Shetland: Season Four - Episode Six

Perez: 'Christ, Rhona. Do you think I want this to be happening?'

When the closing credits started to roll, I thought to myself: well, at least I guessed one of the killers. After some honest contemplation, I was forced to admit that the only reason I guessed who killed Lizzie was because at some point I've suspected everyone: Duncan, Drew, Kate... even Curly Haired Jigging Woman and Beardy Extra. So kudos to David Kane for writing a script that kept us guessing till the end, and then kicked us up the arse for daring to believe in justice.

There were some stellar performances tonight— from Henshall's spectacularly tense scenes with Mark Bonnar, to Erin Armstrong's reaction to Duncan's betrayal, to Fiona Bell's impassioned confession—but I have to single out Stephen Walters again for his portrayal of the unpredictable Malone. The way he vacillated between innocence and menace was so well done, that even when you feared Malone would do something dreadful, you were still somehow on his side. When he started to choke, I initially thought someone had poisoned his tea, then I remembered those early scenes of him sat alone in his house, washing down an assortment of medication with alcohol. After that, his untimely demise became upsetting, as the stress of the ordeal took its toll on his weakened heart. Just as he was about to have his name cleared, too. Fuck!

The one thing I love about Shetland is the way it portrays the intimacy of island life, and how that closeness leads to real tension when objectivity is required. Duncan seemed almost put-out by Perez's unwillingness to blindly support him, despite his story falling apart on numerous occasions, and him repeatedly lying through his teeth. Maybe if MIT hadn't been on Shetland, Perez would've handled things differently, but DI Cole was out for blood, and honesty was Duncan's best bet—yet his stubbornness almost got the better of him. Not that I ever believed Duncan capable of killing anyone, but his evasion tonight drove me spare, and almost ended in him getting shot. If he'd been honest with Perez from the start, maybe he would've avoided detention entirely.

Donna was my main suspect for Lizzie's murder, particularly after finding out that Duncan was Alan's father—a fact confirmed tonight, but heavily hinted at last week. It just opened up a whole avenue of motives, most of them revolving around the abusive Kevin Killick. Drew killing Sally was more of a surprise. The idea of a father killing his own daughter never really occurred to me—mainly because it's such a repugnant notion—although Drew's reasons for doing so did make sense. Yes, Sally was his daughter, but their relationship had become fractured after the death of his wife, and Donna was the love of his life; so there was only ever going to be one victor. I actually felt a little sorry for Donna. If Lizzie was a total monster, and killing her was the only surefire way of ensuring Donna and Alan's safety, then what else could she have done?

My only disappointment with the series was the petering out of Jo's storyline. Kane worked hard to position her at the periphery of the central narrative, only for her to have been telling the truth all along. Her husband was an abusive idiot, Sally had been talking to a Norwegian man at the festival, and the only thing she was guilty of was a minor crush on her housemate's boyfriend. I felt certain that the appearance of Robert Downing would result in further complications—especially with him lying to Perez about his reasons for being on Shetland—but after being duffed up by Lars, that was pretty much the end of Jo as a character.

By contrast, I was happy that they finally gave Molly something to do besides pout, even if her attempted entrapment of Malone was somewhat ill advised. I was initially dubious as to Molly's innocence over Sally's murder, especially with her being so emotionally volatile. I've also struggled to understand why she harboured such animosity towards Malone over a murder that happened before she was born. Thankfully, the missing piece of the puzzle came at the end, with Molly confessing to wanting to bring the whole affair to a close. When I think back to how dazed and detached Kate was back in episode one, it makes sense that Molly would've done anything to alleviate her mother's suffering. She was just lucky that Malone wasn't a killer, otherwise the kilns on Unst might've had a third strangled resident.

So all in all, a satisfactory conclusion to what's been an absorbing season—with a fifth to air in 2019. Hopefully they'll stick with the six episode serialised format: the endless red herrings of extended detective dramas can often become tedious, but six hours feels like a decent time over which to drape a story. I'm also thankful that we made it through with both Cassie and Tosh intact. I felt sure they were back for purely dramatic reasons, so to finish the season with them alive, well, and not threatening to leave Shetland, makes my heart feel glad.

Other Thoughts:

—The 8mm footage of Lizzie was hilarious. I don't think I've seen someone flirting so hard. Virtually every shot was of her dancing around, staring suggestively at the camera.

—DI Cole was hard work tonight. I get that she was frustrated by what she perceived to be Perez's lack of objectivity, but did she have to be so harsh?

—They really need to flesh out Mary's character. She seemed to spend the bulk of her time in the background of other people's shots, looking confused as to why she was there.

—I was worried that the events of the series would drive a wedge between Perez and Duncan, but the ending seems to suggest there are no hard feelings.

Quotes:

Perez: 'Cassie's safe. You I'm not so sure about.'

Duncan: 'One call, that's all I'm asking.'
Perez: 'You've had plenty of time to tell her. You can wait a wee bit longer.'

DI Cole: 'Do you have a problem with me, or is just a problem with being told what to do in general?'
Perez: 'No, no... it's just you.'

Duncan: 'I swear on Cassie's life that I did not harm any of those women.'

Perez: 'If you lie to me one more time, I swear to God I’ll break your neck.'