Strike: Career of Evil episode 1 review: The best British mystery running
The reason Strike works as a series is twofold. You do have these stellar mysteries with fantastic twists and turns, but they are also told within the backdrop of great personal strife. Take, for example, Robin finding herself in the midst of a case after learning about Matthew’s affair. Her response to this seemed to be to just work more, and to shove most of the thoughts that she didn’t want to consider clean out of her head.
The performances tonight in the midst of Robin’s struggle were fantastic, but so was the case itself. This was a case that caused Strife to eventually dive further into his past, including a man who had a connection to his mother. He knew this man as a killer of women, but clearly had not been able to collect the necessary evidence in order to ensure that this man was put away. There are tough cases for Strike, but then there is this one — he’s so invested in order to get some answers that his life, and his work, ends up falling apart.
Related – Want to preview even more of what’s next on Strife: Career of Evil?
The episode tonight ended with quite a dramatic cliffhanger, one where the tables started to turn on Strike as he himself started to sweat as a possible suspect. It appears clear that he is a victim of a setup, but there’s a difference between him knowing that and there actually being a way for him to prove his innocence. This is far from the first cliffhanger in recent crime TV history that ends with a main character feeling a little bit of heat, but with a character like Strike immersed in so much anguish, it totally works here.
CarterMatt Verdict
Strike: Career of Evil already looks as though it’s going to be the darkest of the Strike series to date — it’s chilling and mysterious in all the right ways as it focused on two characters desperate to bring about answers to a case that haunted them more than any other. They want to resolve it, but they may need to focus on resolving some of their own inner demons in order to do so.
Extra commendation should be given once more to Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger for bringing these characters to like. Also, how can you not ‘ship Strike and Robin together at this point?
What did you think about Strife: Career of Evil episode 1? Sound off right now in the comments!
Meanwhile, be sure to also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want additional insight when it comes to the series. (Photo: BBC.)