‘The Fall: Series Two’ DVD Review
When The Fall ended last year it was inevitable that there would be a second series to at least conclude the story and for the killer to finally be brought to justice. Carrying on the story The Fall: Series Two is an intellectual battle, a lot like a game of chess, between the serial killer and female detective tasked with the job to hunt him down.
In The Fall: Series Two we re-join the story with Stella (Gillian Anderson) fighting to keep the case alive and not letting it go cold, while the killer himself Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) hides away in Scotland away from his family who have returned home to Ireland. When he is pulled back though he soon abducts a person from his past who may hold evidence to seal his fate.
The Fall isn’t a show that focuses on action or huge twists to keep the audience interested, and for this reason some times it feels slow compared to something like The Missing which pushes the story at a brisker pace. The intellectual battle between Gillian Anderson’s character and Jamie Dornan’s soon catches the audience when they least expect it though, and it has them hooked. Every move that the killer makes is to goad the police and show him just how more intelligent he is, while his counterpart Stella makes moves to do the same things, showing her in many ways to be a smarter predator working to finally find the proof that she needs to find him. The fact that they finally have a person to focus on in this series changes the style of the cat and mouse game.
There are many battles being fought in The Fall and the one between killer and detective may be the focus, but it is just the tip of the iceberg especially for Stella. Anderson’s character is one that feels like she is fighting for recognition in a male dominated world, part of her character is that she is affected by the relationship with her father, which is explored to some extent in the story, used somewhat as a weapon to show her weakness.
More is revealed about Stella and this explains some of her character traits and actions, especially with people of the male persuasion. Saying this, it is not all her own issues as there is an obvious bias within the department she heads and the way they work feels discriminatory against a woman holding the amount of power she does. Anderson is able to play her character though with strength needed. She is the power in the department and her actions and successes show just that, no matter what prejudices are held against her she will succeed and will not be controlled.
Both Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan are excellent in the roles they play, but praise has to be given to the cast as a whole who work to create a believable story which is never let down by any weak performances. An interesting addition to the cast this year is Colin Morgan who many will remember from Merlin who plays his role well and is the perfect character to catch the interest of Gillian Anderson’s character and her certain sexual tastes.
The Fall may feel slow at times but as it progresses to its conclusion it becomes more engrossing and must-watch television. The final episode that features the interview between Stella and Paul pushes focus to those two characters and dominates the episode. Excellently acted and directed in a way that raises the tension for the audience, we finally see the face-to-face confrontation between the formidable foes. With an ending that also raises a few more questions about both characters it’ll be interesting to see if the story can continue, even though it does feel that it has come very close to a conclusion that the audience would be happy with.
****½ 4.5/5
The Fall: Series Two is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from December 26th.
