Preliminary summary of the show. Idris Elba plays a london detective with a few anger issues. His wife is separating from him and he is returned to work after a ethically questionable interrogation of a pedophiliac serial killer. His first case back and he's stumbled upon a very intriguing suspect. Alice Morgan, played by the lovely Ruth Wilson, is the Moriarty to his Sherlock, and it's excellent! The show itself hasn't especially impressed me in this first episode, but Ruth Wilson's character has definitely got me interested.
First of all, I love Ruth Wilson. I have had my eye on her since I saw her portrayal of Jane Eyre in the 2006 BBC miniseries (10/10 would recommend, by the way)....(Also, I just realized that was TEN years ago. Holy crap!). I knew Wilson was in this show, and I anticipated her role to be one of the standard consultant or lawyer as often appear in such procedural shows. I was puzzled, then ecstatic, to discover that she was the villain! I kept trying to convince myself that there was no way she could be.
And I have to say I'm so pleased they did this. For one, it's great that a female character isn't always portrayed as the sidekick or even as the pillar of righteousness. Her character is perverse but not in an overtly sexual way. She's unhinged but eerily normal. It makes me believe I might know an Alice Morgan in real life.
The other thing I love about it is how great of a role it must have been to play. I'm sure actors like Andrew Scott (who got to play Moriarty in the BBC series of Sherlock) and Tom Hiddleston (who played the corrupted and complex villain, Loki, in the Marvel films) had a blast portraying their respective characters as wild and unpredictable crazies. I'm glad that a female actress has been given the space to play in such a role, as they don't often get the chance.
And of course, Wilson is excellent in it.
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