The Ink Black Heart binge watch for those who have NOT read the book!

[IwantToRetire]

Just wondered if anyone else in binge watching this.

There is another thread, but 90% of the posts are comparing it to the book, so doesn't really help for those of us who just want to respond to what the tv production is showing us!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0025ydg

The book readers thread is here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5221014-strike-the-ink-black-heart-airs-16-dec

And there is a tv pace thread, look out for CAPITAL LETTERS!

We'll probably binge that after we've finished The Mirror and the Light.

I haven't finished watching, and may have to watch on episode again as I think I may have dozed off.

Me being tired, rather than not finding it interesting.

I am struggling with what seems like a lot of characters and how they are linked.

But I am enjoying it though the will they, wont they, interplay between Strike and Robin is just a tiny bit irritating.

And am liking the new expanded team.

Also interesting the theme of the book about the virtual world etc., hasn't aged or become less relevant in the passage of time since the book was published.

Forgot to add, an element of the series I always like is whoever does the location spotting for each series, seems to find any number of houses that are really interesting.

Or is it all CGI?

I’ve not read any of the books, nor watched any previous series, so this might be explained elsewhere but why do the people they go and interview let them in and answer their questions? They aren’t the police. If someone came asking me personal questions I’d tell them to F off. Especially if I was guilty of murder. Seems totally unrealistic. Strike is pretending to use the loo, and rifling through people’s private papers and computers.

Good point!

I think is some instances it could be because whoever it is they are approaching knows they might becoming because they are part of the group being checked into.

And it maybe, because of previous "high profile" cases they are well known.

But over all, just turning up and not even explaining why you are there, and who you are, or even showing identification is more than a little odd!

Overall I thought this series weaker than the previous ones.

And it maybe that the book is more convincing, but a tv series should be convincing in itself.

I did enjoy it, but suspect that this is because I am now familiar with the main characters and want to see how their story lines develop.

Although in this series it was a bit ground hog day!

During last night's ep when disguised Robin is in the church yard on the phone, did anyone else notice the ghostly mist wraith drifting along behind her ...

Has anyone seen it all?

Yes, a couple of days ago, and so my memory is not as clear of it as it might be.

I did post up thread but thought I should not be too specific for those still watching.

I've watched it all and was a bit disappointed by the density of all the online plotting. 4 episodes feels a bit of a rush. The suspended romance is still effective even though it's amazing that it is; I think the two leads are so compelling that they pull it off somehow. Great actors.

4 episodes feels a bit of a rush

Maybe that was why I never felt really engaged.

I always have trouble keeping up with different characters in most crime dramas, but maybe yes this was quite condensed.

I didn't in any way suspect who the killer was.

Another problem for me is plots that rely on text messages on phones to move the plot along.

I dont know why they do it. Not everyone has cinema sized tvs.

In the early days of intergrating text messages into plots, they would appear with larger text is a floating bubble.

I think the Robin Strike (non) relationship is now no longer plausible. You would think that by now they would both recognise they have to talk about it.

But maybe being business partners makes them think, if this is going to be messy not sure I will bother, as want to keep the firm going.

Would it be allowable for me to say that based on these books, JKR seems quite familiar with a certain sort of middle class section of society (which are convincingly portrayed) but is limited to them?

I agree, I think, that she has a very middle class sensibility in this kind of narrative setting. The winsome heroine longing for a very wounded bear of a man who adores her too much to act on it leaves us on a knife edge of possibly explosive intimate union but always held back. I think these actors make it work because they're so good. Holiday (is that her name (?) I find just mesmerizing and Tom Burke is awesome even when having to manage great swathes of jargon mouthfuls. I feel he always makes things feel real but even he started to lose me with some silly things like following everyone so obviously and the lung puncture gasping stopping his declaration.
I feel 4 episodes is too mean.

Yes I think her name is Holiday Grainger.

Its strange that as her character suffered all the negative consequences of doing the right thing in terms of family expectations, but she then broke free, that she has now reverted to type. ie Being socially nice and not confrontational. Except of course when she is not only confronting verbally but also physically towards violent men!

