We’re back at the Criminal Justice Review Agency with Sarah Lancashire and Phil Davis on Rose and Maloney; let’s see what changes this long hiatus brought us! Rolling S2:E1 after the break

We’re in Rose’s (very messy) bedroom to start, she’s staring at a letter addressed to herself with a picture of a young man innit. It’s time to get up (5:30 am gak!) so with a swich of lovely red toenails, we’re up and at them. Oh. Well, that’s one change for sure, Rose’s hair is stick straight and super thick, whereas before it was all curly and fine. Huh. Is that a wig?

The young man in the picture is 18-year-old Daniel Berrington (Andrew Lee Potts) and he’s written to her from Swinden; he’s read about her putting things right. He needs her help, something bad happened to him when he was little and nobody wants to know about fixing it, they just want him and time to move on. But it hasn’t come out right.

It’s been 8 years since he met Mr. Towns (John Boswall) and Rose starts her Murder Wall with the elder’s picture. She stares at it as Daniel begins his narration in earnest.

Small aside: the hair and makeup changes have made Rose look much more “modern” (although that itself is an old-fashioned word to use); still gorgeous as always but almost 80-ish now where she looked seventies before. This series is from the early 2000s by the way, right, as you were.

Ohhhhhh, I was bracing myself for some kind of pedophilia investigation, but it seems young Daniel was convicted of killing Mr. Towns with a straight razor when he was 10 years old. Huh. That does seem sort of, er, cut and dried.

Rose gives everyone including Maloney (hi Phil Davis, you’ve put on some weight and got your hair cut! Looks good!), Wendy (Susan Brown) and Bruce (Robert Cavanah – heeey Scottish fella heeyy) the background. Wendy is impressed by Maloney’s presentation, but doesn’t want to open an investigation, there isn’t any new information and no police misconduct. That’s exactly what Rose wants to find out, though! Bruce pushes back, it was an exemplary investigation in every way and sure, they all are, aren’t they, asks Rose? “Why’s he here again?” she asks Wendy. The high profile case needs to be carefully watched, it seems, all the more reason to believe it got a fair shake in the first place.

A bit of Home Office wrangling later, we find out why (sexay) Bruce is really there: they’re letting Daniel out. In a month Daniel will have a parole board hearing and as long as he’s sorry, he’s good to go to a new life with a new identity. Rose is incensed, Daniel isn’t sorry, he was wrongfully convicted! Ah it’s murkier than that, though, the Home Office is letting Daniel go maybe so the CJRA investigation doesn’t go through at all. Hm. I may have the wrong end of the stick there, however, we’ll have to just wait and see!

Rose storms out calling Bruce a wanker; why has everyone allowed them to waste two weeks on it then? Maloney is left to make amends, Rose has been working quite hard you know and Wendy advises: there will be no visit to Daniel Berrington at this time.

Rose is still sulking at her desk when Maloney makes it back out; why would a teenage kid on the brink of release suddenly claim innocence? That would explain why his parents didn’t want him writing Rose then, anyway. Maloney doesn’t care, they’ve been shooed up, ’nuff said! Does he know for certain there isn’t a miscarriage of justice here? No, well, then, give up that Visitor Order they have made up, there’s a good lad, Maloney. No, no he won’t, but has it helpfully filed under V for Visitor Order, would he mind giving her a lift? She doesn’t have her license back just yet…My kingdom for a gif of her kissy face while coaxing him back into taxi duty!

More pushback from the social worker facility Daniel’s been incarcerated in lo these 8 years; as far as they’re concerned, Daniel’s accepted what he did, and this visit will just stir things up. His parents haven’t been to see him in 3 years, and that’s odd, how can they not want him to see Rose if they haven’t been to see him themselves? Hm. Rose asks the belligerent social worker Mark (James Weaver), surely Daniel’s request for them to visit must mean that’s changed? Mark thinks nothing at all has changed; his crime hasn’t and it’s not the sort of thing you can take back.

We’re in Daniel’s room now, he’s weirded out by the very smallest things, like shaking hands. Mark has to stick around to chaperone, but Danny talks him out of it as Maloney admires his scale model of his old house. We saw it in the intro but didn’t know it’s significance, apparently Danny built it himself, he’s a skilled carpenter. Mark escorts Maloney out; leaving Rose and Daniel alone. Everyone in the system thinks it’s Daniel’s A-Levels project, but Rose recognises it immediately as his old house. It helps him “return to the scene of the crime” and how would that be a help, Rose and I are wondering.

Wendy has figured out where Rose and Maloney are already; whoops! They were told very specifically to not do just that.

