Episode #5.4

If you discount the first season, Luther has been consistently solid in what it does and how it does it. The previous (fourth) season was too short, rushed, and unsatisfying, so it was good to see a run of 4 episodes for this season. Within this season it does the stuff you've seen it do before. There is a very weird killer doing very weird killings - Luther is going to get them, but it will be about three and a bit episodes before that happens. Meanwhile Luther is also tied up in some sideplot which he is trying to get ahead of even as it closes in on him. It does this all pretty well in terms of basic mechanics; it enjoys its violence, it enjoys its grim feel, and its characters all slouch and swagger around in a way that implies complexity and darkness. This is how this fifth season goes.

For it to work, it needs you to go with it, so it very much pushes brand recognition. Elba is the main thrust of this and continues to be the reason the show gets made no doubt. He thrusts his hands in his pockets, offers plenty that speaks to a complex, haunted character, and drives into violence with a heart that isn't thee on paper but he makes happen. Luther is far from an interesting character, but Elba is a great presence. The supporting cast are variable and mostly feel disposable, with plenty of them being plot devices. None of it feels particularly grounded in anything, but it ploughs on ahead, providing violence, style, and Elba to carry the viewer along.

Of course this limits it too, but it offers enough strength to just about cover for this, although you do need to ignore the lack of even internal logic, and the heavy reliance on these core values over anything more substantial.

Besotted Psychiatrist just chastising lunatic hubby with, "Now stop being a bad boy". Luther's repeated, "I will sort it", with the murder and mayhem continuing. Loony Alice just calling round to say "Hello". A boss missing ALL the twists and turns. Gangster boss who is, "Up his own.......". Luther badly shot up and still able to chase Alice and hold her full weight...Nah, too much OTT!

The amount of killing in this episode and the whole season is ridiculous. It seems the producers just wanted to shock the viewers with gruesome kills without too much of a sensible plot. Talking of which, the plot was just messy, it wasn't very clear which storyline was the main one - the psychopath killing doctors, the mob king Cornelius and his lost son or a crazy psychopath Alice. Bringing her back from dead seemed like a very random plot twist which was probably supposed to simply shock us even more. The producers just overdid it this time with shocks, grusomeness and senseless killing of main characters, which is a shame.

These comments refer to the whole fifth season, not just the final episode.

This series has two intertwined plots. In one somebody is committing brutal murders; the police quickly have a suspect when a psychiatrist comes forward saying that she fears that one of her patients is the killer. In the second story somebody has kidnapped the son of gangster George Cornelius... who is convinced that Luther is involved.

This four part story marked a welcome return; not just for Idris Elba's DCI Luther but also for Alice who everybody thought was dead. This return could have been a problem but it was dealt with in a matter of fact fashion and worked well. It must be stated that this pretty grim at times with several brutal murders and scenes of torture that will certainly bother some viewers. It does get rather melodramatic towards the end, with even more violence, but it didn't feel out of place and featured one genuinely shocking moment. The cast are impressive; Elba is great as Luther, I can understand why people talk of him as a possible Bond; Ruth Wilson is equally great as Alice, one of my favourite characters in the series. Also particularly notable are Hermione Norris, as the psychiatrist; Wunmi Mosaku as DS Catherine Halliday and Patrick Malahide as George Cornelius. Overall I'd say that this was a really impressive story that fans of Luther are pretty sure to enjoy.

The fifth season of "Luther" is, perhaps, the most satisfying yet.

Despite the seemingly impossible task of locating the psychopathic doctor whose actions are now out of control, Luther is determined to crack this case and save his friends from almost certain death.

With only an hour of screen time, this episode manages to conclude the series in a satisfying way whilst also leaving the viewer in something resembling a state of shock. There are a lot of things to process as the end credits roll.

This is British drama at its best.

10 out of 10.