Luther: Review

Back in July of last year, Luther concluded it's three-series run on BBC1, and was praised by many as one of the best series that the BBC has ever aired; making front-runner Idris Elba a household name. After foolishly putting it off for some time, I decided to sit down and watch all of series 1-3 in order to find out what all the fuss was about. And I was anything but disappointed. 

Series 1 opens by immediately establishing main character John Luther (Idris Elba) as an experienced police officer who will do anything to achieve what he sees as justice. Sometimes his methods are questionable, but they inevitably get the job done. After introducing a few key characters such as John's partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) & John's ex-wife Zoe Luther (Indira Varma) , the first episode follows the case of a young woman by the name of Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson). Alice's parents have both been shot within the confines of their own home, and it's up to Luther to find the killer before they strike again; Alice being the number one suspect. Without spoiling too much, Alice quickly becomes one of the best characters in the entire programme, acting almost as a Jim Moriarty to Luther. 

John Luther (Idris Elba)

Most of the continuing episodes work out in this manner, with a villain being introduced in the title sequence and the rest of the episode playing out with John Luther attempting to bring them in. But things never become stale. Partly due to the fact every episode within the first season has another unique case, but also down to the many other stories which are expertly intertwined between episodes. I won't give away anything, but the final two episodes of the first season have so much packed into them that things go past at an incredible speed. The following two series differ in that they allow two episodes per villain, meaning that there are two villains within series two and then another two in series three. Although this isn't a problem, because it fleshes out each psychopath more than series 1, it doesn't feel as fast-paced as the original series. Yet again though, there are numerous sub-plots which all accumulate to heart-pounding series-finales. 

As for the aforementioned villains: I don't think I've seen a TV show before where every single episode is as interesting as the last. Each killer is presented as strikingly different, with some being phenomenally intellectual and others simply being out to harm as many people as possible. Sometimes things do get very dark and morbid, but that's expected in a programme within this context, and the violence never becomes exploitative. For the majority of the time, the most violent actions are not seen but rather spoke about heavily, which some may argue is far worse. I'd say however, that it is much more effective, because it prevents Luther turning into a programme which has a sole goal of shocking audiences, and instead makes it an experience which never over-explains things and respects its viewer-ship. 

Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson)

The best thing about Luther however, is by far the character of John Luther himself. Idris Elba consistently raises the bar of acting by presenting Luther as a righteously flawed character who will stop at almost nothing to bring justice to those who so desperately need it. The show is full of tense, exciting scenes, but also rather emotionally-driven ones, particularly in the closing episodes of the final series. There are some huge twists which I personally didn't see coming at all. 

There are very few flaws I found with Luther. If I had to be pedantic though, I'd say that the first series' large cliffhanger is wrapped up almost too quickly as the second begins, but this allows for a new chapter in the story to begin, so this almost can't be considered a negative. One thing that repeatedly became slightly irritating however, was the carelessness displayed by many of the characters in the show. Obviously this is usually needed to progress the story and place individuals into dangerous situations, but it became a little too common to see a young girl walking home alone down a dark alley at night, only to be brutally murdered moments later. 

Justin Ripley (Warren Brown)

Verdict
Luther is exciting, tense and extremely entertaining for all of its 15 episodes. Many returning characters are enjoyable to watch, and the killers and villains are distinctively unique to one another. It's everything you could want from a police-thriller, which is why Luther is, by far, one of my new favourite TV series that I have seen, and one which you should watch right away. 

"There's no evidence of an intruder"

"But absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence?"

"I know, I'm making a leap. It's a little leap though, more of a hop."