Series 1: Crimes. Series 2: Capture. Series 3: Conviction.
This has really worked well as a three-part act that has boldly delivered something a little different each and every time. That whilst not to everyone's tastes, has had the confidence to linger with staggering realism on the nature of the system and the sheer mass of people it can impact.
The second series struggled a little for a short while in its attempts to find its feet - not knowing how long the story was going to go on for meant it was a little unclear of its intent. All the same though, it was a near-heartless show that ironically had its heart in the right place as it confidently tried new things, took new and unexpected directions amongst a small handful of contrivances which are more or less excusable (there was only one farfetched thing, during the second series as it happens, that stuck out as something that was pushing it a little)...most shows would have kept up the murder spree and gone beyond the realms of the gratuitous in the second series but The Fall dared to think bigger rather than act bigger.
The third series was the slowest of the bunch. In fact each series has felt slower than the last, but it works rather well. It kicks off with the adrenaline of the crimes playing out, and as it goes on the nasty, sickening reality of it all sinks in - the web of people it impacts spirals out of control. The morality and messiness of real life threatens to unravel everything come the third series, as the show depicts just how twisted this all is. Brutally murdering women is at the heart of that twisted picture, but the way the system deals with people is brought under scrutiny, the conviction of Paul Spector is at the heart of the show's purpose but it also explores the convictions (as in, the firmly held beliefs) of everyone else... from Stella, to the ICU nurse, to the solicitors involved. By its end everyone's convictions are rocked to their core and the finale showed this well. It was messy, untidy, almost unsatisfying that Spector succeeded in using borrowed time to beat the system in his own way, exit the stage on his own terms, and hurt as many people as he could before the end...and that is what made it such a satisfying drama. But even so, I think the show delivered a happier ending than it first seemed...
The exploration of psychology in the third series was a particular highlight. There was a lot of sitting around and talking, but I think it all ultimately paid off. For the most part Series 3 sat itself down and gave Spector the attention he always wanted. But come the end of the episode when Paul is achieving his 'victory', there's nobody to watch it. Where's Stella? The woman who has been the underlying fixation of his for most of the time. She's sat down talking with Katie...physical marks from his attack all over her face, and Katie bearing the emotional mark he's left on her. And they don't talk about Paul for the most part... they talk about the scars from their lives, about losing their fathers. They undermine Paul. They both sit there in a quiet victory of their own...picking up the pieces, and talking about things other than Paul. Whilst Paul found a way to evade justice against Stella's wishes, the point is made that Stella does indeed amount to more than just Paul Spector, which is what he fails to see. In his big send-off, he fails in being the centre stage he's always wanted to be...and that's as close to a happy ending a bleak and mostly realistic show like The Fall is ever going to be able to pull off. The icing on the cake was a voiceover from Rose Stagg, the one woman to survive Paul Spector.
It wasn't perfect. Colin Morgan kept getting sidelined with broken limbs during the third series and just kept disappearing, whilst there's potential laid out there for a decent and competent male character here. It was also a shame there wasn't a tiny bit more resolution to what happened with Sally Ann. But all in all it rounded off well, and I for one was glad the show took the time to explore its characters and its one case... it was never going to flawlessly do so, but it puts it well above other shows of the genre. I wouldn't mind a Series 4 at all with Stella, and possibly Tom Anderson and Danielle Ferrington cropping up again as well for a new case.
This has really worked well as a three-part act that has boldly delivered something a little different each and every time. That whilst not to everyone's tastes, has had the confidence to linger with staggering realism on the nature of the system and the sheer mass of people it can impact.
The second series struggled a little for a short while in its attempts to find its feet - not knowing how long the story was going to go on for meant it was a little unclear of its intent. All the same though, it was a near-heartless show that ironically had its heart in the right place as it confidently tried new things, took new and unexpected directions amongst a small handful of contrivances which are more or less excusable (there was only one farfetched thing, during the second series as it happens, that stuck out as something that was pushing it a little)...most shows would have kept up the murder spree and gone beyond the realms of the gratuitous in the second series but The Fall dared to think bigger rather than act bigger.
The third series was the slowest of the bunch. In fact each series has felt slower than the last, but it works rather well. It kicks off with the adrenaline of the crimes playing out, and as it goes on the nasty, sickening reality of it all sinks in - the web of people it impacts spirals out of control. The morality and messiness of real life threatens to unravel everything come the third series, as the show depicts just how twisted this all is. Brutally murdering women is at the heart of that twisted picture, but the way the system deals with people is brought under scrutiny, the conviction of Paul Spector is at the heart of the show's purpose but it also explores the convictions (as in, the firmly held beliefs) of everyone else... from Stella, to the ICU nurse, to the solicitors involved. By its end everyone's convictions are rocked to their core and the finale showed this well. It was messy, untidy, almost unsatisfying that Spector succeeded in using borrowed time to beat the system in his own way, exit the stage on his own terms, and hurt as many people as he could before the end...and that is what made it such a satisfying drama. But even so, I think the show delivered a happier ending than it first seemed...
The exploration of psychology in the third series was a particular highlight. There was a lot of sitting around and talking, but I think it all ultimately paid off. For the most part Series 3 sat itself down and gave Spector the attention he always wanted. But come the end of the episode when Paul is achieving his 'victory', there's nobody to watch it. Where's Stella? The woman who has been the underlying fixation of his for most of the time. She's sat down talking with Katie...physical marks from his attack all over her face, and Katie bearing the emotional mark he's left on her. And they don't talk about Paul for the most part... they talk about the scars from their lives, about losing their fathers. They undermine Paul. They both sit there in a quiet victory of their own...picking up the pieces, and talking about things other than Paul. Whilst Paul found a way to evade justice against Stella's wishes, the point is made that Stella does indeed amount to more than just Paul Spector, which is what he fails to see. In his big send-off, he fails in being the centre stage he's always wanted to be...and that's as close to a happy ending a bleak and mostly realistic show like The Fall is ever going to be able to pull off. The icing on the cake was a voiceover from Rose Stagg, the one woman to survive Paul Spector.
It wasn't perfect. Colin Morgan kept getting sidelined with broken limbs during the third series and just kept disappearing, whilst there's potential laid out there for a decent and competent male character here. It was also a shame there wasn't a tiny bit more resolution to what happened with Sally Ann. But all in all it rounded off well, and I for one was glad the show took the time to explore its characters and its one case... it was never going to flawlessly do so, but it puts it well above other shows of the genre. I wouldn't mind a Series 4 at all with Stella, and possibly Tom Anderson and Danielle Ferrington cropping up again as well for a new case.
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