As the finale of Crime begins, Anne (Mary McCusker) speaks to a crowd at the Gorgie Memories Group meeting. She talks about working and taking pride in what she did. Once she finishes, Jock Allardyce (Sam Graham) gets up to speak. He confesses he cheated on his wife and best pal for 30 years. He did it for a touch of the hand and an afternoon delight with his best pal’s wife. Jock admits he did a terrible thing. He goes on to say her boy paid the price for his actions. Jock believes he owes them the truth. Jock goes outside and speaks to Avril Lennox (Ellie Haddington) in a vehicle. Tommy Stark (David Elliot) tells Amanda Drummond (Joanna Vanderham) it looks like Lennox never showed.

He believes that improves his chances of getting the promotion. Amanda tells him he’s not promotional material. Lennox shows up seconds later. Ray goes in and speaks to Bob Toal (Ken Stott) and the rest of the panel. At the station, Struthers (Sani Mamood) and Gillian (Sarah McCardie) talk to everyone about Victor Maslow (Dylan Blore). Victor had an accident that caused nerve damage to his left arm. Everyone is told to step up because Victor is dangerous. Meanwhile, Victor hangs out with Leonora (Amba Gayfer) and Fraser (Gabriel Scott). They talk about Armando’s poster which he thinks is cool. Victor asks what it means. Fraser says it’s like sticking it to the man. Ray tells the panel that politicians are entertainers with media distracting people.

Tommy tells the panel about his partner’s murder. He says that won’t happen under his watch. Amanda thinks she can modernize the force. The interviews continue for a while. Amanda throws Lennox under the bus by questioning if you can police without sorting out your emotional life. Tommy talks about why they called him Ironman. Victor questions why that type of poster is in a rich man’s shag place. He asks Leonora if she even knows who Lenin is. Maslow seems upset that they’re living in a fancy place during a devastating cost of living crisis. Ray says he doesn’t want the job. He reminds the panel they oversaw the decline of the police. Bob tries to calm him. He urges Ray to think about his future. Ray apologizes for wasting their time. He blames the panel for wasting everyone’s time.

Ray decides to quit. When Leonora checks on Armando, she finds him dead. Bob tries to convince Ray to change his mind. Bob asks him to be his Cantona. Now, he’s wandered away just like him. Ray believes Bob gave him a longer leash than he deserved. Bob says people don’t understand how difficult this job is. Ray asks him to drop the disciplinary charges against Struthers because he needs to grow up in a forgiven organization. Bob calls Struthers to deal with it. Victor says he’s been trying to show them that most people live their lives in fear. He tells Fraser this is everything they spoke about, including revolution and inequality. He explains people don’t have homes, but Armando was being bankrolled by mommy and daddy. When Victor goes to the bathroom, Fraser and Leonora try to escape.

Victor returns and says he locked the door. Tommy returns to the office and calls Ray a freedom fighter. Amanda wants to speak to Ray in private. She wants to know if it was something she did. Ray says no before he gets a call from Sally who wants to talk. She has a picture of Richie in front of her. Once Ray reaches her flat, he finds Sally dressed up. She shows him the board with all the victims. Victor makes Leonora tie up Fraser. He tells Fraser that he hates Ray because he’s a servant of the state. Victor thinks they play at being liberated and progressive. Fraser argues he can’t give up on them now. Gillian tells Amanda she found out which woman file the rape complaint at Adre House. It’s a picture of Sally. Amanda needs to get ahold of Ray immediately.

Meanwhile, Sally tells Ray about the incident. She believes every man who sits on her couch is a beast. When Ray asks why he’s there, Sally admits she’s worried about him. He’s on the same path she was on. She insists seeking revenge only turns you into what you fear the most. Sally explains that Ray and Victor Maslow are fascinating case studies. Both are wallowing a victimhood and displaying narcissistic traits. Maslow told her how he acted on his vengeance. He was injured in an accident doing a favor for an uncaring man. Maslow lost his job. During the months of recovery, his resentment grew. Sally reveals Maslow murdered that man and told her every detail. She knows she should’ve told the police, but didn’t when she found out it was Piggott-Wilkins.

She found herself back in that room. Sally confesses that two men raped her. One held her down and the other watched. She saw an opportunity in Victor. Amanda arrives seconds later. Sally climbs up on the window.