Rose is trying to suss why she’s there; most of the time people ask for her help when there is new evidence or someone’s lied or the police are murder-y jackholes (as in Rose and Maloney season one! I don’t think they’re usually murder-y jackholes, but there was an entire precinct worth writing off right there in the Isle of Grey). He doesn’t think he did it, he has no memory of it and ended up using everyone else’s recollections in court. He will be in front of the board in a little while and he doesn’t want to cop to something he doesn’t even recall doing. She presses; he has a chance at a whole new life, why not take it and run? He rejects that new life on the heels of being an apologetic murderer, fanks.

She asks about his family, they don’t see him any more and refuse to have anything to do with him. They changed their names even, but his brother Matthew wrote once at least to say he missed Daniel. When Rose continues, he spaces out, staring at the model house: he can’t remember the bathroom (where the murder took place).

He hasn’t talk to the people there about it, they’re more than willing to chat, but only about the one way they see things and I would agree with that, given Mark’s comments on the way in. Only abject supplication here, no protestations of innocence: makes you seem not sorry (for something you may not have done). I’ll just say I’ve known a lot of criminals in my time and every one of them did what they were in for and much more besides. They would have thought I was stupid or a mark if I’d thought otherwise. Let’s just say that we’re not talking about the upper echelons of prison society.

Daniel was found in the bathroom with a straight razor in his hand; his not remembering is a problem. He thinks there might have been another person in the bathroom, but Rose is confused: was it Mr. Towns?

Mark gives Maloney the lowdown on Daniel; he’s adjusted fairly well, completing 3 A-Levels (LB and JS were very helpful for sorting out exactly what THAT meant) and moving forward. Daniel will go to prison if he doesn’t attain parole, this social worker enclave is only available until 18. Mark thinks Daniel inability to reconcile his past actions with his current self means that this place has done it’s job and Rose and Maloney are just gonna screw it up. One sec, he has a call: ooohhhh that sounds like Wendy on the phone, informing Mark of Rose and Maloney’s unsanctioned visit. Run Maloney!

Rose is going through Daniel’s files with him, she hands him a picture of his home and it brings him right back. They were playing a prank on the elderly Mr. Towns when Daniel met him; younger brother Matthew and friend Calum were pushing a MASSIVE newspaper-wrapped dog turd through the letterbox and got snagged by the man himself. They got away but Mr. Towns hurt himself chasing and guilted young Daniel into making him a cuppa and helping him out.

The interview is abruptly terminated by Mark storming in; they don’t have permission to be there. Daniel shouts “if you see Matt, tell him I know he was in there!” as Rose and Maloney take their leave. Another odd thing; while Rose was looking away, Daniel saw a tag with what appeared to be Rose’s address onnit and he noted it. Didn’t he already write her at home? She had the letter at home but I don’t remember the address shown on the envelope, although they did linger a bit. She was probably taking work home.

They’re supposed to be rushing back to the office to be fired (I think I’d probably get half-drunk first, so they really had something to hang their hat on) but “traffic’s murder on the M4” Rose advises airily as she smokes and stares at Daniel’s casefile outside Daniel’s parents’ house.

Maloney want them to ditch this case, but Rose can’t get past the fact that a young man is willing to give up his freedom rather than lie. Maloney knows they’re sticking with it, he’s just making his objections known before Rose drags them right into the thick of it without any regard for the consequences.

Daniel’s parents Dr. Kenneth Berrington (Trevor Cooper) and Alison (Sheila Tate) don’t have much to add, they’ve washed their hands of it. Rose swears she’s not judging at all, but notes that they have Matthew’s trophies all over the place and nothing of Daniel’s. Dr. Berrington doesn’t expect Rose to understand, but as a family, they had to let Daniel go. They make Daniel sound like a cashier caught with his hand in the till or a maid who doesn’t dust the corners: whut?

I now have $5 on Matthew being the real murderer and Daniel taking the fall, just to show this family how you can’t discard people on the appearance of evil. I will say I would never place money on a Sally Wainwright-penned script, she doesn’t do ANYTHING predictable and her shows are the better for it.

Matthew walks in just then, overhearing Rose’s query as to why Daniel could be thinking he’s innocent now, asking “who’s innocent?” to be shooed away to study for upcoming important exams.

Rose and I are on the same page; where was Matthew again when Mr. Towns was murdered? Over at Calum’s house, hmm. Already we’re drawing the lines between that dogpoop prank with Daniel staying behind to tend to the victim to help his brother.

The former Berringtons become even more agitated then and it’s time for Rose and Maloney to make tracks.

Rose thinks it’s so weird, and it is, but Maloney just wants it DONE with; back to the office to get their hands smacked then. “Office, James.” “Yes, mi’lady”

Matthew watches from the window while sinister music plays and I’m wondering about Jonathan Rothman from last season. He was a complete storyline last season and there’s been hide nor hair of him so far. Not that I WANT the rapey murdery bastage back, I’m just confused that he hasn’t come up yet.

