As the episode opens, Julie Woodson (Camilla Beeput) tells DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan) that she was there when DI Kieran Shaw (Emmett J Scanlan) arrived. Sarah warns her of what might happen if the Portland Tower case is reopened. Julie was a witness and Sarah, the investigating officer on the case. Julia nonchalantly says not to tell them. Sarah fears Kieran would accuse her of being biased against him because of their relationship. Julie accuses her of ignoring her warning before they started dating. Sarah denies regretting their relationship. Julie complains about how quick the police are to find the white girl’s killer, not the black boy’s killer. She questions how Sarah will handle the Farah Mehenni case, now that it has been reopened.

A barefooted DC Steve Bradshaw (Jimmy Akingbola) is pulled out of a vehicle. Inside an auto shop, Mitko (Petar Cvirn) says Shakiel used to use Ujal Jarral (Omar Malik) who has been arrested. He asks who replaced Jarral. Steve denies any knowledge of a deal. Mitko claims Jarral never trusted Steve and now he working for Shakiel. Steve advises him against trusting Jarral. Mitko backtracks and lets him go before giving him cash for a taxi. Steve asks for a pair of shoes when he sees Mitko’s man wearing about the same size. He grabs his gun, aims it at him, and demands he hand over his shoes. Mitko orders his man to give Steve his shoes. The man reluctantly removes his shoes. Steve puts on the shoes, decocks the gun, returns it to the man, and slowly walks away.

Kieran informs DC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif) of Steve asking to meet. In the interrogation room, DC Elaine Lucas (Ella Smith) asks Jarral why he washed the car. Jarral claims to have been trying to conceal the damage before returning it to the car rental service. Sarah asks why he was in Lewisham two nights ago. Attorney Deirdre Keir (Rosina Carbone) points out that the license plate is different than the one on the rental car. Smirking, Jarral refuses to respond. Sarah assures him that one of half a million CCTV cameras will have captured his SUV bearing a cloned license plate. He still refuses to comment. DC Lee Coutts (Bobby Lockwood) pulls Sarah away from the interrogation.

Julie watches a video of Ryan Kennedy (Lamar Waves) alleging Lexi was struck by a vehicle and Shakiel “Shanks” Oliver (Daniel Adegboyega) insists everyone knows. Steve asks if he knows who murdered Spencer Cardoso. Ryan describes one of the killers as being a tall black man with a bird tattoo on his neck. Back at the police station, Elaine, Sarah, and DC Archie Rivers (John Gully) watch a dashcam video of Lexi being mowed down by a white SUV driven by Jarral.

Steve informs Kieran of Mitko having him abducted from his flat last night. Kieran insists on deactivating the cameras at his flat, even though, Mitko’s men never detected them. Steve suggests it was Shakiel’s idea but he passed the test. He believes the handover will take place within the next 12 or 24 hours. Steve fears a tracking device being detected. Kieran promises to track them via the traffic cams. At the jail, Sergeant Arif Johar (Michael Karim) and Lizzie convince Sergeant Thompson (Robin Morrissey) to allow them to utilize his computer to view the custody images. Kieran is unable to reach Mary Shaw (Laurie Delaney) by phone. Lizzie arrives and suggests Jermaine King (Kwabena Peprah) is Spencer’s killer because he has a kingfisher (bird) tattoo on his neck. Kieran asks why she isn’t transcribing the surveillance tapes. She insists Sarah receive Jermaine’s information and questions if he cares about Spencer’s killer being brought to justice. He immediately backtracks and congratulates her.

DCI Jim Fedden (Stuart McQuarrie) reads Jarral’s confession, in which, he claims to have accidentally struck Lexie while out looking for a female companion. She points out that the best they could do is get a manslaughter charge. Jarral omitted vital information about who hired him and how Lexie and Spencer’s murders are connected. Fedden receives a call from Kieran about Spencer’s killer. A short time later, Sarah encounters DCS Tim Bailie (Karl Davies) as she is going to meet Kieran. He asks why Mary is meeting with the DSI. She refuses to tell him anything because he is no longer involved in the case.

Tia Kennedy (Rawdat Quadri), Loretta Kennedy (Emmanuella Cole), and Ryan are preparing for eat when Shakiel arrives.  Loretta warns Ryan against going with Skakiel but he ignores her. Elsewhere, Kieran has been running Perseus, a confidential operation into the Eardsley Bluds. Lizzie gives Jermaine’s file to Sarah. Ryan Kennedy identified him as a suspect in Spencer’s murder.  Jermaine “Kingfisher” left the Soldiers and struck out on his own, operating in Bluds territory. During a fight at the Lonsdale Mall, Kingfisher’s man GBH’d which is believed to be a warning from the Bluds. In retaliation, Kingfisher stabbed Spencer. Lexi was utilized to set up Spencer’s ambush. Tim insists Kingfisher be arrested without delay. Sarah demands to know who was behind Lexi’s murder. Tim agrees to give her access to Perseus to build her case, no arrests will be made until he says so.

