Na, there'd be no Suspects without Jack! He's becoming more and more central if anything and as much as i love all the characters and am warming to the new ones, it really would be a far flatter show without the electric performance Damien brings to Jack Weston.
Also want to credit the writers with very twisty turny plots and the fact that there are lots of balls in the air at the moment adds to the tension. In a way we're being led towards a Drummond vs Weston face off.. Drummond is corrupt but ultimately has more power, Jack could be set up by him and his personal life may affect the case.. and in terms of the show's longevity can't see Jack losing. That sense of jeopardy does make for great suspense though doesn't it?
According to the POLL results so far it looks like most really enjoyed the episode! 50% voted '5 stars excellent' and 50% '4 stars good'!
I'm in agreement regarding Jack and Suspects, no Jack, no show.
Just back from my holidays (so tough reading the OMG comments on Twitter on Wednesday night when i had no way of accessing the show) so caught up with it this morning.
Okay, my thoughts:
Still loving the new cast. Lenora is brilliant, such a natural in this. I was expecting her at one point, during the location of the baby, to start yelling 'give me back my effing baby!" :D and the new DCI chap, James Murray is also excellent. I don't know, it may just be me, but the new guys seem to cope much easier with the flow of the show than Faye did. I think the format has very slightly changed regarding the 'ad lib' style (for want of a better description) so perhaps that's why.
The storyline has me gripped. I have a bad habit of fiddling with my phone while watching tv, the more i fiddle, the less engaged i am but during this episode, no phone fiddling whatsoever!!
I kind of saw the 'Jack the Dad' revelation coming and how he reacted to it felt very natural. Rose dropped an absolute bombshell on him whilst he's working, what was she expecting him to do? Drop to his knees, burst into tears and beg for her abject forgiveness? Doubt it. It's how Jack processes information. It's a massive thing for ANYONE to absorb.
I'm getting the impression that Jack is going to get dropped into it, big time. The gun, the revelation of Lucy (and i do think he needs to get a DNA test done stat, he said earlier in the episode that Rose was an expert in manipulation and messing with a person's mind, so far we just have her word that he's Lucy's dad, wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if, later on in the show, it turns out he's not and she was playing him and Lucy in a revenge long game thing...) and his single minded pursuit of Stan. I would not be surprised if Drummond is the one to do it, knowing his own culpability and wrongness, to cover his own backside. Perhaps Jack will begin to figure that out for himself. He is behaving himself at the moment and it's a bit odd but Drummond has warned him that he doesn't work like Martha did (the constant closing of his office door seems to be one thing, Martha didn't do that as much as Drummond, perhaps a hint of their different styles of policing?) - it was hinted at for the glimpse of next week's episode, i'm wondering if that's also when Jack starts to get a clue about his DCI and his connection to the two brothers at the club.
But yes, loving this series so far, really looking forward to finding out what's in store next.
Wow. What an episode! I really like the idea that there's already a villain inside the police force. Can't wait to see what happens and will the truth come out. And I also liked the fact Lenora hold a baby in her arms in this ep and said Mitchell (oh the BH feelings).
A new rock has been turned in Jack's life when he found out that he has a daughter. Even Jack might not wanted to believe the fact Lucy could be his daughter, in the end I thought it was nice that he felt he has some kind of responsibility of her now when her mother is in prison. Again. And also cause Rose cover him up when they were young. But will he look after her just because he thinks that Lucy is her daughter or just because he owns Rose one?
Will Jack be #JackAss (brilliant Whimsy) or daddy Jack?
Perhaps obvious to say but need to get this out... As someone previously mentioned, I think fifi, unlike previous series we found out early on who the baddie is - we already know #whokilledMartha. So in this series, is the main investigation for us the audience the DCI and Jack story? That is becoming less of a subplot and more of the plot!
As for DCI Dan, knowing the clever layered writing in Suspects I'd be surprised if he is just straight up corrupt. There has to be reasons we do not know yet..
Can't wait to find out how all these threads tie together in the end...
