Back to Life Series 2 *bingewatchers' spoiler thread*

[KicksLikeASIeepTwitch]

No self-control. Enjoyed it immensely.
Not sure what ultimately happened though...
Norah saw Miri leave the lighthouse and Mandy follow.
She did not know who bludgeoned her husband but she nods at Miri in the police station and returns the tamigochi to Miri's room (although that was on the road not the floor?)
Either way, she moved the body/dumped it in the sea and confessed to killing him.
Mandy was on her way to confess.
Miri had a policeman say to her snark about a second offence.
The murder weapon is back as returns in the shop.
So...the main questions are:
Was John dead when Norah found him or did she haul him unconscious to the sea (post-mortem would show drowning with a headwound?)
Or Mandy had killed him with the waffle maker but Norah disposed of the body (post-mortem would show death by bluntforce head trauma then subsequent immersion in water?)
Who did Norah think she was covering for and was that always her intention or was it because she realised Lara was still important to Miri or that she knew her husband had been vile to Mandy?
Will Mandy ruin Norah's confession by doing her own?
Does Miri then get into trouble for not reporting the crime/aiding and abetting?
Does Norah end up in Bali? Is there extradition from Bali? Her ticket was ripped up/ will airports be on high alert?

Have I missed stuff by bingewatching when tired and is there going to be a third series?

Hope some of you have seen it all too.

Oh and if Norah says she did it all, how does she know what weapon to say was used?

bump

I just couldn't get past the hair crimping in Ep 1, how long has she been in prison for? No one has crimped their hair since 1983. Not important I know, but it really bothered me.

She was in prison for 18 years? and was 17 but the bedroom had Prince, Bowie and Jamie Oliver posters so assumed it was meant to be late 80s. Odd one though, cos let's say 1990 she would be out 2008 yet the environmental campaigning the Dad is on about feels like present day. Tamagochis were 80s as well?

Ah Naked Chef was 1999 and tamagochis 1996. Which would mean out of prison 2017 or possibly later if they are going early 2000s but crimping was definitely 80s and Prince and Bowie had lots of success in the 80s. Meh.

Crimping mid 80s and made a comeback 2007-8.
I guess it is just to meant to be symbolic of her lost youth and opportunities and development of self/style, as her clothes are criticised by other characters too. She's not stuck in a time warp but she has had her life halted/on permanent pause for nearly two decades. She refers to defunct shops at one point too. But knew what wifi was so go figure.

I just started a spoiler thread , then found this one !
I loved it, but I was a bit confused by John's death too. The wife obviously dumped his body I think?
I'm glad Mira found happiness at the end with Billy.

Miri not Mira !
I did watch it with subtitles too!

I loved Janice. So abrasive, but heart of gold. Great character

Hello days and 80s
Thought I was on my own.
Ade Edmonson was brilliant in this - utterly hated him.
Could not believe that Mandy had kept schtum all that time about why Lara was raging/feral in the first place (series 1), why just because it was a policeman's daughter it was not clearly self-defence/accidental (bite mark), why 18 years as a sentence if 17 , previously good character and behaved inmate, and also why if there had been rumours even at the time of a Mandy-John affair, why the boyfriend hadn't spoken up etc
Mandy not wanting to blow her own life up again this series was boiling my piss Again, great ensemble acting.
Not sure whether I want another series but they have left enough, I guess, for there to be one. I like happy endings though so just prefer the idea of Mira and Billy off into the sunset with a Mr Whippy van.

I am confused about the tamagotchi as it was going off in the lighthouse ( long life batteries there !) Miri knew it had gone missing etc at one stage ( it wasn't in her coat pocket ) but Norah Bobeck picked it up off from the street to return it to her mums place ? Is that correct ?
She also nodded to her in the police station before running off!
I wonder if they both were involved with him ending up in the sea as we didn't see Miri return to pick up her toy at the lighthouse.

I hope there isn't a third series, I thought it ended perfectly.

I though Miri dropped the tamagotchi when arguing with Mandy and Nora picked it up and then returned it.

I though Mandy didn't go and confess once she saw the police cars go past her.

