Douglas Henshall’s final series of Shetland proves a little underwhelming for me
“I’m up to the exploding caravan bit”
I don’t know if it is symptomatic of having watched so much Shetland back-to-back but I kind of lost my patience with Series 7, aka the final one with Douglas Henshall’s Jimmy Pérez. The show has rarely carried over plot points from series to series (Tosh’s PTSD, Sandy’s leaking of crime scene photos to a newspaper) but the humdinger of a cliffhanger at the end of the last season made me think that for once, story strands would actually be developed.
How wrong I was. It’s a year later in Lerwick and Duncan is in prison, a single scene to say his farewell and never mentioned again, Cassie is barely featured and so their relationship isn’t touched upon, Jimmy’s Dad has been killed off and so the caring for an elderly parent storyline is equally terminated and after a year’s suspension, Jimmy’s lowkey tribunal sees him cleared of wrongdoing but not before he can fire off a sanctimonious tirade about how it’s all been a waste of time.
That sense of being over it does actually come into play for the rest of Series 7 as a real malaise sets over Jimmy’s spirits – the return to work not doing anything to settle his demons, even when a new doozy of a case comes in. Young author Connor has disappeared on the night of his book launch, his sister Abbie is almost run over on her way home, his parents have their house broken into and their knives arranged in a threatening manner. Throw in a secret past for the dad and a body in a suitcase and everyone’s paying attention.
Somehow though, over these six episodes, the story never developed into one that I cared much about, a very bitty format meaning there was little cumulative effect building to the requisite climax. Jimmy’s ennui is a factor here, he’s a real dick for much of the series, even when trying to kindle romance with Lucianne McEvoy’s ever-patient Meg and infecting Alison O’Donnell’s Tosh with his behaviour as she threatens the stability of her life with the precious angel that is Angus Miller’s Donnie and their new baby. I really didn’t buy the twists in how she acted, even if she was traumatised once again.
A storyline of eco-terrorism emerges without much conviction, plus a subplot of Jimmy getting a new buddy with far-reaching consequences that again, struggled to really convince. I found myself not caring for any of these characters, despite the likes of Shauna McDonald, Laurie Brett, Patrick Robinson and Stuart McQuarrie trying their best. The return of Julie Graham’s fiscal just points up how Anneika Rose’s replacement fell flat and it’s mad how Erin Armstrong gets so little to do as Cassie, especially given the gravity of the decision her father ends up making. Still, making it to seven series before disappointing me is quite the good run and now there’s gonna be a change….
