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From Darkness

186 replies

The80sweregreat · 05/10/2015 08:57

Can't see a thread for this which started last night on BBC one , 9pm. I haven't seen the actress who plays Claire Church, the ex detective before, but she was in the Virgin Queen and Shameless. Set in Manchester and West coast of Scotland.
I thought it was based on a book ( possibly Nicci French or an author like that) but its not. Slow start, but the detective leading the investigations now was quite handsome and there is history between the two of them. The scenery for the west coast of Scotland was stunning.
Trouble is, I just felt it was cobbled together from other thrillers.

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dillite · 19/10/2015 13:05

Not just you, 80's. I hate sex scenes too. Most of the time they are completely gratuitous and unnecessary. Just used as filler. I am always so amazed when I watch a movie and there is no sex! It's like a breath of fresh air.

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The80sweregreat · 19/10/2015 13:32

thank goodness I am not the only one! I was even cringing inside when there was a clip of fifty shades of grey on tv once and it was only them talking.

I kept thinking they would be caught too. John might lose his job, yet he was willing to let her do this to him when she was clearly really drunk and not with it at all ( I know he kissed her back etc, but still, he hadn't been drinking!) It just seemed wrong.
I love the flat Claire was staying in - made Manchester look quite romantic from the bathroom window at night.
They must be loaded the amount that's been spent on ferries, trains and taxis in this drama.

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Optimist1 · 19/10/2015 13:45

What I can't get my head around is why would a woman who was a victim of a maniac years ago kill another woman now? And if she holds Claire responsible in some way for what happened to her in the past, why not take revenge on her directly (whilst she was in her flat) instead of targeting Megan?

I was half-expecting the journo woman to pop up during the wedding grope scene and take photos!

wowfudge · 19/10/2015 14:10

Claire didn't have an abortion - she told John at the wedding that she lost it when she tried to commit suicide. Her words were, 'I killed the baby', but she then went on to explain she had been saved after trying to kill herself.

quirkychick · 19/10/2015 16:24

Oh, I thought she meant she had an abortion and then tried to kill herself. Not sure she was terribly clear, as she was drunk.

The almost sex scene was really cringy!

Inkanta · 19/10/2015 20:36

Why did she have to drink so much at the wedding. Didn't get that bit. Weren't they on duty to see that suspect in his house - and she was just drinking anything she could get her hands on.
And what's all these close up shots of her face. A good actress though.

gingercat12 · 19/10/2015 23:21

I can't say I understood much of it last night, so the only thing I can add is to do with the sex scenes. A few weeks ago we watched an exceptionally boring film about a hot young actor finding himself and his journey blah-blah-blah. Anyway DH made a mistake and recorded it with sign language. The sex scenes were just hilarious. The translator woman made a good stab at explaining what was going on, and I have to say I was too busy laughing my head off to actually concentrate on the storyline.

R00tat00tt00t · 20/10/2015 06:55

Just caught up with this last night. Agree it was quite slow at first but seems to be picking up pace now. After Ep 3 I've got a hunch that the young sidekick detective could be the instigator of the Agata/copycat killing whereby he reels the girls in but then Lucy carries out the actual attack? Not sure what his motive would be but it would explain the fact that there seems to be some insider knowledge of where Claire is etc. Also think that maybe he was setting up the next murder last night with the attractive girl he was asking to dinner which then shot to scene of Lucy with rope and peroxide ie he'll take her to Lucy???

R00tat00tt00t · 20/10/2015 07:34

Also forgot to say, the attractive, "Northern", ex-boyfriend of Lucy is a pretty good actor and "up and coming" (played the main love interest ??Tom in recent adaptation of The Go-between) so I think he must have a bigger part to play purely for the bbc to get there money's worth from him?

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 20/10/2015 10:50

Why would Lucy, a victim of an attack, subject another innocent young woman to the same trauma she witnessed 10 years' ago?

It was painful watching Claire necking champagne like it was going out of fashion.I thought it was foolish mixing her anti depressants with alcohol but remembered she'd left them at home?

Btw after cutting herself with the wine glass the night before, I was expecting a sizeable dressing and bandage but by the time she was in her red dress at the wedding, not sure Claire had so much as a plaster on it?

Really could have wrapped this up in three episodes not four. Don't think Anne-Marie Duff picked a winner here, she deserves something better.

PooSweats84 · 20/10/2015 11:19

The man playing Lucy's ex was also in Shameless, he ended up dead in the boot of Jamie Maguires car after his affair with Karen was revealed iirc! I have a bit of a thing for him, I must say, so was quite pleased to see him in this!