Wendy’s shouting at Rose while Joyce (Nisha Nayar) and Maloney watch; what did Rose doooo? And she better not have involved Maloney, fumes Joyce. Hmm, does Maloney have a giiiiiirrrlllfriend?

Matthew and his dad have a weird conversation about Daniel and his imminent release: Dr. Berrington blames the estrangement on Daniel’s mum and whut? I can see maybe a dad trying to keep the status quo (what with all the face-saving to be accounted for) because they are menz and menz are not always allowed to be free with their emotions, but the mum? I can’t see that at all. We carry the wee buggers, you know, and even if we get them pre-made there isn’t anything we wouldn’t forgive. We just try our best to not let them know that when things go into the teal. But we’re always THERE.

The upshot is: Daniel was a bad gamble, we’re done with him and now we will focus all of our conditional love on you. NO PRESSURE!

Rose is drowning her sorrows in wine at a pub with horrible music when Maloney finds her, smoking again. They compare battle scars; Maloney got his Final Warning, Rose got her Final Final Final Final warning and a bunch of other stuff including a week off to Think About What She Did.

Is Rose checking her sugars? Is Mickey still in the picture? What’s going on, gimme some backstory!

Rose and Maloney both believed Daniel, the problem is all the witness statements and evidence. They’ve been told to delete files and hand over hard copies to the Home Office, but Rose thinks it’s a Good Thing: they’ve stirred things up.

Rose has her night all planned out, is Maloney staying? No, but did she take her insulin? Of course she did, she’s not a child, as she drags out her kit after he walks away. Er-ohh, I shall have to check with my Type 1 Diabetes experts (well, maybe not right now, one has lost a close family member and I’m not disturbing her grief. All the best, C), but don’t you have to check your sugar levels before you inject insulin? Or is it just a twice daily dose regardless? Either way, at the bar, in the counter, even with an adorable kit: it looks a little like H without the arm tying off. It may be that I am slightly-needle phobic

Digression! Roll on past if you’d like me to GET TO THE POINT, TTM! When it comes to needle-phobic, I know someone who absolutely took the cake. I was on a first date with a fella from an online dating group (should have known it was a bad idea, he turned out to be a Reform party supporter, and not the good Preston Manning type) and we went to see Memento. If you haven’t seen Memento, I highly recommend watching, it’s a mystery / suspense / thriller with Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss and it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. There is a scene with needles though, lots of them, the sight of which caused my date to have a series of seizures. Now I have a very close friend with Epilepsy and have known people with it my whole life, so I wasn’t worried so much as concerned about how I was going to get him to safety out of these teeny tiny theatre seats. When he was back to consciousness, he was mostly concerned that he’d wet his pants, which probably made it the worst first date for him. I was more worried about driving his car to the hospital through the streets of Vancouver, which I knew like the back of YOUR hand. I got him there, it was a one-off occurrence and all was well that ended well, we even watched the movie to make sure he was okay. And then never spoke again. Reform Party supporter, you see. As you were!

Rose is disassembling the Murder Wall but stops, disgruntled to watch the CCTV tape of young Daniel crying in his cell. She makes a visit to the scene of the crime now, visualizing the blood and mayhem along the way. She stares at the door of the bathroom as Daniel wakes up, having a nightmare about the very same thing. He’s yelling “I know you were in there, Matthew!!” and ohhh, THAT’S what he was saying earlier! No WONDER Rose was on that track!

Awwwww and I finally get my Caroline and Celia reunion!! Anne Reid is playing Sarah Lancashire’s mum again, yay!! Now we’ll find out about Mickey. Anne Reid has a much different energy than the woman playing Bea Linden in the first season, and she knows her Rose better, too. Interesting choice!

She knows Rose got suspended, not just a week off, but perfect, now they can go shopping (I full on started when Bea said it was for Rose’s dad’s luncheon – Kenneth died before we met him on Last Tango in Halifax! This is going to be tricky) for a dress. Maybe Rose should get a dress too, ooh, there might be younger-ish men there you see. Rose doesn’t like 40-ish (what’s wrong with 40-ish??); does she disappoint her mum? “Oh you know you do, darling,” but she’s forgiven her. Hahahahaha!

Maloney gets to work to find a young man waiting for him, it’s Calum (Ben Canny) with a Canadian accent (well, I’ll give him the Canadian upspeak? but that’s it. Pfft) and he needs to speak to Rose right away. Matthew rung him and told him what Danny’s doing, he can’t go through that again! He’s terrified (like a bad Canadian drama there, I’ll give him that) and rushes out past Maloney, knocking him over after shouting “it was them! It was always THEM!”

That’s a great example of Rose’s investigative plan: stir shite up and see where the chips fall. It’s usually Maloney that does the falling, by the bye.

