Family: Part 2

I won't spoil the ending of Season 21. Suffice it to say, we have gotten used to putting the blame on any one of about ten people. Generally, the culprit is a surprise, although one who watches the show could say, "I wonder if it's this person. He or she has not been remotely suspected." That, of course, would be game playing." The way everything plays out, the awful circumstances all these wealthy, spoiled people were living in, shows that money can't truly buy happiness. It's a good episode and now I need to be patient and wait for the release of the 22nd season.

Well, at least we didn't have the standard finale where white middle-class privileged scientists travel abroad to save the day to those 'exotic', 'primitive' cultures, as they act also as police, judge, jury, executioner etc., oh and they die or almost die because, you know, it's foreign, it's dangerous.

Anyway, that was rather poor, unlike the brilliant previous story. A lot of inconsistencies and weak plotting. I could see it coming who the killer was as well. Also, rather surprising it's a Christmas episode as it seems to have been broadcast in February, was it meant to be a Christmas special but was delayed for some reason? Who knows.

The race is on to find the identity of the killer, and family secrets are unearthed, and after a torrid time, Nikki finally gets some happiness.

This was very much a tale of two halves, the opening episode had me captivated, it was explosive, gripping and definitely grabbed my attention. In contrast the concluding episode was a little dull, very dialogue heavy, it never seemed to get going. I lost parts of the story as I felt some of the characters weren't developed as fully as they could have been. I didn't like the theoretical reenactment with the team watching on, that felt dated.

Still intriguing, I was left guessing the killer's identity til the last, there was plenty of misdirection. It was very well acted as always, a fine cast, but young Grace Hogg-Robinson I thought stole the show, she was fantastic, what a talent. Excellent production values, although the Christmas theme felt a little forced on, it wasn't necessary.

This kind of felt like a show finale, each character signed off on a happy note, and for ardent fans of the show like me that's a worrying sign, I wait in hope for the confirmation of Series 22. I am annoyed by all the articles I keep reading about why the show should be cancelled, NO! It gets better and remains compulsive viewing, almost ten million viewers weekly can't be wrong.