‘The Fall’ Season 2 Episode 2 review

Last week’s glacially-paced opener of The Fall established all the plot elements for the season and in this second episode these themes all continue to be explored and developed, but with a much stronger pace and some impressive character moments.

The investigative parts are interesting and well-played by all involved, despite the fact that major chunks of what we’re being told is already known to the viewer. However, it is enthralling to watch Stella and her team attempt to clue together and figure out the murder in the right way.

New evidence, such as the tyre treads of the car used to abduct Rose are introduced though, and aspects like this do add depth to the proceedings. The realisation that Paul Spector is potentially the killer seems to have come very early in the season (we’re only a third of the way in) and it’ll be interesting how this plotline keeps its momentum.

One of the high points for me in the episode is the wonderful scene between Gillian Anderson’s Stella and Jon Jo O’Neill as Rose Stagg’s husband, Tom. It’s essentially just two people talking, but the dialogue and what is discussed (the Staggs’ relationship, the current state of their marriage, how they originally met) is so rich.

These kind of scenes are what The Fall does best, exploring the frailties and the complexities of the human condition. It has a strongly psychological and evaluative tone to it, as we learn how Paul’s actions towards Rose affected her choices in life.

It’s also full of wonderful little moments throughout: Stella’s dream sequence at the beginning that further reinforces her desire to catch Paul, while living with the guilt of James Olson’s murder; Rose’s daughter and the ‘Peter Piper’ revelation; Paul and Katie’s brutal and disturbing hotel bondage session.

A lot of that is down to the casting and special mention should go to both Valene Kane, who imbues Rose with a fragility and palpable fear that makes you ache for her to survive, as well as Karen Hassan, who does a beautiful job as surviving victim Annie Brawley: it’s a beautiful performance and Hassan is genuinely mesmerising in her mix of shame, guilt and fear.

Tonally, it all feels very isolated. The locations are shown to be remote, desolate and sparse: no doubt another visual metaphor (a continuous theme in The Fall this year) for the moral and mental complexities of its characters. The most complex of these is of course Stella, with Gillian Anderson doing a lovely job of being cautiously emotive, exhibiting further guilt over Rose’s abduction and barely functioning under the pressure of her peers.

The Fall continues to impress, mainly by picking up the pace and developing the stories in interesting directions, held together with a very strong cast of actors. The revelation that they now believe Paul to be the killer is a great reveal and we can’t wait to see how things play out from here.