I hope Nora gets to Bali but I wondered if she was suicidal anyway. I wondered if she confessed because she realised he wasn't actually dead so dumped him into the sea to drown so she actually did kill him. She protected Mandy after the abuse and Miri because she had been punished enough especially given the awful behaviour of John which was indirectly responsible in any event.

I did really love it - my favourite bit was the bit with Billy's mum. The occasional explosion of language does remind you that Miri has been in prison doesn't it.

I also love Janice and like her can boast of quality pum pum

I loved how she stuck up for Billy : his mum was awful, but well played. The walk with the alpacas was funny. She was so kind to the lady who had been inside with her.

I also loved how everyone wanted ice cream from Billy around the scene of a crime!!
She is the kind of woman I would get on with in real life I think.

I’ve just asked on the other thread - why did she get such a long sentence?

I liked the crimped hair but hadn’t considered the time-line. I think I’ll just let it go though!

However, Meera Syal looked fabulous but far too young to be his mum.

We don't know what happened after Miri left the lighthouse, maybe Norah and Mandy both chucked him in the sea?

Oops, just realised it was Mandy that Norah saw leaving. Norah did it alone then. I wonder if she got away from the Keystone Cops?!

Meera Syal is 60 which is ridiculous - she looks younger than me
Adeel Akhtar is 40.
So the casting makes sense but I want whatever Meera is on, she looks stunning Can throw in Sanjeev while we're at it!

Wonder what sentencing Mandy would have got, had she killed him with one, fatal blow?
Not self-defence, she hit him from behind in a red mist situation.
Extenuating circumstances - historical sexual abuse - one can argue he groomed her, from a position of authority and she was over the age of consent but under age.*
Still have to prove it though.
Is it loss of control now or diminished responsibility/short term?
Assume his wife could claim coercive control or temporary insanity?

Glad it had a happy ending of sorts as I thought it was going to end up with Back to Life being an ironic title and Miri would go back to prison with recommendation for life imprisonment. I was all ready to chuck things at the screen!

*(The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 prohibits a person in a position of trust from performing sexual acts with someone who cannot consent, which includes minors, and is primarily used for the protection of those who are above the age of consent but under the age of 18).

Did Lara bite Miri , they had a fight and she fell off the cliff ? Tragic accident , but forever branded a murderer ! Was it made clear what the fight was about : because she suspected Miri was sleeping with her dad ? Mandy obviously kept quiet , but she could have spoken up for her friend and told the police that wasn't the case then Miri may not have gone to prison ? Or would she have received a reduced sentence?
How she can forgive Mandy for this I've no idea at all when she knew the truth of what was going on with Bobeck. Mandy gets her career and her family and her life and Miri has lost 18 years of hers?
Plus , in series one, Miri is told that the Bobeck's moved away ? Yet they are seen living close to where they all live in series two !
Unless they lied to her about this..

In Series 2 the Bobecks are in a hotel room, Norah first then John turns up.

I still struggle with the murder charge as well, clearly she reacted to being bitten and pushed her friend away. It was a tragic accident. Maybe the Police Chief had a hand in it all in order to keep himself out of the spotlight?

If Mandy witnessed all this ( it's not clear if she did or not ) surely she would have been interviewed about what went on or had to testify in court ?
It's not made clear is it?

When the body was found we hear the caller saying there are two people up on the cliff, Mandy says at some point she got there ten minutes too late so I don’t think she witnessed the incident.

So she probably said in court that she didn’t see anything and we know she never told anyone about the sex. What we do know is she set Miri up and if she had said that, it would presumably have helped Miri‘s self defence case.

It’s probably a bit skimmed over because it’s so tenuous that a teen would get 18 years for pushing away a friend who had hurt her.

Mandy probably did see it all and just covered her own backside! What a tool. Scared of going to jail herself ? Scared of Bobeck ?
Probably told by him to keep quiet ?

I love the way Norah was invisible after she confessed, using her middle aged anonymity to slip away. It looked to me that her husband was abusive so he deserved all he got.
So well acted. Loved it. Not sure where it can go from there though.

I assumed that was it, I think another series would be a mistake.