Following the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey, which did for Matthew with a car what childbirth did for Lady Sibyl, you could have been forgiven for thinking that there was only so much melodrama one series could take. But stately homes – and big budget ITV series – don’t go off course so easily.
If it wasn’t already obvious after the first episode, the way ‘Instinct’ ends makes it clear Orphan Black is a show that is primarily about clones and that this story thread is what the plot will be mainly be focussed on.
The mystery of why Beth killed herself remains an interesting addition, and it’s guaranteed to end up connecting to the cloning conspiracy in some way further down the line.
After last week’s supernatural shenanigans, we are back to the gruesome bread and butter of Whitechapel with a serial killer who has a penchant for skinning their victims.
Tony Basgallop is a talented man. And a cruel writer. Indeed, we might never forgive him for luring us into his dramatic attic three Sundays ago. Because as we’ve been stumbling through the shadows trying to guess the murderer, he’s been busy sharpening his final script into an arrowhead; all so he can fire it right into our heart.
From the big screen to the small screen comes this spin-off from Marvel’s cinematic universe, all under the careful gaze of executive producer (and co-creator) Joss Whedon.
Striking a decidedly supernatural tone, Series 4’s opening two-part tale drew to a close with a rational, scientific explanation for the Witchfinder murders, before expertly throwing all the cards up in the air once again.
Old habits die hard. But addictions? No such luck. They last with you. And both are indulged this week by the residents of the house that Cash in the Attic forgot, as no one is able to give up on their fixations, no matter how much trouble it may land them in.
These days you’ve got to be careful when using the ‘B’ word around crime dramas. It’s not a term that should be deployed frivolously, but at the risk of getting some people in a tizz we’ll use it here: What Remains is getting pleasingly Broadchurchy.
Autumn’s drawing its brittle fingers around us, so you know what that means: it’s time to enjoy a bowl of soup, a blast of central heating, and for a sumptuously knitted BBC Two Slanket of period drama to be thrown over us.
“What remains!”, you might have exclaimed enthusiastically as you saw the desiccated corpse of Melissa Young stowed away in the attic.