Sitting on a window ledge, Sally tells Ray about her sexual assault which she describes as “brutal.” She claims Gulliver was more violent than her other assailants. She says her crimes have left her hollow and each time Maslow avenged her, a little more of her died. Amanda assures her that she understands. Sally compares her to her assailants who were careless with sex. She warns Ray that Maslow will come for him. Ray vows to stand behind her if she agrees to tell her story. Sally lets go and falls over the ledge. He looks out the window to see her mangled body lying on the ground below.

Armed with a cleaver, Maslow considers not killing Leonora and Fraser. He threatens to chop off Fraser’s hand when an incoming call from Sally’s phone pops up on his phone. Maslow answers the call to hear Ray’s voice on the other end. He places the phone up to Fraser’s ear. Fraser tells Ray about Maslow killing Armando (Paul Matte) and threatening to chop off his hand. Maslow gives Ray their location and threatens to kill Fraser if he doesn’t come alone. Ray races to his car, leaving Amanda to deal with Sally’s body. Fraser and Leonora complain about the heat. Maslow orders them to shut up. When Ray arrives, Maslow calls him to tell him which flat they are in. Ray races into the building. Leonora unlocks the door. Ray enters to see Maslow holding a cleaver next to Fraser’s throat. He tells him to release Fraser before informing him of Sally’s death. Ray accuses him of ruining lives and killing Sally. Irate, Maslow asks if he wants him to cut off Fraser’s hand or slit his throat. Ray distracts Maslow by talking about Drew Busby before hitting him in the face and tasing him. Maslow collapses to the ground. A short time later, two uniformed officers take Maslow away. Fraser apologizes to Ray for putting them in danger.

Sophie Lawrence-Brown (Shereen Cutkelvin) urges Celeste (Hannah Donaldson) to talk to Gillian. Celeste tells her about catching Gillian and Struthers having sex before saying it is over between them. Sophie confronts Struthers and Gillian about Celeste’s claim. Struthers assures her that he is a virgin. Gillian claims he did it to impress Sophie and pleads with her to give him a chance. Toal informs Amanda that she has the “Super Job” but it will require training from a more experienced officer.

Angus (John McLarnon) assures Jackie (Emma Currie) that they will repair their family. He claims to not care about her relationship with Moira Gulliver (Fiona Bell) because he wants to be with her and their children. Fraser enters the room. Jackie embraces him. Angus thanks Ray before embracing Jackie and Fraser. Later at the police station, Ray is packing up when Toal pulls him into his office to give him a cactus for company. Toal urges him to live his life because it goes quickly. They embrace.

Amanda finds Ray outside. He congratulates her. She says it’s a job share. She worries about the type of respect she’ll get. Ray knows they messed things up a bit. Amanda tells him he doesn’t have to go. Ray tells her he’ll see her on Monday. Ray goes home and holds the ashes. He goes with Jackie (Emma Currie) to dump the ashes. He’s surprised to learn Jackie invited Avril. They spread the ashes. Avril tells Ray he needs to speak to Jock about that day. She questions how she didn’t know. Ray wonders what he could say after this long. Avril explains that Jock saw some men hanging around that day and saw Ray coming out of the tunnel. Jock recognized one of them and also heard rumors. Avril claims Jock was coming back from seeing her.

Jock knew people would ask questions so he didn’t say anything. Jock has a medical emergency and dies in his car. Ray writes a letter about the rape not being his fault. He speaks to others during a group meeting. Ray explains he has to leave it all behind because it’s time to heal himself. He chooses life.

 

Crime Review

The finale of Crime’s second series was pretty much what one would expect from such a lackluster series. The finale tried desperately to pull a few strings and throw in a few twists to make everything interesting, but the series was already dead in the water by this point. The finale only made everything else even dumber.

There wasn’t a suitable candidate for Bob’s position including Amanda who showed her immaturity and stupidity throughout the series. It’s not surprising that she’d get the promotion though although she has to be trained by a more experienced man. The whole Struthers storyline was dumb to begin with so it’s easy to see why they just hastily finished that with Ray covering for him.

Those interviews early in the episode were far too long with a lot of rambling nonsense from the three candidates. These rambling moments try to have meaning and significance when it’s really just dross. The series has been so horrendous that I often found myself sympathizing with Tommy and Victor Maslow more than anyone else.

If there was justice in the world of Crime, Maslow would’ve slaughtered everyone including Ray and Amanda. That would’ve ended the series for good. God knows it doesn’t deserve a renewal with such shoddy quality. Don’t forget the little cheese hanging over viewers at the end with the revelations in Ray’s molestation case.

I guess someone up there seriously thought this was strong enough to continue for yet another outlandish series with the most annoying characters in any crime drama. The finale scores a 4 out of 10. Get more Crime recaps here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.