BBC One Dramatic Series: Luther, Episode 3

The strong writing and brilliant acting continues in episode three of the new BBC One dramatic series Luther.  In this episode, Luther must find an abducted young woman before she is killed while avoiding suspension due to something Alice Morgan caused to happen.  This episode is a tense and gritty one that has a lot going on from the first minute to the last.  The tension among the characters remains high and some situations seem to be getting even more complicated.   

With some shows you will occasionally have a scene that appears to be just filler to round out the episode.  I'm yet to see a scene in the three episodes that have aired thus far that doesn't have a purpose.  Everything that happens, in some way, has something to do with something else.  There are several story lines running parallel to one another throughout this episode and each one, in some way, has an effect on the others.

I think it is safe to say that after the first three episodes of Luther I am definitely a fan of the show and am greatly looking forward to each new episode.

On to the summary of episode three...



A Detective Inspector Philip Hamilton arrives at the home of Kirsten Ross.  We get the feeling right off that he isn't who he appears to be.  Soon, he drops the facade.  He puts Kirsten in the trunk of his car then goes back into the house.  Luther arrives on the scene to find the walls of the house scrawled with words written in blood and Detective Ripley suggests they may be dealing with Satanism.  Back at the station, DSU Teller shows Luther and Ripley notes from a case 10 years ago that has aspects similar to the case they are currently working.  The woman in the old case, Grace Allen, was found to have been frozen post mortem and completely drained of blood.  An anonymous tip led the police to a man named Lucien Burgess.  The writing on the wall in the current case was in the still-fresh 10-year-old blood of the first victim, Grace Allen. 
We next see a freezer and can hear Kirsten Ross beating on the lid begging to be freed. The man who abducted her is cleaning a stainless steel table and preparing items to be worked with later. 

Alice is back and she is watching video of Mark being beaten which she emails to Luther.  Mark comes in to talk to DSU Teller about the beating.  He tells her that one of the girls involved said "John says 'hi'" during the beating.  Luther speaks with Richard Henley, a policeman involved in the Grace Allen case.  He gives Luther details about things Burgess did and said and how Burgess taunted him with a photo of Grace Allen.  He tells Luther the biggest regret in his life was that he didn't kill Burgess.

Burgess opens the freezer and takes a photograph of Kirsten Ross then asks her "Are you ready?"  Thankfully, what happens to poor Kristen isn't shown.  Next time we see Burgess he is drinking blood from a cup then cleaning it from the outside of the freezer Kirsten Ross is being held in.  He then tapes up the air holes in the freezer and turns it on.

DSU Teller informs Luther about Mark's beating and that she will be taking her time entering the paperwork but she will be entering it unless Mark withdraws his complaint.  Luther goes to visit Mark and tells him he had nothing to do with the beating.  He asks Mark to not make the complaint and when he refuses, he tells Zoe that while he may have done a lot of things, he didn't lie to her.  He tells them both they need to trust him.  When he leaves Zoe's home, he calls Alice and tells her to stop interfering in his life.

Luther stops into an occult shop and speaks with the owner, Lucien Burgess.  They make small talk about grisly souveniers before Luther takes Burgess' book from his pocket.  Burgess signs the book for Luther, first picking up a pen with his left hand as if to sign then switching the pen to his right to sign the book. Burgess later calls a press conference where he claims his innocence in the Kirsten Ross and Grace Allen crimes.

Luther, about to be suspended by DCI Martin Shenk because of Mark's beating, takes a moment to confer with Ripley about the case then goes to see Alice to ask her help in catching Burgess.  Alice tells him he already knows how to catch him; she says he needs to change the state of play.

Luther, avoiding Shenk, speaks with Ripley about a lead in the case.  Luther, knowing they are in a bind, tells Ripley that they need to throw away the rule book and change the state of play.  They go to the docks where the boat they are looking for in connection with the case is.  They board and search the boat and find the freezer containing Kirsten Ross only to find her dead.  Luther tells Ripley they can't report that they were there because if they do they cannot use any of the evidence against Burgess.  They argue over Luther's decison.

Luther and DCI Reed have a plan to trap Burgess.  Luther disguises himself and hits Burgess to get some of his blood.  They go back to the boat and place some blood there.  DCI Reed calls Burgess and tells him that evidence was planted against him and that for a price, he can fix it.  Burgess heads back to the boat with Luminal to clean away any traces of evidence that can be found linking him to Kirsten Ross.  He finds what he is looking for and begins to clean when Luther steps out of the shadows. 

Zoe goes to Luther and kisses him with Alice watching them from a window.

Was John Luther able to catch the bad guy in this episode?  Did the plan he and DCI Reed devise do the trick or did it backfire on them?  Was Luther suspended because of the beating Mark received?  Watch the latest episode of Luther to find out!

BBC One has posted a clip of the "writing on the wall" from this episode of Luther:



Episode four of Luther airs on BBC One May 25, 2010 at 9 p.m.  A preview of episode four can be seen on You Tube thanks to BBC One: