As the second episode of Granite Harbour begins, Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson) is pulled away from the burning van. He sees a figure run away before people arrive to help. He tells Lara Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson) that he is fine and hopes Isla is as well. She suspects Isla’s phone was burned along with the van. As he messes with his phone, Lara reminds him that phones can be replaced while people can’t. She admits even DI Mallick (Bhav Joshi) was worried. He is reading the riot act to Karolina Andersen now. Lindo can’t remember much although he doesn’t think the driver crashed on purpose. After a quick call, Barlett says the van is a CGO van.

She questions if Rory is working with someone else, but Lindo argues he isn’t involved at all. After he mentions Shay Coburn, Lara lets him know that Shay is at the morgue. Shay (Gary Lewis) looks at the body and confirms it is Clellan’s body. DCI Cora MacMillan (Dawn Steele) thanks him for coming before explaining why it was important to get him in quickly. She wants him to come down to the station for a chat, but Shay isn’t ready just yet. Cora promises he’ll be in and out. Karolina (Katia Winter) is questioned about Isla at the station. She insists whatever happened to Isla had nothing to do with their meeting. Mallick tries to get her to disclose why she was meeting with Isla and warns her that Isla’s life could be at stake. Lara tells Davis she promised Mallick she’d get him admitted for at least a week.

Davis has had worse and doesn’t think he needs admitted though. He reveals it was an ambush in Kabul and he spent a month at the med base and another five at Frimley Park. Davis insists he doesn’t ever want to go back into a hospital. He gets excited when he learns from DCI MacMillan that Shay is at the station, but Lara says he won’t get past the observation room. Karolina explains that Clellan wanted two million pounds to go to Isla. When she learned about the will, she thought she might be able to make good on his wishes. It was still Clellan’s money and he meant for some of it to go to Isla so Karolina believes it was the right thing to do. When asked why, Karolina says it would’ve been compensation for the accident that killed Isla’s husband. Mallick asks more about that accident.

Monty (Michelle Jeram) runs into Lara and tells her that the codes have been changed. She learns that Lindo is in Everett giving a statement. Monty tells Lara about the rig accident in which Isla’s husband was crushed to death. They watch Cora interview Shay and ask him about the van. He insists they can’t expect him to know what every one of his workers is doing. She reveals that they got a list of everyone authorized to drive the van and one of them is Ewan MacClure. When she says they need to find him now, Shay reminds her that he isn’t Ewan’s mother. He goes on to say Ewan does a job and he gets paid for it. Cora suggests it was Ewan who kidnapped Isla and her officer while acting under Shay’s orders. Shay tells her she’ll have to contact his solicitor if she wants to talk to him again. Lara admits to Lindo that MacClure could’ve been driving that van while he questions why Cora didn’t tell Shay they knew about Isla’s husband Frank.

Cora says she was trying to catch him in a lie. Cora is glad Lindo is okay and says she’ll be holding off on the third strike for now. She asks him to go home, get some rest, and think about the close call he had today. Mallick meets with the morgue and learns that Clellan has burns where he was likely dragged across the ground instead of from being tied up. The knots were loose and probably one-handed bowlines. It was just enough to restrain him. The doctor believes the marks would’ve faded by now if he had lived. There are no defensive wounds so that likely means compliance or chemicals. The doctor admits he could be here for a while before he finds the cause of death. As for the time of death, it was likely around 1 AM on Monday morning. Shay returns to his office and leaves a message reminding someone that they were supposed to keep a sensible distance and not for them to disappear completely.

He warns him that he better contact him. When Lindo is dropped off, he eventually invites Bartlett to come inside. They go inside and Lindo tells Lara about his mother. She gave him a mala for protection before he left for the army. Lara calls what he did stupid and reckless. The next day, he goes to the café where the waitress tries to give him a drink. When Lara arrives outside, he has to leave in a hurry. He takes the drink and leaves. In the car, Lara apologizes for what happened yesterday before questioning why he doesn’t have any pictures of his dad in his flat. Although Lindo says he is camera shy, she thinks it is because he is one of the top brass in the Jamaican police. Davis knows what he does and he doesn’t want to talk about it. Once he makes it to the station, he tells Cora and Mallick that he wants to work. Cora asks about Doc Gavin and his assessment.

Mallick says he thinks it was a heart attack even though he won’t commit until the toxicology is back. There were sleeping pills on Clellan’s nightstand so that could explain that lack of defensive wounds. They haven’t found anything out about Isla so they turn their attention to her husband. Even though she has pictures of him all over her apartment, she forgot to mention him when they questioned her. She also didn’t mention that Clellan was going to give her 2 million quid. Davis notices that Frank died on September 12, 2011. Clellan died on the same date. Bart and Lindo are asked to go to Isla’s flat while Mallick should dig deeper with Karolina. Once they arrive, Hannah (Caroline Deyga) begins asking questions about Isla and whether she is in trouble. They refuse to tell her anything. Mallick hopes Karolina will be able to help with Isla’s disappearance. He knows there was an initial settlement of 25,000.

Karolina says Clellan wasn’t Bill Gates. He found an injustice and wanted to correct it. Mallick suggests whoever took Isla might’ve thought she was there collecting the money. Karolina doesn’t think so since Isla only knew after she told her and that was a couple of hours later. She goes on to admit that she researched Isla when she learned that Clellan was going to give her money. Nevertheless, she found nothing untoward. Karolina wonders if Clellan just wanted to start over with a clean slate. Mallick questions why no one has told Shay that she is Clellan’s sole beneficiary. Karolina tells him about her father’s old saying “don’t sell the skin before the bear is shot”. Davis finds something hidden in Isla’s vacuum cleaner. The bundle includes information about Clellan’s murder. When Hannah comes back into the room, she is asked what she knew about Frank.

She knows about the accident. Davis tells her that Isla is missing before asking if there is anything that she knows that might help. After Hannah asks Isla keeps to herself, Davis asks her about the woman in the picture. Hannah claims to have never seen her before. As they try to leave, she remembers someone who might’ve been a secret boyfriend because she was always having private conversations on her phone. Hannah suspects the boyfriend is married. Lara steals Isla’s toothbrush since they still need a match for the mystery DNA. At the station, the detectives talk about Isla’s friend in the picture. Although Lindo thinks they should focus on the girl, Mallick and Cora suggest otherwise. They discuss how the accident wasn’t covered much by the media which might’ve been busy with the 10th anniversary of the twin towers.

Monty mentions that Shay was head of production at the time of the accident. A mistake like that could’ve brought the whole family down. Mallick theorizes that Clellan covered it up and Isla found out. She sends Rory to extract more cash until he goes too far. Then, Clellan might’ve warned Shay that Isla was onto them. That would be the argument Davis saw at the protest. When Clellan ends up dead, Shay would know Isla was responsible and he might want an eye for an eye. After Davis says Rory couldn’t frighten a lamb, Bart suggests she used someone else. Hannah said Isla had a secret boyfriend who might be an accomplice too. Mallick wants to get Shay in there right away because everything will change when the doc the death certificate. They’ll start on the will and Shay will quickly find out that he isn’t in it. Cora confirms that there was no trace of Clellan on Rory’s clothes and they’ll have to release him soon.

She promises to keep an eye on him. Once Rory (Andrew Still) is released, he finds out that he is being let go from his job. He begins drinking. Ewan MacClure (Ross Anderson) shows up at the station for an interview. He wants to talk, but he isn’t going to admit to anything until he gets some assurances. Cora tells him that he isn’t in a position to be bargaining. He explains that he wants to help because things have gone too far. He is going to need protection from him. Ewan won’t say who he is talking about. Eventually, he offers to talk to the soldier who came to CGO meaning Davis Lindo. Once Bart and Lindo enter the interview room alone, Ewan confesses to taking Isla Breck while carrying out orders for Shay. He goes on to say he wants it over because he can’t keep doing the things Shay wants him to do.

Davis asks why he came to Aberdeen. Ewan says he needed a change of scenery. His mother, Isabelle, died so that helped. They weren’t close. As for his father, he didn’t even have a picture or a name. Instead, the military was his family. Ewan confirms that Shay had rules and he liked that because there were no grey areas. At first, he was doing manual labor at one of the refineries and never saw Shay. One day, he broke up a fight between some of the kids so word spread that he could handle himself. Before he knew it, he was in Shay’s office being vetted as his driver. There was more to it than just driving. Ewan used to think Shay was just playing the big shot and throwing his weight around. He was the muscle when people weren’t playing ball. Ewan explains that Shay is all about money and sometimes has to associate with dangerous people to make those deals.

