The Capture - Episode 2
The plot thickens as Shaun Emery is released from prison after the CCTV evidence used to arrest him is redacted by one of the MI’s (5, 6 - fictional 7 for which Johnny English works? I can’t remember.) The show creates excellent tension during a protracted surveillance/chase sequence, and has some twists that I really didn’t see coming. The cold, grim London mood that the show evokes is perfect for the lead-in to autumn. As an accompaniment to crocheting and drinking tea, it is perfect.Â
There are some really great moments in this episode, the twist at the end, the surprise visitor in the barrister’s house, the interraction between Shaun and his friend. There are also some really irritating ones, and this wouldn’t be an internet review blog if I didn’t zero in on one of them:Â
I made a mistake in thinking that the main character in this series was bad because of poor gender-representation. She’s just bad because she’s really lazily written. This is typified by one magic moment in this second episode, where she arrives home late at night, takes ice-cream from the freezer, puts it in the microwave and eats it straight from the tub with a spoon.
I have news for you, screenwriters of the world. British women don’t do this. If we are eating lazy we eat toast and cereal. If we are eating comfort food we eat toast, cereal, chips or biscuits. We carb, we don’t dairy.Â
This behaviour is even less likely for British women who have a kitchen as nicely kitted out as this character (whose name still escapes me after two episodes) does. Her kitchen has matching utensils and a colour scheme, and pasta/grain jars.(There’s a possibility from this screenshot that it’s also some kind of porridge, but she didn’t microwave it long enough for that and this is a recognizable trope that I’ve seen in other shows.)
I can’t get behind this belief that a woman who has been fast-tracked in her career and has her eyes on success must implicitly be a mess in her home life. I just don’t believe it. Succeeding in a high-pressure career like hers requires organisation, diligence and probably a significant amount of forward thinking. The character would have been more believable for me if in this one brief moment, she had taken out some leftovers from a meal she’d cooked the night before.Â
Unfortunately for Holliday Grainger, who is doing as much as she can with this dull, broad strokes character, DI Carey (had to google it) is the weakest part of this programme. The plot is pretty far-fetched, and the other lead actor is tainted by having been a main character in Crimes of Grindlewald, but Carey’s character just doesn’t work for me. I’m fine with my detectives not being particularly likable, but they need to be interesting for me to want to keep watching.Â
In episode 3, I hope I’m proved wrong and that the writing for this character improves and she’s given at least a few centimeters of depth.
