satisfaction of seeing the protagonists work out who did it. To be honest it felt as if the writer suddenly realised he only had five minutes left to wrap things up and wasn't sure how to do it.
This was a surprisingly gripping series with fine performances from Joe Armstrong and Anna Friel in the lead roles. Armstrong did particularly well making the viewer think that he genuinely is dangerously out of control. In the first episode I thought it was turning out to be a drama about a murderer coming out of prison but after his claim of innocence it became a mystery too; was he really a killer and if not who killed his girlfriend all those years ago? Unfortunately things unravelled somewhat at the very end; just when it looked as if all was lost and we'd never learn who is the real killer the murderer hands himself into the police we don't even get the satisfaction of seeing the protagonists work out who did it. To be honest it felt as if the writer suddenly realised he only had five minutes left to wrap things up and wasn't sure how to do it.