We’re three episodes into the giant jigsaw puzzle that is The Missing and we have a few more pieces in place.
Thoroughly committed to playing the long game, Episode 3 continues in the same high quality vein as its preceding episodes.
The 2006 timeline gets even darker as the line of police enquiry leads to Tony as a suspect in his son’s disappearance. Leap forwards to present day where Tony and Julien Baptiste are trying to find some evidence in the room where Olly left behind his drawing and jog the memories of the locals.
The investigation into Tony is obviously going to hit a dead end but the revelation of his violent past is an interesting one none the less. Is that the reasons Emily left him? It’s smart, little hints like that which elevate The Missing from the glut of Scandi-noir inclined mystery mope-fests.
James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor are proving to be eminently watchable week after week. What’s so interesting is that Tony could have been written as an uncomplicated hero but instead his desperation, history of violence and his ongoing suspicion of Vincent Bourg make him a fully formed, flawed individual.
The possibility that a crime gang could be at the heart of Olly’s abduction is a chilling prospect. How Ken Stott’s Ian is involved remains to be seen, but it would appear his generosity in trying to find Olly’s kidnappers may not be entirely selflessly motivated.
The series so far has come under criticism from some for being too slow. I like to think of it more as a pan of water on a low heat, slowly simmering away and building to a series finale that’s going to boil up and spill out from under the lid. If anything I found the pacing of this episode a little jolty; Tony’s interview scene and the nail biting car chase were a couple of big adrenalin spikes in an otherwise low key episode.
The final moments of this week episode, however, were brilliant. If you can get past the inconceivable notion that the people across the street from Olly filmed a party and happened to be at the window at exactly the right moment, those images of Olly with a hand over his mouth being pulled away from the window are utterly chilling.
If The Missing can stay on this course for the rest of the series we’re in for an excellent journey. The slow drip of revelations is perfectly handled to create intrigue whilst never seeming formulaic and the performances are brilliant across the board. Viewing figures for the show are rising; proof if it were needed that The Missing has its audience totally gripped.
Aired at 9pm on Tuesday 11 November 2014 on BBC One.
> Order The Missing on DVD on Amazon.
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