This is episode six from the opening season of Luther that also concluded the season. The director of this almost an hour is Stefan Schwartz who directed this episode and the one before it and you can almost see it as a double episode and in fact I think it originally aired as such too, so it makes sense Schwartz returned. He did not later on for another episode. It runs for almost an hour and once again a murderer is on the run, but this time it is Luther himself or in fact it is DCI Ian Reed, who may not be on the run from police, but on the run from Luther basically. And the latter is not alone by any means. Ripley has always been on his side, probably saves his life here on one occasion even. Alice is in it for the thrill and maybe because she and Luther are not too different. At least that's what she thinks. And eventually, Mark North joins forces with Luther as well after a little convincing and fist-fighting. You could probably even call Luther's boss an ally here. Of course, she needs to do justice to her job, but she is far from wanting Luther dead if there is any other way.
For us viewers, the biggest doubt here was not if Luther could prove his innocence or stay alive (of course he would), but if Reed would make it out alive. Given all the talk about Luther wanting him dead, you probably would respond with a determined "No.", but in the end Luther really tries all he can to not kill him and he is perhaps more mentally stable than we thought. However, eventually it is the aforementioned allies that fire back here and result in Reed losing his life. There was one moment I really liked, namely when Alice brought up the majority vote there, Luther talked to her and not to North when it comes to not shooting Reed because he knew which side North would be taking. He sided with the woman who in cold blood killed her parents and this is how the series started, so it was a nice framework you could say. However, Alice does have a wish to kill which is undeniable because she is the one ready to pull the trigger and not knowing the man, but knowing who he is and what he did is enough for her to go for it in the end. You can of course argue to what extent she really liked Zoe as she stated on one occasion when talking to Luther and if maybe she just wanted to get on his good side there. There is definitely a lot to discuss to this episode and I think it was another really, really good watch, but I the face of the brilliance from the previous episode, it did feel like a bit of an epilogue even. The crime was committed, the one involving Zoe that triggers everything else. And the other killing that happens here is at the very end really, so Zoe's murder is still everything all is about. But this is not meant in a derogatory way by any means. I still enjoyed this hour a lot, even if it was slightly inferior than the previous episode, which was maybe the highlight of the entire series.
I am definitely curious now to continue with season two soon. Luther's "Now what?" can almost be a question to the makers how they will hopefully continue the greatness. It was not the first time I watched this episode here and also will not be the first time I watch season two then, but memory has faded for sure and it has been almost fifteen years now anyway. It has aged really well. I am glad lead actor Elba was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe for his portrayal here and even if he was not triumphant yet for season one, it was bound to happen sooner or later and it did. I am also glad that Neil Cross gave us this series and by the way he was also in charge of penning the season finale here. Six episodes is really as short as it gets and even nowadays in the 2020s that feature so many short seasons, none are this short. I am usually fairly critical when it comes to British television shows, but I love the grit and absence of compromise this one here has and I surely appreciate Elba in what is probably the character I will always remember him for. There is not too much else I have to say about this closure episode. I thought the final location where the killing happens was a really good choice and I also liked the way how the final shots got combined with the closing credits. This episode was just a really convincing depiction of an incredibly tense episode with more suspense than I could talk about in 10k characters and a somewhat happy ending, even if Luther probably would not agree. I highly recommend to go and watch it, but if you have seen episode 5, then there is no way you will skip anyway, but yeah, if you have not seen Luther yet and like cop-themed shows, then this is an absolute must-watch. I am positive you will be as hooked as I was. Still am. Do not miss out.
For us viewers, the biggest doubt here was not if Luther could prove his innocence or stay alive (of course he would), but if Reed would make it out alive. Given all the talk about Luther wanting him dead, you probably would respond with a determined "No.", but in the end Luther really tries all he can to not kill him and he is perhaps more mentally stable than we thought. However, eventually it is the aforementioned allies that fire back here and result in Reed losing his life. There was one moment I really liked, namely when Alice brought up the majority vote there, Luther talked to her and not to North when it comes to not shooting Reed because he knew which side North would be taking. He sided with the woman who in cold blood killed her parents and this is how the series started, so it was a nice framework you could say. However, Alice does have a wish to kill which is undeniable because she is the one ready to pull the trigger and not knowing the man, but knowing who he is and what he did is enough for her to go for it in the end. You can of course argue to what extent she really liked Zoe as she stated on one occasion when talking to Luther and if maybe she just wanted to get on his good side there. There is definitely a lot to discuss to this episode and I think it was another really, really good watch, but I the face of the brilliance from the previous episode, it did feel like a bit of an epilogue even. The crime was committed, the one involving Zoe that triggers everything else. And the other killing that happens here is at the very end really, so Zoe's murder is still everything all is about. But this is not meant in a derogatory way by any means. I still enjoyed this hour a lot, even if it was slightly inferior than the previous episode, which was maybe the highlight of the entire series.
I am definitely curious now to continue with season two soon. Luther's "Now what?" can almost be a question to the makers how they will hopefully continue the greatness. It was not the first time I watched this episode here and also will not be the first time I watch season two then, but memory has faded for sure and it has been almost fifteen years now anyway. It has aged really well. I am glad lead actor Elba was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe for his portrayal here and even if he was not triumphant yet for season one, it was bound to happen sooner or later and it did. I am also glad that Neil Cross gave us this series and by the way he was also in charge of penning the season finale here. Six episodes is really as short as it gets and even nowadays in the 2020s that feature so many short seasons, none are this short. I am usually fairly critical when it comes to British television shows, but I love the grit and absence of compromise this one here has and I surely appreciate Elba in what is probably the character I will always remember him for. There is not too much else I have to say about this closure episode. I thought the final location where the killing happens was a really good choice and I also liked the way how the final shots got combined with the closing credits. This episode was just a really convincing depiction of an incredibly tense episode with more suspense than I could talk about in 10k characters and a somewhat happy ending, even if Luther probably would not agree. I highly recommend to go and watch it, but if you have seen episode 5, then there is no way you will skip anyway, but yeah, if you have not seen Luther yet and like cop-themed shows, then this is an absolute must-watch. I am positive you will be as hooked as I was. Still am. Do not miss out.