Gritty and highly intelligent, Luther was a true gem amongst the stones of television shows. The
British TV series crept onto screens in 2010 and was broadcast on the BBC
(One). Like many BBC shows, Luther
had relatively few episodes (6 in Series 1, 4 in Series 2 and 4 in Series 3)
but every episode was packed full of quality; at every corner there was a
different twist or turn, a new or exciting character was introduced or
re-appeared and there was never a dull moment throughout the 3 series. Luther is perhaps one of those shows
where you were truly sad that it was so short-lived, as it had so much
potential to be even better and long-lasting, but considering how long
production took for the episodes (there was a 2 year gap between Series 2 and
3) it almost seemed inevitable that it would come to a close.
Starring in the title role was Idris Elba, who played the
slightly demented at times, and extremely hard-hitting and dedicated, detective
Chief Inspector John Luther. The legendary Luther seemed to cause havoc
wherever he went, and if the going got tough, you could be sure that Luther
would be willing to go to any lengths to get the job done (hanging people over
the sides of buildings, teaming up with a psychopathic killer and covering up
other people’s murders are just a few activities in his day-to-day routine).
But of course, helping (and stalking) Luther on his journey
was Alice Morgan, portrayed by Ruth Wilson, a highly intelligent psychopath who
killed her parents and developed an obsession with Luther. Assisting John on
several tasks (including killing people who had wronged John and helping him
escape from custody); Alice proved that she was a vital part to the team. Two
parts disturbing, three parts creepy and an ounce of adorableness, Alice and
Luther made for a dynamic duo, and Wilson and Elba’s on-screen chemistry was
electric. Completing the unstoppable team was Justin Ripley, played by Warren
Brown. Ripley was a young policeman who was loyal to Luther till the end – the
end being his unfortunate demise near the end of the third series. Ripley and
Luther got in a number of tight scrapes, but the two managed to soldier through
and there was certainly a bromance going on between the two.
In addition to its fantastic range of characters, Luther also provided excellent character
development, as Luther, Morgan and Ripley soon became fan favourites. Elba’s
performance as Luther was as legendary as the character itself; able to fully
grasp all of the complex emotions and also emulate Luther’s anger issues in a
scarily perfect manner, Elba was triumphant in his role and earned much
critical praise for his performance. Wilson also received praise for her role
as the calculated Alice, and she simply stole every scene she was in with a
simple look on her face or a menacing stare.
Luther is one of
the shows that just had everything, from creepy, but highly engaging and
stimulating plots to well-thought out characters and fantastic dialogue. The
suspense in Luther was built up
brilliantly as it often relied on leaving out certain points or not being able
to truly understand them until the ending sequence. While it is with a heavy
heart that we mourn the loss of our beloved television series, there is hope in
the future for a possible feature film or spin-off series involving Alice
Morgan, as these ideas remain in the pipeline (fingers crossed).
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