Inspector Lewis (TV Series) Down Among the Fearful: Part 2 (2013) User Reviews

Better then the opener.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 10 October 2018]

The first part of this story left me a little flat, and I can remember at the time I lost a little interest, ITV did Lewis no favours by splitting it into two.

Fox adds some amusement to this episode at least, his collar, and general stiff demeanour are a nice touch, he constantly looks awkward, but it's humorous. It is the performance of Fox once again that makes this a decent watch, he's such a strong, charismatic actor, he had some great scenes, in particular the ones with the dying girl, very well acted.

I'm not sure if it was the format, or the writing, but some of the characters felt a little under developed, and the killer came as some surprise, particularly when said character had barely spoken, that was a little naughty.

Overall it was quite good, the ending had some excitement, nice to see Hathaway being the one to crack the case, the way he discovered the killer's identity was well crafted.

A pretty good watch. 7/10

More Arrogance and Cruelty

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 22 March 2018]

Soon into the second half of this episode, a young woman who worked with the phony psychic, is pursued and killed with an injection, the same way her friend was. Lewis and Hathaway begin to investigate the psychology professor, making his life miserable. There are other players. A Tarot wielding woman seems to have knowledge she should not. An Indian man and his wife have lost a daughter and are broken. The wife of the first deceased man and her brother play a role. Things are nicely set up for an exciting conclusion.

Well written (2 part) episode after 2 bad ones.

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 23 April 2024]

This episode clicked on all cylinders right.up to a good but not great ending. The villain(s) became obvious a bit too early. But, all in all a very enjoyable fast paced story with excellent twists and turns, and unique characters. The red herring classified government experiment was masterfully woven in to throw the viewer off.

Little problem that Sanjeev Bhaskar as Kanan Dutta would subject his wobbly minded basket case wife Lesley Vickerage as Katherine Dutta to a traumatic personal beliefs attack at "The Institute" by egghead wackos.

Stunning Tuppence Middleton as Vicki Walmsley was a highlight who lit up the screen. The Hathaway neck injury playing a part in the climax was brilliant.

Good news the series still can rock after some mediocre attempts.

Down Among the Fearful: The second half

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 22 June 2017]

Hearing about 'Lewis' for the first time when it first started, there was a big touch of excitement seeing as 'Inspector Morse' was and still is one of my favourites but also a little intrepidation, wondering whether the series would be as good. The good news is, like the prequel series 'Endeavour', 'Lewis' is every bit as good as 'Inspector Morse' and stands very well on its own two feet as a detective mystery and show in general.

'Lewis' was a show that started off promisingly with the pilot and the first season, while getting even better with a more settled Season 2 where the show hit its stride. Season 3 was more of a mixed bag (not a bad season at all, but started a little disappointingly, though better than reputed, with one of the show's generally lesser episodes "Allegory of Love"). Season 4 generally was one of the better seasons of 'Lewis', with all the episodes very good to great, and Season 5 was solid with the only disappointment being "The Mind Has Mountains".

Season 6 started off very well with "The Soul of Genius", while "Generation of Vipers" was even better. Unfortunately, "Fearful Symmetry" was very disappointing and has always been one of my least favourite 'Lewis' episodes. Luckily, "The Indelible Stain" saw the sixth season back on track.

The first half of "Down Among the Fearful" was decent if unexceptional. The second half of the episode does suffer from the bizarre decision to split (more like chop) the episode into half, a trend that continued from that point. This decision didn't come off, when it continued with the second half it felt like the first half ended at an awkward stop. Trying to be reminded of the events of the first half and who was who turned out to be more confusing than it ought to have been.

On top of that the ending was convoluted and far-fetched (not uncommon in 'Lewis' but one of the worst cases) and there are scenes that jump around rather too much which makes the pacing erratic.

However, Hathaway does have a little more spark here and the sparkling chemistry between him and Lewis a little stronger with a stronger contrast (a big part of the appeal of the chemistry and the show in general) of Lewis being the world weary one with the hunches and Hathaway being the more logical and witty.

As always the acting is solid, very good in the cases of Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox. This said, there is not a weak link here, everybody performs to a high standard.

Production values are of very high quality. It's beautifully shot as always, and Oxford not only looks exquisite but is like a supporting character in itself. Barrington Pheloung returns as composer, and does a first-rate job. The theme tune, while not as iconic or quite as clever as Morse's, is very pleasant to listen to, the episode is charmingly and hauntingly scored and the use of pre-existing music is very well-incorporated.

Some of the writing is thoughtful and fun and some of the story does compel, when it was not being hindered by pacing issues, confusion and the decision of the episode being spread as two halves aired over two weeks.

In conclusion, worth watching but of the two halves it's the inferior one. 6/10 Bethany Cox