One Day: Part 2

I am watching the whole Silent Witness series from go to wo, some of them repeats others I'm watching for the first time.

To clarify one of the other reviews, the scene in the dress shop was just a random woman with Down syndrome. Clarissa was in her chair when her mum came back to her - after sticking up for the other woman - and essentially told her she needs to keep fighting for her rights. How the tables have now turned for her mum, with dementia.

Good episode overall How they were treated in the home made me quite sad. That they chose to shoot Kevin at the end of part 1 was heartbreaking.

I thought the opening episode was pretty amazing, but this second part absolutely had me on the edge of my seat with a sunken feeling in my stomach. The story as I mentioned in the first part made for very uncomfortable viewing, a disturbing storyline, one which tragically has seen relevance in recent times. How wonderful to see the character of Clarissa seemingly gaining in momentum, getting more screen time and getting a bigger, more gritty storyline, not just there to provide lines to Jack, and gives us laughs, Liz Carr was centre stage and boy she delivered. I can't think of a better performance on the hit show then the one from her in this, unbelievable. Charlie Creed Miles is also worthy of a mention, an actor able to be charming or abhorrent with ease, how good was he! The episode is loaded with tension, intensely gripping, simply scintillating viewing. I am fairly sure it will have its critics as it deviated from the usual formula, but having been bored by the recent episodes of ITV's Vera I suggest that show's producers watch this, and get an idea of how gripping a show can be.

I am genuinely blown away, I didn't think they'd have trumped the last two parter, but they have. 10/10

A person who takes advantage both sexually and financially of vulnerable adults is the lowest thing I can think of. The awful conditions of the home in this episode make the skin crawl. Thanks to the intense commitment of Clarissa, this case is never closed. The police detective in charge should have been marched off himself for his close mindedness. He also had a prejudice against people with physical disabilities or mental handicaps. One issue is that Clarissa really put her life in danger and was incredibly careless when she chose to go undercover with no backup. Well done.

One of the best things about SW of the last few years has been Clarissa's character, because it's always a great risk how you represent people like her - there's always risk of resorting to stereotypes or make all their scenes about their condition, or in an overly sympathetic way that ends up being patronising. But SW has avoided all this so far and she was just oen character among others with her own needs but still very efficient. The only awkward scene was when Thomas first met her, which seemed a bit off-key as a scene anyway and rather unlike his character, as would be later developed. But, on the other hand, they couldn't avoid touching upon her condition at some point in the series, or it would be like the elephant in the room. This two-parter does that and rather brilliantly. A great story, very subtle in its approach, great performances and uncomfortable viewing but great storytelling and thought-provoking drama. One of the best stories in quite a while.