wed 13/11/2024

Keeping Faith, Episode 4 Series 2, BBC One review - murders aplenty | reviews, news & interviews

Keeping Faith, Episode 4 Series 2, BBC One review - murders aplenty

Keeping Faith, Episode 4 Series 2, BBC One review - murders aplenty

Husband Evan leaves prison, just as Faith risks going in

Faith's trademark yellow mac risks turning red with blood

Life on the Welsh coast isn’t getting any easier: defendant Madlen was found guilty of murder, husband Evan was coming home from prison, and Faith had just given Steve Baldini a rather uncomfortable snog on the beach. She’s probably pining for that first series now, at least the hubby was out of the picture.

In the latest episode of BBC's watercooler hit, Faith’s become entangled in a murder enquiry of her own. After running errands for local baddie Gael Reardon, one of her contacts has turned up on a morgue slab. The victim had called Faith just before his death, so it won’t be long until the wonderfully-named DI Breeze connects the dots.

Things aren't getting any easier for the rest of Camarthen's residents, either. Steve's daughter is in hospital after a mysterious hit and run, which at least preoccupies him while Evan makes his return to the family home. Faith won't let him back in the marriage bed yet, but she's at least more welcoming than daughter Alys, who's gone goth since daddy went away.Keeping FaithUnlike last series, there’s no straightforward mystery this time around. In fact, the biggest headache is trying to figure what everyone’s playing at. Evan wants Faith kept safe, but is secretly texting Gael, while aligning with DI Breeze, who’s following Faith while she works for Gael. This isn’t helped by Gael’s accent, which traverses the Irish Sea and crosses the Atlantic and back within the same sentence.

Instead, it’s the emotional drama that anchors the show. Eve Myles risks a hernia with her heavy-lifting performance, from rolling around on the office floor to comforting Dyfan at his father’s graveside. However, the most touching moment was the reunion of Evan and Alys, a subtly-played portrait on how imprisonment affects family life. Here’s hoping for more heart and less crime clichés as the finale comes into view.

@OwenRichards91

Comments

About as contrived, schmaltzy and unrealistic as it gets as it gets-at one stage I was seriously wondering if this was a spoof !

If I have to watch another scene of people standing on beaches and staring out to sea, I'll bloody scream. We get it: the town is on the ocean, and it's very scenic. I suppose we must appreciate Eve Myles, who gamely conveys the most blithering nonsense she's tasked to sell, but why in God's name would Faith commit all these criminal acts to save a man who had betrayed her? Surely it isn't for those puppy-dog eyes he trains on her, telegraphing shame and meekness [the actor playing Evan deserves whatever is the negative of an Oscar]. He has all the erotic charge of peach jello. And then there's the ridiculous superfluity of villains -treacherous Irish gangsters and ruthless big-city coppers - all such howling stereotypes as to evoke a curious combination of laughter and dyspepsia, at least in this viewer. Adding insult to injury is the soupy, maudlin soundtrack of Lilith Fair rejects, each somehow whinier than the last. I liked the first series for its interesting infusion of noir into what was essentially a Lifetime series, and Myles strode through it with her head held straight and high. But this... it was cringe-worthy. I nearly didn't watch the last two episodes, and after shaking my head through the finale, I'd like to have the name of the sadist at BBC Wales who will give me these 6 hours of my life back

Totally agree. I'm very disappointed in this season because I absolutely loved the first season.

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters