Shetland: Is casting Ashley Jensen in the lead role a good idea?

Should Tosh now be show lead?

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E3/6)

After a solid start to series seven – including an excursion to Glasgow on the mainland, no less – things really moved on in this episode.

Jimmy and co, having ruled out any involvement by Danny Cairns in the disappearance of his son Connor were facing a dead end, especially as the young fellow was still missing. And let’s not forget, there had been two bodies found, too – the mystery man in the suitcase (ew!) at the end of episode one, and Connor’s girlfriend, Bryd, who was found dead in the boot of a car at a compound at the end of episode two.

Tosh, ever dogged, was on the case and snooped around the car and its origins, as well as a lead that suggested Connor’s former employers, the Davidsons, had been acting suspiciously in the lead up to the disappearance. It turned out that they had been disposing toxic waste illegally from their business, which is why Connor had fallen out with them.

So, along with Danny Cairns, the Waldrons, smitten Murray the librarian (who was still dealing with the fall-out of being arrested), Abbie’s pal Clana and now the Davidsons, a whole host of suspects had been processed and discounted. That’s pretty good going after three episodes.

Which left… let’s move on to lodger Martin Otina, who has been acting suspiciously – photographing anything and everything in sight and really involving himself in the Cairns’ family business – and new, well not really a suspect at this point but you never know, Connor’s art teacher and mentor, Lloyd Anderson. It was Anderson’s car Bryd was found in, and he recognised a photo composite of the mystery man in the suitcase when it was shown on TV.

And what about Connor himself? One of the things this episode did very well was to play with our preconceptions. Up until this point, Connor was a victim – missing and presumed dead at the hands of an aggressor. But what if he was missing for a different reason? His ring was found in the boot of the car next to Bryd’s body, and Jimmy was starting to entertain the idea that Connor had something to do with both deaths, especially as some of the lad’s erratic behaviour had now been disclosed.

Turning the tables like this was clever and a fine piece of writing.

As for Jimmy and Tosh, their personal lives were taking a turn, too. Jimmy and Meg were getting closer all the time, and the stoic cop even found it within him to plant a kiss on Meg’s lips before the episode was out. We all know that this is Jimmy’s last hurrah, so is this the way out he’s being given?

Things were going in the opposite direction for Tosh, who decided to surprise Donnie with a coffee on her break, only to find him hanging out with one of his exes, Carol Anne Mané. As you can imagine, that went down like a lead balloon. And worse was to follow for Tosh.

Connor’s phone had been found, and after it had been unlocked the team looked at some of the locations he had spent time at. One of them was remote, and when Tosh said she would take a look at it despite the hour growing late, you just knew something bad was going to happen.

And indeed it did.

Tosh found a caravan that Connor had been using – his drawings festooned everywhere as well as other personal effects and notebooks. Also in the caravan was a booby trap, and episode three left us with a proper cliffhanger – Tosh phoning Jimmy pleading for help as a bomb timer ticked down, and then an explosion.

We talk about the Jimmy leaving, but is Shetland clearing the decks completely? A really very strong episode – good tempo, engrossing story, twists and turns galore and that cliffhanger – but this can’t be the end for Tosh, can it?

Paul Hirons

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW

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