Kiri, Channel4, Wed 10th Jan

[southeastdweller]

Anyone else looking forward to this? The writer also wrote the recent Robbie Coltrane drama, National Treasure, and Sarah Lancashire is always superb.

www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-10-31/kiri-channel-4-trailer/

I find it very hard to understand what she is saying sometimes - she speaks very fast. And, having been a social worker, her approach is not realistic. But what is very realistic is that the SW managers are watching their backs and the media interest rather than caring about what has happened to the child; and they are happy to throw the SW to the wolves.

Does no one else feel sorry for the line manager? We don't know the full story yet, but a child in care has died, and the social worker is a loose cannon to put it mildly. It doesn't mean that she was at fault, but we just don't know yet. If I was her manager, I would be having a nervous breakdown too

Donny I was wondering about the cause of death too. Could Kiri have died of natural causes and the dad or GPS panicked and hid her in the woods. Maybe it's not going to be so much about the child's death but more about all the different people, with their own agendas and personal/professional flaws making life changing decisions for children in care and the shitstorm that happens when something goes wrong. Looking forward to the next one.

lotta I reckon the manager will know of SLs drinking but has turned a blind eye because she says her judgement is spot on 99% of the time. She kept repeating that in the meeting and j was wondering “but there is obviously that 1%” so I’m thinking maybe the manager was hinting at the occasions she knows of where SL was drinking on the job and made mistakes. Manager is definitely shitting herself.

Deadringer- those were my thoughts exactly!
I think it is maybe more about the people behind the headlines type thing.
As you say, flawed humans making decisions without the benefit of hindsight, motivated by a desire to do the right thing in difficult circumstances - and not always getting it right.

I found it odd the social worker went upstairs to the child's bedroom. I am not sure our social worker ever went to our son's bedroom after he arrived at our house.

The Grandfather said "Thank you for making this happen." To SL, which suggests she was a driving force in allowing the meeting to happen, or that he thought she was.

I also don't think her behaviour is very realistic, as the police officer said "You don't seem very concerned." And all the 'you must have a hunch thing.'

I like anything that SL is in but I am struggling to understand what she is saying at times in this so I have missed chunks of the storyline. I will keep with it for now but likely to zone out if it continues.

I loved this. Made me have a good think, and unlike most "dead/missing children" stories, it actually had an emotional impact on me. Kiri was so sweet.

Also, I love Lia Williams so much (she plays the foster mother). Agree that all of the foster family are bloody sinister though.

Kind of surprised by the beating Miriam has got from the reactions in general. Yes, she is EXTREMELY flawed (drink-driving, calling Kiri stupid was a really WTF moment for me), but to me, it showed both sides: Miriam overworked, constantly overwhelmed, and dealing with some truly harrowing stuff. And genuinely caring (agree with PPs that this is co-dependent or somewhat unhealthy, as with the addict, but she clearly does care.)

I too think that the son is a red herring. I think it'll turn out that while the GPs let their son (stepson in the DGM's case) go off with Kiri, she was actually kidnapped from there, rather than from the house.

By whom? I think both the bio-dad and foster brother are too obvious. It turning out to be either the foster brother or the foster dad gives me major Broadchurch vibes though. That basically only leaves the foster mother, but we saw her sitting in the car at Kiri's GPs house. So she's under direct suspicion now. Okay, I'm going for the foster dad (as he's the only one direct suspicion hasn't been thrown on yet) but I hope I'm wrong.

In addition to the big topics, I liked the little details or more subtle lines. Like when the GF asked the female police officer (who was also great in The End of the Fucking World) "where are you from?" and she said "here" very pointedly.

Possible clues/red herrings:

• The nosebleed. Yes, Kiri left the blood in SL's car, but what else? Can nosebleeds indicate some kind of violence/abuse? Or even natural causes?
• The focus on Kiri's neck. I'm gonna guess she was strangled with the scarf but there seems to be a lot of focus on it, like the foster mum and Kiri talking about it.
• Kiri says Alice asked her to call her mum. Did she mean that day?
• A bit was made of Kiri running away before. Could this suggest she's seen her dad before (or someone else...? Or maybe a reaction to abuse or something else?
• Also, was it ever mentioned what happened to Kiri's mum?

Also, Kiri's GF being married again...I wonder what happened to her biological GM?

@noradurst very thorough analysis!

I do hope she was not strangled with the scarf, the foster mum told her she would not need it. That kind of thing would just be too sad. She only wore it because a child told her her neck was too long!

(Yes, I know it is not a real story!)

www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-01-11/what-time-is-kiri-on-tv/

Are we sure the dog is not one of those therapy dogs?

We didn't see her go to a pub..just drinking from a hip flask..so how did she get to be legless drunk?? Did I miss something??

Jayfee I think she's drinking constantly. Like when she was drinking what looked like a glass of coke when Lucy called her, it prob had vodka in it. Then she swigged again with Lucy at the hospital.

We saw her put vodka in her morning coffee at the start. So it's prob just a build up?

looking forward to tonights

I'm lost again already.

Me too. God that flat was horrendous

looked like the local crack house,that poor little in the kitchen

making more sense now,kiri's father involved with drugs

That flat was awful. There is also something so strange about her foster mum.

Hope the dog is going to be ok! He is lovely

The foster family are weird.

Lucian Mserati (spelling sorry!) is an amazing actor. I have got tickets to see him in Amadeus at the National, saw it last year and it is a travesty that he did not win an Olivier, he owned the stage!

Loving the way the plot is thickening . think the foster mother/ father and brother are very weird and suspicious.

Snap blueskyinmarch

Yes foster mum and son are both making my spidey senses tingle.