But maybe there are couples who go on for years never making that final, or would that be first, acknowledgement of feelings.

By the way I also meant about JKR generally (well in these stories) that everyone seems to have fairly comfortable middle class lives, and occupations.

But maybe that's because the fee for employing the Strike agency is a bit steep! No underpaid NHS staff or care workers will ever be clients.

JKR, or the series adapters, need to be careful that Strike doesn't become what has been a traditional male hero, waiting for a good woman to heal his physical and emotional wounds.

I still found the storyline interesting, but that's partly because I know nothing about online games, other worlds. Which as shown in this series looked really dull.

Finished it last night. I also found it a bit confusing with so many characters and links between them being introduced so quickly. There wasn't time to absorb one thing before they were off after someone else.
i guessed the murderer in epi 3. When Robyn was parked outside the house and heard the cello music, I thought immediately it could be a recording and wondered why she didn't either.
I still don't know what the motive of the murderer is, though. It's not been my favourite series (I haven’t read the books yet).
great to see a woman throw and thump an attacking man, gave a cheers then!

Yes the proportion of plot to number of hours spent unfolding it was just out of kilter somehow.

I feel as if earlier series let everything breathe a bit more.

I'm rewatching old Jimmy Perez Shetland and the allow plot lines to develop some reality.

If you line Tom Burke you should see him playing an extraordinary complex and heartbreaking character in The Souvenir a film directed by the mighty Joanna Hogg. May her name be praised.

Burke's performance is profound it lives in my head now.

Not read any of the books but have enjoyed these tv adaptations. Just finished watching this one and it's definitely been the weakest, and I don't know if it's because they had to condense an overlong book.

The characters of the suspects were built up and then all petered out and disappeared, meanwhile the real suspect popped up more or less out of nowhere. (Anyone who has lived with a musician would know if practice sessions were recorded btw). Some of the victims too just popped up out of nowhere.

The far right group just petered out.

The animated films and the game seemed really crap to me (I am old) how on earth could they attract such a dedicated following?

It was very unsatisfying at the end and I think it was because there were just far too many characters and not enough twists.

Agreed with so many of the points made so far.

If for whatever reason there were only going to be 4 episodes, they could have stream lined the plot / number of characters.

I know for anyone who has read the book this would be a bit of a no, no - but this is a tv series. And many will watch it not having read the book so it needs to make sense in its own right.

Have just remembered the bit I did find really irritating. When they all knew or were told who the actual perpetrator was, but it was done in such a way that the viewer didn't see the text, or piece of paper.

I think that is clumsy plotting.

And I dont think added anything to Robin pulling up in front of the house.

They could have hyped up the tension is other ways.

Also, have a bit of a concern that some of the ongoing but not central characters might become a bit cliched. Really like Pat (?) office manager, but hope they give her more air time in particular, and not just being efficient and baking cakes!

Upthread I made a mistake. It is Holliday Grainer with 2 ls.

Just binge watched all episodes as have been in bed unwell. I have read the book - but won't comment in this thread!.
Enjoyed this but agree the characters kept popping up and then disappearing. I would have made this six episodes. The plotting was a bit scant and there were too many unconnected things (the man under the tube train, the odd collection of people in the house, the reason for the bomb). Too many... "but why did...?"

I thought it was good though - and I love Tom Burke. His face in his hospital bed at the end.. said it all.

I think the man on the track episode was to show how ruthless the perpetrator was (it was him wasn't it in the skeleton clothes), to show that Robin may still be demure in social interactions but when it comes to acts of physical heroinism there's no holding her back (which makes Strike even more sad about this lack of physical ability) but also to then have the mobile phone clip of her online where she is identified, and so her cover of being interested in art classes in blown.

Thanks for not bringing up the book!

It wasn't meant to be rude or anything but it is a totally different discussion comparing what is in the book to what they do on screen. (There is a book lover's thread as well - so 3 in all!)

Sort of became aware of how off putting that can be when on the thread about the tv version of the first Shardlake, which many enjoyed, and then there were some of us who just went on and on and on about how that isn't what the book said!