The Fall - new series on BBC2

[trashpony]

The ending was bollocks. They have a ton of evidence to identify him - his first name, a photofit, where and when he went to college - one media appeal and/or quick chat with the colleges and they would have him within hours. Once his previous victim had come forward any half witted plod would have had enough to nail him.

On top of that - they have his handwriting - they took his DNA and prints when he took himself into the cop shop, why weren't they sampling handwriting as well? And why did he write - instead of type - the letter in the first place?

Gillian Anderson gets better and better and there's some very good writing - but The fall is not nearly as clever as it seems to think it is and its feminist pretentions wrapped around gratuitous sex crime voyeurism is a queasy combination.

Totally agree.

Not only could they have found him but his wife finding out he was shagging the babysitter and then wanting to have sex with him was totally unbelievable. As was her taking her kids out of school, walking away from her SCBU job that she loved with no notice and disappearing off to Scotland in a new car that's suddenly appeared outside their home

 

[cyprusclean]

Totally agree.

in a new car that's suddenly appeared outside their home

I wondered about that, after he'd blown the other one up. Or did they always have two cars, and we'd not noticed?

I even wondered about the family income. How much does a grief counseller earn?

Did the wife have a good job?

 

[susie12]

Yeah, it literally made no sense. What about their house? The kids' schools? Jobs? Yeah let's just run off that'll solve everything. Very flawed writing and as Kaka Tim has said, queasy making. I really found the level of sadistic violence at prime time and portrayal of virtually every woman as a victim quite loathsome. Won't be watching again.

 

[trashpony]

Oh another thing that really pissed me off - he grew up in care. Lazy fucking stereotyping

 

[cyprusclean]

Yeah, it literally made no sense. What about their house? The kids' schools? Jobs? Yeah let's just run off that'll solve everything. Very flawed writing and as Kaka Tim has said, queasy making. I really found the level of sadistic violence at prime time and portrayal of virtually every woman as a victim quite loathsome. Won't be watching again.

The more I dissect it, the more I find things wrong with it.

And I was drawn into it as much as everyone else. Maybe by the brooding qualities of the actors.

And what the other poster said, about being brought up in care. As though that is supposed to explain it all? Many psychopaths come from decent, caring, affluent and loving families.

 

[Kaka Tim]

they did sample his handwriting you weren't paying attention

But they still haven't compared it with the writing on the letter - or get the photofit from his previous victim - for ooddles of TV time for no other reason than to spin it out for a second series. What's the point of having scully and her blinding intellect and insight if it takes no more than very straightforward plod-work to solve the case?

 

[Pickman's model]

But they still haven't compared it with the writing on the letter - or get the photofit from his previous victim - for ooddles of TV time for no other reason than to spin it out for a second series. What's the point of having scully and her blinding intellect and insight if it takes no more than very straightforward plod-work to solve the case?

£

 

[JimW]

But they still haven't compared it with the writing on the letter - or get the photofit from his previous victim - for ooddles of TV time for no other reason than to spin it out for a second series. What's the point of having scully and her blinding intellect and insight if it takes no more than very straightforward plod-work to solve the case?

On that last, was thinking after all this it'll come down to the last victim coming down and then picking him out off some mug shots, which as you say a reasonably competent CPSO could manage. Shame as I thought (still think) they were developing some interesting characters - though point taken about the growing up in care if it really does turn out to be as crude as that to explain his deviancy (hope to God it might not be that shit)

 

[spanglechick]

So, Internet reviews from the broadsheets are very positive, comparing the ending to silence of the lambs. Only the mail seems as outraged as the urban readership.


I'm dissatisfied. I don't need tidy resolution but this didn't have any kind of ending feeling at all. I am, however, wondering how Danish audiences felt after season 1 of the killing, which came only halfway through the first murder investigation. We saw it as a block of twenty, of course, but after the first ten there was similarly no resolution with sub plots up in the air all over the place.

 

[kittyP]

We did both go "wtf?" at the end.
The only way he maaaaybee be able to dissappear would be to change all the families identities but then he would have to tell his wife why.
But even then the police would eventually pick up on the empty house and trace who it belonged to and find proper photos of him through his work or wife's family.


I don't need massively tidy endings, leaving stuff to the imagination is fine but all I could imagine is that he would be quite quickly caught and felt cheated of missing that.

 

[kittyP]

But they still haven't compared it with the writing on the letter - or get the photofit from his previous victim - for ooddles of TV time for no other reason than to spin it out for a second series. What's the point of having scully and her blinding intellect and insight if it takes no more than very straightforward plod-work to solve the case?

Yes, she didn't solve the case at all, she just gave him a jumped up mouthful over the phone.
I the made her whole character kinda pointless.

 

[spanglechick]

We did both go "wtf?" at the end.
The only way he maaaaybee be able to dissappear would be to change all the families identities but then he would have to tell his wife why.
But even then the police would eventually pick up on the empty house and trace who it belonged to and find proper photos of him through his work or wife's family.


I don't need massively tidy endings, leaving stuff to the imagination is fine but all I could imagine is that he would be quite quickly caught and felt cheated of missing that.

That's EXACTLY it! A cliffhanger is fine, where you wonder "how will they get out of this situation?" but here it's obvious that he will be caught and fairly soon. The spurned babysitter saw him come home with blood on him, the night of a bloody murder. She's also been physically attacked by him. Once she realises he's gone she is exactly the sort who will land him in it. The wife's not stupid either. There is no jeopardy in this ending.

 

[twistedAM]

There was so much left to unravel in 60 minutes I wondered how they were going to do it and they blew it.
I guess the second series will be set in Scotland with him and the coke dealer/pimp crossing paths along with the hardmen from the Shankill. There's so much evidence against them all that the second series could be wrapped up in 30 minutes.