LizzieMacQueen · 20/10/2015 14:49

I don't understand why, when DC Hind said she could have Boyce, did they not trace Lucy straight off and interview her rather than her ex-boyfriend.

The wedding scenes were a bit far retched. Was that cocaine the wife pulled out of the drawer? I think the drunk Claire was just to remind us she is unstable - especially when she's off her medication.

Could it be Norrie that saved her when she tried to commit suicide?

Blondeshavemorefun · 20/10/2015 16:17

Bit confused / doesn't take much :)

So lucy was the prositute who Claire ignored /lied to and instead of meeting her she was shagging her partner

Who would fake a video so that rehab secret doesn't get out

I liked the wedding scenes. Was funny

Young sidekick is def dodgy and not as 'innocent' as he makes out

I took it that she attempted suicide and lost her baby CUZ of it

Allalonenow · 20/10/2015 16:59

I thought Lucy was a student who claimed to have been assaulted at the time of the original murders, but wasn't believed/no one was caught/no one followed it up?

And was the reason that they spoke to Lucy's ex boyfriend (rather than just trace her) that he had come forward following the TV appeal for information?

Surely the police can't just gatecrash private events, and the DCI is already being investigated for a misdemeanor so would be careful to follow procedure this time.

All the rushing to and from the remote Scottish island is getting a bit wearing, is it really a narrative advert for the railways? And I'm sorry not to have seen any sight of Tunnocks Teacakes, which makes me doubt it is actually filmed in Scotland.

hollyisalovelyname · 24/10/2015 10:25

Thank God other posters have admitted being confused watching this.
I thought it was just me, becoming stupid Smile

fascicle · 25/10/2015 17:43

Last episode tonight. I think Lucy's ex boyfriend was possibly involved with the original murders. Since this is described as a psychological crime drama, I'm expecting something big and compelling to explain why Claire is as she is, as well as Lucy's actions and motivation.

fuzzpig · 25/10/2015 17:48

Oh didn't realise that tonight's episode is the last. I only just watched last week's and found it a bit confusing, did the BF (the one who was the bloke in the Go-Between - that threw me a bit) know Lucy was a prostitute or not. Claire and Hind make a much better couple though. Except when he had hair. He looks better bald :o

BelindaBagwash · 25/10/2015 17:49

I have a bad feeling about this one - feel it may end up with lots of loose ends not tied up that we are meant to ascertain for ourselves what has happened.

Hope I'm proved wrong.

Can't say I've really enjoyed it tbh. Sounded good from the synopsis, but have had enough of AMD's angst-ridden expression and the dreary island scenery.

fuzzpig · 25/10/2015 17:53

The misconduct case against Hind, are we supposed to know what that was about?

Blondeshavemorefun · 25/10/2015 18:33

Prob flirting /having an affair with colleagues

lightgreenglass · 25/10/2015 18:42

Lucy isn't a prostitute - she was student who was attacked in the same area as the prostitues.

fascicle · 25/10/2015 18:45

Don't think they've mentioned the grounds for the misconduct case. He's a bit old school, so perhaps his methods crossed a line.

timelytess · 25/10/2015 18:59

I'm usually wrong but I think the sidekick Oxford-educated detective is being led on by a journalist - who will make good use of the wedding information, even if she doesn't know whose wedding.

I think Claire took refuge with Norrie but never really loved him. From the start I thought she was more 'involved' with the crimes than just having let down one of the murdered girls by not being where she said she would be.

The wedding scenario was ridiculous - does anyone have examples of real-life police, no warrant, gate-crashing weddings and putting pressure on suspects? Did is once happen in The Sweeney, or some such? Bizarre. And Claire was acting drunk after a minimal amount of alcohol.

Lucy is a bit of a case - she seems able to get in and out of anywhere. That needs explaining. Also looking forward to finding out when she and Claire had met previously, and what had gone on.

Has anyone other than Claire had dealings with Lucy? If Claire is in breakdown, the 'Lucy' upstairs and the message-leaver could be manifestations of her own trauma rather than actually Lucy.

fascicle · 25/10/2015 19:36

If Claire is in breakdown, the 'Lucy' upstairs and the message-leaver could be manifestations of her own trauma rather than actually Lucy.

I thought about this, but there were a couple of shots of Lucy that seemed separate from Claire's possible perception of her. The first was when Hind picked up Claire in the red light area, after she'd obtained the files from the hospital. The camera cut to Lucy, looking on, in a hoody against some railings. Later on in the episode, straight after a scene with Boyce at the police station, there was a shot of a house and then Lucy sitting in a room with bleach and rope.

timelytess · 25/10/2015 19:44

I'm usually wrong... Grin