SILENT WITNESS “Bloodlines” series 14 episodes 1&2 - In this week’s two-parter, Harry travels to Hungary to assist his new lawyer girlfriend, Anna, on a case involving the death of a trafficked prostitute. It’s not long before Anna’s killed and Harry is framed, but will Harry find out who the real murderer is before his own life is taken?
No. Well, yes, actually, but sticking with ‘no’ would have made this two-parter a lot more interesting. As with previous episodes, the first part this week was slow and dragged painfully in parts, but it all seemed to be leading up to something good if you ignored how telegraphed it was: Harry drawing the position of organs on Anna’s body – she was going to die and he was going to be framed. (Was that drawing scene supposed to be romantic? It just seemed creepy to me.) Anna wanting to talk about their future together and getting upset when Harry was dismissive – clearly she was pregnant.
The only part of the first episode that wasn’t telegraphed well in advance was Harry’s death, two scenes which were actually rather brilliant. An exhausted, mourning Harry joining in Janos’ drunken singalong, throwing his emotions away for a moment of sheer joy was thrilling, as was the sudden cut to absolute terror as he ran for his life. And then the actual death scene – Harry couldn’t die, could he? The murderer loomed over him, shots rang out, we saw Harry’s jacket doused in petrol and then set alight. It looked like the end of Harry Cunningham. If it had been, it would have been exciting, if upsetting, stuff.
And then Harry came back. He explained away his fake death by telling Leo and Nikki how the murderer had to stop to reload his gun before shooting, giving Harry enough time to hit him in the face with his own can of petrol. The murderer fell, got hit by a truck, and died.
I almost switched the episode off here because how bloody hackneyed is that explanation? Of course the professional killer would stop to reload his gun as he stands over his target. Of course he would leave his petrol can close enough for said target to grab it and brain him. And of course a truck would hit him and kill him so that the good Doctor Cunningham wouldn’t have to shoot a live person, murderer or not.
The reveal of the true reason for Anna’s murder, and those of the trafficked prostitutes, was actually really interesting and would have made an intriguing episode on its own, without the mess that was Harry’s faked death. At the very least, the plotline allowed some great performances from actors who are fairly fresh to British audiences, instead of the usual stable of oft recycled guest stars, and some nice views of beautiful Budapest.
In conclusion: It was a decent watch if you managed to turn your brain off for two hours. If you didn’t, I sympathise.
What did you think of ‘Bloodlines’? Let us know in the comments below!
Follow me on Twitter @CrossroadsDeal
Please make sure to read our comment policy before posting a comment.