He knew it was the end for Shay when Clellan started pushing for the merger. When Lindo asks if Shay murdered his brother, Ewan reveals that Shay told him it was Isla. He goes on to say Shay claimed Isla had gotten ahold of some damaging information about an accident involving her husband. She threatened to go to the press unless he paid her a ton of money. After Clellan said no, he turned up dead. Ewan thought they should’ve gone to the police, but Shay couldn’t think about anything except revenge. Although he was uncomfortable being asked to take Isla, Ewan admits that he did it. He didn’t know what Shay’s plan was and worried he might’ve wanted to hurt her. Ewan doesn’t think the story Shay told him about Isla killing Clellan was completely true. He wants more assurances before he tells them more about Isla.

Ewan doesn’t want to be there when they arrest Shay. He explains that he can give them evidence to prove Shay arranged Isla’s kidnapping, but it’ll give them a lot more too. When Lindo asks if he is afraid of Shay, Ewan admits he is afraid of what he can do. Even though Lindo says no one will reach him in there, Ewan doesn’t agree. He suspects Shay might have cops and others on his side. Lindo suspects Ewan wanted to talk to him because he is new. Ewan doesn’t want to spend the night in a cell because he wants a fighting chance if Shay comes for him. That is the only thing he will ask of them. Lindo will have to clear it with Cora. Although Mallick doesn’t think they should do it, Cora suggests Ewan can give them Isla and Clellan’s killer. Once they agree to his demand, Ewan says there is a small cupboard in Shay’s office with a hidden compartment and a pressure lock.

It contains a burner phone that will tell them everything they need to know. Mallick tells Cora that they better hope this pans out. Davis tells Cora that they cannot let Ewan just walk out of there. She says she is getting two officers to take him out of there and not leave his side. Davis doesn’t know if he believes everything Ewan is saying. Most people don’t stop talking when they start, yet Ewan stopped. Cora agrees that he is holding back, but she is worried he’ll shut down if they put him in a cell. Lindo argues that this is a huge mistake. He claims finding the phone will only prove that they’re willing to pay the piper and dance to his tune. Cora tells him he has crossed a line so she doesn’t want to see him there. Mallick goes to Shay’s office with a warrant so he can search his office. Once he finds the phone where Ewan said it’d be, Shay insists he has never seen it before.

Mallick sends a text to Cora letting her know before arresting Shay. Later at the pub, Monty, Mallick, and Bart talk about the case and how Davis is gone. Bart tries to find out what Mallick meant when he said Lindo was good at running away from things. He’ll only suggest he misjudged him. Lindo is busy packing his stuff. Bart sends him coordinates and tells him to meet her there. She gives him the phone Mallick wanted to give him. Bart talks about the city and explains there is goodness there. Lindo wonders if this is the right job for him after all. Lara tells him about being on a drugs op with Mallick one night. A girl overdosed on the spot when they were supposed to be following the middleman. Lara made Mallick let her out while he carried on. They begin talking about their fathers with Lara believing she couldn’t cope if her dad wasn’t there. Lindo used to think the same until a bad thing happened.

Lara admits the girl made it that night although she probably died in the gutter the next. Lindo promises he wouldn’t have left her. She says don’t. Rory hears a news report about Isla while checking the social media posts about his arrest. He is shocked when Isla ends up barging into his flat.

 

Granite Harbour Review

The second episode of Granite Harbour was slightly improved over the first because the over-the-top abuse wasn’t nearly as bad. DI Mallick dropped that act pretty quickly and that helped make the episode noticeably better. On the flip side, the episode felt more like a typical, cookie-cutter crime drama without much setting it apart from so many others.

The show could’ve done so much more with Davis Lindo and the charisma and optimism he showed earlier in the first episode, but those things have been replaced by those old familiar tropes. The good news is that Granite Harbour isn’t stretched thin at just three episodes so it is easily a justifiable binge.

The show looks great and the performances are good enough even if it doesn’t accurately represent Aberdeen. As long as viewers don’t expect too much, they may find the show to be a good time killer for three hours. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Granite Harbour are available on Reel Mockery here. Reel Mockery is an independent entertainment website that survives thanks to its supporters. Find out how to support us here.