Every Son Kills His Father

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Sam meets with the younger version of his mentor from 2006, and is immediately forced to defend him against the racist attitudes of the rest of the department.

The review for "Bring Me Sunshine" can be read here.

A discussion on racism in 1973 is, at this point, long overdue, as the story introduces Sam's (John Simm) mentor Glen (Ray Emmet Brown,) who, in this time period, is only just starting out on the force. It's interesting that the subject of race has never before come up given Ray's (Dean Andrews) severely bigoted point of view, especially considering the amount of time these characters spend in the company of Nelson (Tony Marshall) at his pub, though, perhaps, it is triggered here by Glen's status as their colleague.

Harry Woolf (Kevin McNally) is determined to maintain his reputation as an upstanding member of the service, even encouraging Sam to investigate him when allegations are made against him. Woolf states that the police "need to be seen to be clean," meaning that, in order for the public to trust their officials, they must be allowed to question them and disprove them of any guilt without interference of any kind. He tells Sam to follow his instincts, chase any lead he feels he must, even if that means crossing either himself or Gene (Philip Glenister) in the process. His entire demeanor, as it turns out, is an elaborate ruse intended to cast any suspicion away from himself, but, in the end, he is taken down by Gene, who he had trained all too well, stating that "every son kills his father," and ruefully accepts his fate. Woolf's characterization is a good display of the kind of man that Sam strives to be, at least on the surface, while the actions he takes in secret are more in line with the corruption that Sam has been working against ever since arriving in 1973.

Sam's early career had been greatly influenced by his mentor Glen, and here their roles are reversed, with Sam coaching Glen through the beginning of his career. Glen and Sam argue about Glen's role in history as Sam tries to push him forward, but Glen is unsure of himself, not wanting to have to fight every battle when so many others coast through their career without encountering any kind of obstacle. Sam tells him that someone needs to be the first to stand up, and it is here that Glen realizes how vital his placement is in the force. There is a good contrast presented between Sam's mentor and Gene's mentor, as Glen is not yet the man that Sam knows he will become, willing to cede an easy battle simply to get an easier ride, where, by 2006, he will fight tooth and nail for what he knows is right. Woolf, who has been seen, through Gene's eyes, as an inspiration of a clean cop, of how to do things right, but instead is slowly revealed to be the most underhanded of all the bent cops. During a final confrontation, wherein Glen points a gun toward Woolf and derides him for tainting everything he stood for, Sam is witness to the moment that Glen becomes the man who one day will mentor him.

Sam springs into an internal investigation despite the fact that everyone else in the department is very much against him. On its own, this could be a very powerful story, unfortunately, in the ten episodes that have already aired, it seems as though this exact situation has played out time and again, and it's growing somewhat tired and contrived at this point. Were it revealed in the end that Sam was wrong, that his entire investigation was for naught, then new ground would be broken, but, once more, he is flawless in his instincts and it's becoming less interesting to watch the more often the situation plays out.

Unless his character reappears to continue the narrative, Glen's character is completely wasted and misused here. Appearing long enough to start a discussion on race relations, Glen is given only enough screen time to touch upon the issue, and then disappears for the bulk of the episode. This story should have been framed to focus on the relationship between Sam and his mentor, but instead there is too much time spent on Sam's investigation of Woolf and the fallout that has with Gene. Sam aiding Glen through his struggle against racist views should have made up the majority of this episode, and it seems sloppy that the issue would have been brought up at all were the writers not planning to deal properly with the subject. Ultimately, Glen's presence in this episode is almost entirely unnecessary, which is unfortunate considering how rich a story could have been told around Glen's conflict with Ray and the public he has sworn to protect.

As always, Simm and Glenister are fantastic, and the bulk of the supporting cast provide great performances as well. Andrews and Marshall Lancaster (Chris) have proven a great chemistry with one another, whether in dramatic moments or comedic scenes, and the cast blends together really well. Brown and McNally add a lot of depth to their performances here, becoming very real characters despite appearing here for the first time, and it would be nice to see either of them reappear in the future.

Director S. J. Clarkson adds some nice touches to this episode, notably in the beginning when Sam spots the hand-written sign stating "Sam Tyler: we are sorry for your loss," followed by Sam attempting to read the 1973 newspaper only to see the front page from 2006. Unfortunately, the pacing in this story is very slow creating a somewhat dull and lackluster hour, and the tone is a bit of a mess, jumping around from very light and humorous and quickly becoming dark only to then bounce back and forth without ever settling on what it wants to be, and it just seems as though Clarkson was somewhat aimless in trying to decide where she wanted the narrative to go.

Chris Chibnall starts the episode by very subtly showing how much Sam has softened toward his peers as they relentlessly mock their suspect for his supposed crime with a sheep; Sam keeps a professional demeanor, telling both Chris and Ray to stop and instead focus on the task at hand, but, as soon as the three are out of sight, he allows himself to laugh, understanding the necessity of alleviating the stressful situations they often find themselves in. Chibnall contrasts the issue of race with the issue of sexism, having Annie (Liz White) complain about a pile of men's magazines having been left on her desk with Gene remarking that he should have sent Annie out on assignment with Sam to distract the suspect by flashing her chest. Later Annie notes that she had not received any firearms training before being given her gun, only to have Gene state that that is exactly why women shouldn't be on the force, as, had he given the gun to a man, it would have been his dream come true. Despite the lip-service given to both issues, the time restraints imposed on an hour-long drama strain the story's ability to do either narrative justice, and while the episode is, by and large, an enjoyable experience, it remains to be said that it could have been done better.

With the mystery of who is on the other end of the Hyde telephone number, Sam is growing ever-more convinced that Annie's theories about him may be correct and his life in the future might all have been fantasy; hopefully Sam's relationship with Glen will develop over the coming episodes as Sam comes to terms with the reality of his situation.

The review for "the Bombing" can be read here.