Having read the synopsis, I was looking forward to this story, thinking it might present some complex characters and also allow Lewis's sidekick to come out of his shell.
Sadly, that was not to be and I found myself fast-forwarding through many scenes. Jerky, aggressive camera work, violence, blasphemy - it all felt over-the-top, cheesy and unnecessary. As if the director was just picking up a bit of cred in preparation for a stint on CSI Miami or some such.
The shock & awe approach did eat into the time and space that was needed for the characters to show some depth and development. With all the crazy antics exploding all around them, they remained understandably two-dimensional.
Also, England in 2008 seems like an odd setting for love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name to be a matter of life and death, surely.
Other than that, the ladies still can't keep their hands off Lewis. Which is becoming less and less believable with every episode. Never mind that throughout the run of Inspector Morse, he was the simpleton, created to make Morse look extra clever, much like Hastings once was to Poirot, and always whining about having missed his tea. But c'mon, the guy looks like he's had three heart attacks in the past two weeks!
Meanwhile, Lewis's vitriolic boss, whom we have come to love to hate, is suddenly all nurturing and doesn't mind rolling up her sleeves to help. All in all, I just hope this episode wasn't a harbinger of things to come, i.e., some focus group-based retooling and second-guessing of what up till now has been an exquisite series.