Shakiel tells Ryan that they will take care of Kingfisher but he needs to do something for him. Ryan agrees to do it. Shakiel gives him a burner phone and a bag before warning him against betraying him. Ryan pulls a pistol out of the bag. Shakiel asks him to monitor the streets while his deal goes down. Ryan asks for a place to lay low in the meantime. Elsewhere, Kieran demands Sarah not to interfere with Perseus. She reminds him that there are grounds to arrest Kingfisher and Ryan for his safety. He says Kingfisher is in mall CCTV footage when the fight went down. Lizzie denies seeing Kingfisher in the footage before suggesting they arrest Ryan for possessing a stolen phone. Kieran refuses to let them arrest Ryan, only Kingfisher. A short time later, Kieran tells Lizzie that Mary informed Sarah that she has evidence about Portland Tower and Sarah notified DSI. He claims Sarah was at his house, so he slipped the phone to Mary who promised to destroy it. Lizzie becomes frantic. He promises to take the fall and urges her to stay calm.

Archie scans the mall footage for any sighting of Kingfisher. Sarah insists on arresting Kingfisher on intelligence if he isn’t in the footage. Elaine asks if she is going to go against Fedden on the grounds. Sarah assures her that it will work out if they don’t lie. A frantic Lizzie is on the roof. Elaine and Coutts leave to assist in Kingfisher’s arrest. Elsewhere, Kieran explains how Shakiel’s exchange will go down to the Perseus team. He demands they not shoot Steve. DC Mark Angel (Robbie Gee) will track Shakiel from the CCTV control room. Lizzie agrees to help Mark monitor the CCTV cameras. Armed police raid Kingfisher’s flat. Clouts reads his Miranda Rights. Elaine notifies Sarah by text of his arrest. At the station, Mary tells Alice Parker (Harriet Webb) and Sarah that Kieran gave her Farah Mehenni’s phone during the search of their home. She hid it in a coffee cup.

Clouts takes Kingfisher to the bathroom while Elaine contacts Custody. Back at the station, Mary tells Alice and Sarah that Kieran needs to learn that his lies ruined their lives. She agrees to give them the phone tomorrow morning. A short time later, Elaine notifies Sarah that Kingfisher escaped out of a roof latch. When Kieran finds out, he is irate but agrees to find Ryan. Elsewhere, Lizzie promises Mary that she will leave London after tomorrow. Mary assures her that Kieran will never allow her to take his son, Joshua, away from him. Lizzie claims it was her decision to get pregnant, not Kieran’s. Mary claims Kieran had affairs before her and it won’t stop. Lizzie warns her of what it will do to her and her daughter. Mary says DSI knows everything.

Sarah tells Julie that Farah may soon get justice at the cost of the police. She receives a call from Kieran informing her Ryan has been identified by the owner of the stolen phone. He gives her the okay to arrest him. Once the call ends, Sarah says an officer working on the Portland Tower case took time to help save a kid in trouble. Julie reminds her that Farah was terrified when she died. Elsewhere, Kieran tries to convince Lizzie to stay home but she refuses.

Shakiel and Steve go to Becca’s (Ema Cavolli) flat to pick up a bag of cash and a bag of drugs. While Steve takes the bags to the car, Shakiel tells Ryan to keep his phone close. A short time later, he meets Steve in the parking guard and tells him to be ready at 7am. At the station, Kieran informs the Perseus team that it is going down at 7am. Kingfisher barges into Loretta’s flat looking for Ryan. She denies knowing where he went. He head-butts her and abducts Tia. Coutts and Sarah learn about the abduction as the episode ends.

 

The Tower Review

The story doesn’t flow and feels clunky because of poor editing. Drudging up bits and pieces from the first series only makes matters worse. The plot is typical of modern crime dramas. Sarah is a by-the-book female cop while Kieran is a serial cheater and corrupt male cop. She is self-righteous, even though, she is in a sexual relationship with a witness in the case.

The cinematography is subpar. The acting is the series’ strongest quality. Why so many police officers when only four have significant roles? The majority of the police roles had fewer than two lines. Lizzie and Kieran are the only characters who have chemistry.

Much of the story feels forced. It bashes Britain’s police force at every turn. It’s unfortunate because the plot is suspenseful enough to draw you in. The episode deserves a 5.6 out of 10.

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