 

[felixthecat]

I think we are looking at the evidence from the point of CSI(as in the TV prog) and have unrealistic expectations of the police evidence. Why should he be a suspect? Loads of other people in Belfast who fit the rather loose profile. He put himself forward as being on the CCTV and was alibied by his wife. He's not got any links to the victims that we've seem. He's a personable intelligent bloke with a wife and family and a responsible job. No one he knows suspects him. I don't see any reason why the police would be too interested in him.

Think of real life cases - Peter Sutcliffe is the one that immediately springs to mind.

I'm intrigued to see what the next series brings.

 

[8115]

I didn't even realise that was the ending. That was terrible. Just terrible.

 

[magneze]

Meh. Didn't live up to the hype.

 

[Callie]

told you it was like hollyoaks

 

[lefteri]

that was the last episode??????????? WTF

 

[Shirl]

I wondered if they had written a different ending and then changed it for some reason at the last minute. Last night's episode was so poor and all over the place compared to the previous ones.
Won't stop me looking forward to series 2 though

 

[JimW]

Never expected Ser Barristan Selmy of Game of Thrones fame to be such a wrong 'un, either.

 

[hegley]

Oh another thing that really pissed me off - he grew up in care. Lazy fucking stereotyping

But we don't know that - it's just what he's told his wife so he has a reason not to have more of a history - family, friends etc. We already know that he'd half-strangled a girlfriend at college (and changed his name since then from Peter to Paul) - Gibson intimated (in Ep3 I think) that it's likely there were victims prior to the ones we know about, so perhaps he's already disappeared and reinvented himself once.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

I wondered if the whole growing up in care thing is just a red herring.....and easy excuse he uses to get himself out of trouble....not the real reason he is trouble.

I wonder also about the whole 'getting fit' thing. When they talk about the early murders they suggest he wasn't strong enough to sustain a strangulation, and they show him developing strength, but also an opposition to men in authority and men who are aggressive. His weakness is presented time and again and his deceptions are all based around hiding his 'weak' self. The self that likes ladies underwear and make up and mannequins and dolls.....????? (this is me thinking out loud!).

 

[Kaka Tim]

I think we are looking at the evidence from the point of CSI(as in the TV prog) and have unrealistic expectations of the police evidence.

Hardly - they would have got in touch with the two colleges he studied at, where they knew when he was there, what he was probably studying and had his first name and a physical description from his previous victim. They could very easily get his full name within a few hours.

Equally easily they could get round to comparing his handwriting with the handwritten letter he sent to the cops - especially as he matches exactly the suspect profile they had drawn up.

And of course they could release the photo-fit to the public saying 'he may be called paul'

But apparently these obvious and very very simple procedures -which would barely tax the abilities and resources of the scooby doo gang, let alone a large, extremely well resourced police investigation - have been either been mystifyingly overlooked or take so long that another entire series is required for them to get round to carrying them out.

Is the next episode going to consist of an hour long, arty slow-mo sequence of scully making a phone call?

 

[Reno]

Been and had another look. I don't think he looks handsome at all although he looks more attractive in the underpants ad. I suppose it's 'eye of the beholder' and all that.

I've only just started to watch this and I find him distractingly handsome.

 

[twistedAM]

Hardly - they would have got in touch with the two colleges he studied at, where they knew when he was there, what he was probably studying and had his first name and a physical description from his previous victim. They could very easily get his full name within a few hours.

Equally easily they could get round to comparing his handwriting with the handwritten letter he sent to the cops - especially as he matches exactly the suspect profile they had drawn up.

And of course they could release the photo-fit to the public saying 'he may be called paul'

But apparently these obvious and very very simple procedures -which would barely tax the abilities and resources of the scooby doo gang, let alone a large, extremely well resourced police investigation - have been either been mystifyingly overlooked or take so long that another entire series is required for them to get round to carrying them out.

Is the next episode going to consist of an hour long, arty slow-mo sequence of scully making a phone call?

Didn't his profile just start to come together in the space of a few hours? The main line of enquiry I would have thought would have been for PSNI to go round the schools with the drawing and identikit photo. They probably missed him by an hour or so.
More unbelievable though is how an entire family can pack up their possessions and book a ferry ticket all in one morning (while he takes an hour off to make some calls).

 

[twistedAM]

I've only just started to watch this and I find him distractingly handsome.

Used to be a Calvin Klein model.

 

[kittyP]

I think we are looking at the evidence from the point of CSI(as in the TV prog) and have unrealistic expectations of the police evidence. Why should he be a suspect? Loads of other people in Belfast who fit the rather loose profile. He put himself forward as being on the CCTV and was alibied by his wife. He's not got any links to the victims that we've seem. He's a personable intelligent bloke with a wife and family and a responsible job. No one he knows suspects him. I don't see any reason why the police would be too interested in him.

Think of real life cases - Peter Sutcliffe is the one that immediately springs to mind.

I'm intrigued to see what the next series brings.

I think Gillian Anderson knew who she was talking to on the phone

 

[Reno]

Used to be a Calvin Klein model.

I know, it's been mentioned.

 

[belboid]

When did they find out he was called Paul, and his colleges? I missed that.

Next series doesn't even start production till January, long bloody wait.

 

[kittyP]

Didn't his profile just start to come together in the space of a few hours? The main line of enquiry I would have thought would have been for PSNI to go round the schools with the drawing and identikit photo. They probably missed him by an hour or so.
More unbelievable though is how an entire family can pack up their possessions and book a ferry ticket all in one morning (while he takes an hour off to make some calls).

Precisely. The family would surely be missed.
One of the people they interviewed suddenly disappeared.