Safe House (Series 2, Episode 3 Review)

If Safe House could be summed up by one moment it’s when John Channing mumbles about his kidnapped girlfriend “I did something to try and get her back. I don’t think it worked”. He doesn’t think? To summarise: His bribe for information from the imprisoned Griffin means he now can’t speak at the moment and thus is unable to tell anyone where Julie is. If he even knew at all. Then there’s the small matter of MacBride getting murdered while on a rescue mission he ordered. Oh, and she is still missing. He doesn’t think it worked?! The show’s underwritten, half-hearted core is exposed more than ever tonight.

There is at least an attempt to give the mundane Tom Brook a bit of backstory but sadly it is lifted from the “haunted cop did something bad in past” manual. He attacked Griffin in a windswept location and.. that’s about it. Frankly if he was a mass murderer it wouldn’t make him any more interesting. Though Moyer’s portrayal is lifeless he’s not exactly given much to work with. If the words don’t lift off paper the subject matter will never translate on screen.

In a time when drama is pushing barriers, Safe House offers the same old tried and tested tropes. There’s the retired cop trying to solve an old case, the forlorn wife, the gruff, bitter DI in Olly Vedder to name just three. Their actions speak even louder cliches than any of their uninspiring words. Sam steals confidential information from a police computer, John goes up a ladder of his yard in the pitch blank just after being confronted by a creepy Liam… yadda yadda. You get the gist.

The plot progresses slightly when Tom links empty properties all owned by New Mersey Estates. The man who runs the company is a Roger Lane, the same person who came up in Sam’s quickfire computer search. By lucky coincidence Simon Duke also knows this man having done photos for his brochures. Jason Watkins remains criminally underused so only a big role in the finale will justify the inclusion of such a talented actor.

As for the rescue scene, something that has been three episodes in the making? Vedder smashes the glass of an abandoned building and just walks up to her. No drama, no tension. It just happens. So Julie is safe and sound but nobody seems to have told our John who looks about as excited by her return as a cow walking into an abattoir. Not one to want to hang around with his thankfully alive girlfriend (why would you?) John is asking for a lift home with Tom. To cut a short story shorter, he gets murdered. His still, blood covered corpse providing Ashley Walter’s strongest performance to date.

Liam appears to be prime suspect number one for Channing’s murder and as the scene is intercut with his dad finding a copy of ‘The Crow’ book in his bag, likely to be first in line regarding the villain himself. Or a copycat. Or someone who wants revenge after what happened to his mum. Blah blah blah. The odds are on The Crow being either Liam or Roger with a chance they’re actually working together. Maybe Simon is involved? Who knows? Who cares? At least there’s only one week left. 4/10