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Lewis 3.01 Allegory of Love (2009) Lewis investigates the murder of a beautiful Czech immigrant who was killed using a sixteenth-century mirror. Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Innocent encourages Lewis is move on in his personal life by introducing him to a friend of hers. 6/10 One thing Kevin Whately really should steer clear of is emoting or trying to look attentive as he finds it very difficult to be convincing. Instead he looks like he’s forgotten his lines. He’s much better when smiling and I wish he’d do more of it in this show. This is a merely solid episode which is rescued by some gleefully barmy murders: one girl has her throat opened by a mirror that has been smashed over her head (in a nod to Alice Through The Looking Glass) while a man has a giant "sword of truth" run through his heart. The emotional delivery of the killer during the climax works much better than anticipated or, indeed, scripted and a slightly begrudging above-average rating is the reward. This Lewis episode contains adult dialogue and brief violence, strong gory and unpleasant scenes. Links |
Definitely a let down of an episode after the first two seasons of wit and tight writing. First, I object to the hatred and torture of Moslems here in the West since the start of the Iraq war. Notwithstanding, this is the second 2009 Brit mystery I’ve watched this week (George Gently being the pother one) that is pulling Moslem characters and their culture into the fore in garish lights. Exploitation is exploitation even when you’re trying to pose as compassionate and even handed.
And no, you cannot bolster a good mystery on overtones of CS Lewis and Moslems. You still need a swiftly paced plot, which this story does not have. Perhaps if Marina had been portrayed as a human being, a young girl thrust into a harsh life, instead of being stamped PATHETIC HARMLESS MOSLEM WAIF the story would have engaged me more.
As for the mystery itself, I figured out the murderer about 50 minutes into a 90 minute story. There just wasn’t enough of investment into the characters, victims and culprits alike, to make the story all that engaging.