It does seem that Martha's murder has become secondary to the 'what's DCI Dan up to?' storyline. He's obviously being blackmailed over some past misdemeanour......I don't feel that he is thoroughly corrupt, he's just trying to protect himself. And I don't believe that it is actually his intention to set Jack up.....Jack just handed him the perfect opportunity to dispose of the gun whilst covering himself. I suspect he hopes that is the end of it.....but if it is discovered that the gun is missing then there is nothing to implicate him and I think he will absolutely let Jack take the fall.
Jack's revelation that he avoided a crimnal record as a teenager because Rose protected him only came out because he wanted to protect Charlie. I presume that it was Dan's idea for Stan to tell Jack to get him the gun. I wonder if he already knew about Rose and Jack and how surprised he was when Jack confessed to him - I imagine that he wouldn't have expected it. Whatever Mo and Stan have on DCI Dan he seems totally prepared to betray his team to keep it quiet. DCI Dan, Mo and Stan all looking out for themselves makes an interesting counterpoint to Rose protecting Jack/Jack protecting Charlie.
I have enjoyed it for the most part. I did see the daughter thing coming as soon as we learned that Rose has a teenage daughter. Lenora's character so far has been a bit bland but I did enjoy hearing her say the name Mitchell again.
There has been some major drama but I feel like the show and Jack have both been a bit OOC this season so far. It's throwing me a bit. I miss not knowing who done it and I feel like Jack has been OOC. Knowing that Stan killed Martha, it seems like Jack would be more dog with a bone and less puppy taking orders. After Stan killed Martha and then threatened Charlie's life, I feel like Jack would have torn him a new butthole instead of bowing to the threat. Though I'm sure the fact that he is having to learn to work under a new boss is throwing him a bit.
I also harbor some fears that Jack might be on the way out for good. My boyfriend reassures me that he doesn't see that happening since he's basically the main character.
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"I should have left a clue. Like, I don't know, locking him in a cellar and tying him to a fucking radiator!"
On the face of it for example, it seems so wrong that Jack lied to Charlie about the gun when she questions him about it, almost as if he is betraying his partner. That is, until you remember that Jack was blackmailed with Charlie's life and he did it to protect her.
Also preceding the scene with Lucy, dodgy Dan tells jack he has to use whatever he's got to get Rose, Jack is adamant he has nothing but DCI Dan pushes him. There is an air of defeat now with Jack in relation to Drummond - since he had to go for him for 'help' over the gun. He deflates and does what he is told.
Except for the attitude in this scene - which is magnificant!
Martha's murder is still the main driving force behind everything that Jack and Charlie do in this episode. Jack will not let go of Stan because he just wants to get him for what he knows he has done. But at every turn, dodgy Dan blocks him.
Also, just incredible reactions and actorly talents in this episode from our Mr M.. As always... but sometimes it needs saying again!
Finally got round to a rewatch....and I'm not sure that I think Jack is behaving particularly out of character. Despite his apparent stoicism, he must still be feeling Martha's death....and be frustrated that his mavarick attempts to nail Stan for her murder resulted in him having to go cap in hand to his new boss and admit that his rash actions had resulted in his partner's life also being threatened - the threat to Charlie has shaken him up too. Martha was used to his methods, and we know she had faith in him and was prepared to cover for him....but he's now working with a new team - not only with a new boss, but also another DS. He will be feeling far less confident of is standing.....and didn't Dan introduce Alisha as having worked with him in professional standards?! As far as he's concerned - Dan has already covered for him once and they've only just started working together! I thought it was a nice touch that the time he gave dodgy Dan some attitude was in defence of Charlie.... (btw domino - dodgy Dan - love it!)
Added to all of that is the whole past catching up with him thing - he's had to admit to his DCI that he has a skeleton in his past....and has had Rose shaking that skeleton in his face. And now the whole thing about Lucy being his daughter.....
I'm not surprised that Jack didn't come clean to Charlie about the gun.....he's not always been particularly forthcoming with her, and he'd probably rather she didn't know - not only because he doesn't want her to know that her life was threatened - but also because he doesn't want her to know what he'd been doing.
(oh the BH feelings).
) or daddy Jack?
