Only a Liar says this tale’s spent
SEQUELS, second albums, returning series. They are all blighted by the curse of public pressure, high expectation and a good dose of British suspicion.
Liar, ITV’S massive hit thriller which first hit screens in 2017, has suffered the same fate.
Having pulled in a massive nine million viewers an episode, it was inevitable that it would return for a second series.
And so, the he said/she said rape accusation drama ended with one resolution and one great big whopping mystery. Charming creep Dr Andrew Earlham, played by Ioan Gruffudd, was found to have sexually assaulted at least 19 women and kept the footage locked up in a shed.
Which proves that in TV and film, never trust anyone who is that handsome. If they are not rom-com leading men, they are evil. Then just as we were revelling in this big conclusion, the final scene threw another curveball – the classic, “please can we have another series” cliffhanger.
Andrew was floating very much dead, his throat slit, on the Kent marshes. But who killed him? And does anyone care?
A mere two and a half years later and now Liar is back, morphed from the clever “who’s the liar?” concept to a bog-standard whodunnit.
Loathsome
After the first episode, I felt torn. On the one hand, yes, I suppose I do want to know what happened.
But on the other, it’s a run-of-the-mill murder mystery. And I’m exhausted.
Plus I haven’t finished watching Love Is Blind on Netflix yet, I’ve spent all week sourcing World Book Day outfits and I’ve still got to go and stockpile cans of soup.
Thank goodness for Katherine Kelly, arriving in this series to steal every scene as the nicotine gum chewing, loathsome DI Karen Renton. I could watch her all day. But the detective work will take some time, considering Earlham’s crimes affected so many.
But Laura, played by Joanne Froggatt, is, of course, prime suspect as his most recent and high-profile victim.
It hasn’t helped that Earlham’s car key was found in her bedside drawer. Or that she keeps telling everyone how glad she is he’s dead. And there’s the small matter that she drugged and kidnapped him in a bizarre Lara Croft moment last season.
Meanwhile, in neat flashback scenes that have enabled the gorgeous Ioan to remain in gainful employment at ITV, we are also watching everything unravel for Earlham.
For Laura it’s another fight for the truth. But will anyone believe her?
For us it’s a slightly less captivating puzzle this time. But anyone who says they’ll stop watching is probably lying.
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