Rose is…not happy with the dress she’s trying on, although that’s probably more to do with wondering about the Berrington case. She calls Maloney’s mobile and leaves a message, to be called right back by Bruce Arneson. He thanks her for the files she sent over, but the she didn’t exactly do that, a couple of goons picked them up. Long story short (too late!); he wants to take her for a drink. Oh ho, I THOUGHT I smelled some chemistry there, although it could have just been the Scottish accent I was drooling over.

She’s confused, wait, “are you asking me out?” “Totally. Is that okay?” “Totally” hahahahah so cute. I’m guessing Mickey is no more, but maybe she sees this as her stirring up the case, all kinds of new attention is being focused. I just wanna get my girl laid, ya know?

Mark comes in to gather Daniel for a day of footy, it’s so creepy how Mark interacts with him. All “it’s better this way” and “we all know what happened” and I those words may as well have red flags painted on them in the air.

Rose arrives for her date at a pub with MUCH better music (Milkshake by Kelis, woo hoo!); just mineral water for her, fanks. Whut? She’s treating this as round one of a boxing match over Daniel Berrington; she explains that her diabetes makes her testy sometimes (surely that’s not true) and she kind of apologizes for calling him a wanker, but not the part when she just now called him a cheeky bastard. They eye-cuddle and let’s get to their agendas then! She lays out how it would be very bad for the Home Secretary in possession of a Zero-Tolerance speech to be inconvenienced by a huge case found to be harbouring an innocent child? Bruce is impressed, he’d heard she was good. Maybe she’ll have a glass of wine after all. What’s her agenda then, he asks?

She takes a measured pause, then “I just want to get laid.”

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA I JUST SAID THAT!!!!????? I must have seen that gif then!! That’s too funny, timing RAWKS. Hahahaha

Maloney’s in to see Daniel’s old teacher (Lesley Nicol) who fills in a bit more of the story around Daniel and Matthew. Matthew had always been pushed by his father and Daniel ignored, she thinks that’s why all the incidents with Mr. Towns. What incidents, asks Maloney? The boys were going into Mr. Towns’ house to steal things, hmm.

Mr. Towns caught them the once, Daniel and Calum running away but Matthew defiant and punching the old man in the belly. None of that came up at the trial, which the headteacher, Maloney and I think is very odd.

On leaving, she asks if he’s a King’s College fan, but not, just a friend’s scarf he’s got stuffed in his pocket. Is he off to stalk Daniel at his “day of footy” then, or does this have to do with Joyce? I BET IF I KEEP WATCHING, I’ll find out!!

Mark and Daniel are leaving the footy stadium when Daniel slips away.

Rose wakes up in Bruce’s bed, walking out she calls it “a waste of time” until she spies his briefcase. All closed up and innocent looking! Let’s see what’s in there. Inside she finds a confidential report on her?? What? Filled with dozens of pictures of her that she drops on the floor when startled by the ding of a nearby phone. All the kerfuffle wakes Bruce, but she gets it back into his briefcase just as her mobile rings. It’s Maloney with alls the news about Daniel.

She smirks into the bedroom; he should call his boss, Daniel Berrington’s absconded.

The police are on the way into Matthew Berrington’s house, but he’s taking his bedroom window oot, fark that. He’s packed a bag and he’s gawn, baby, gawn.

Wendy has called Rose and Maloney into her office; did they talk Daniel into this move or what? Or any other “unauthorized, unprofessional activity” (heh heh does boning count?) on this account as Rose’s head goes straight down, no, no, none of that! Nobody was looking for information with their baginas, nope, never!

Maloney owns up to a couple of things, the finding of Calum, the teacher interview and the investigation of the boys’ thefts at Mr.Towns’ house.

MumWendy is off to see the Home Office, they’re to be available for questioning and she’s very disappointed in them both! To their rooms!

Rose gets at Maloney right away, but she’s not mad he left her out of the investigations he was up to, rather just pissed that he told Wendy. “I panicked” he says and you KNOW I had to find this gif from Last Tango in Halifax. I could not. Dang it.

They go over the police caution, Matthew said he and Calum were interested in seeing all the nice things Danny said Mr. Towns had. Hm. How much time was Daniel spending there?

We’re back at the crime scene, it’s interspersed with shots of watching present-time Maloney lead police to where Calum is. Or was, I should say, his throat has been slashed as well, as Mr. Towns’ was. I bet this won’t look good for Daniel, as he is out and convicted of being good with a straight razor, but with Matthew also in the wind…

Rose gets home to her own flat to hear the shower running, is that Mickey, Bruce or Jonathan? No, of course it’s Daniel, where else would he go? And he had her address from that tag if he didn’t have it previously. And we’re oot.

So. We’re clearly being asked to choose between brothers here, and the music is just as obviously screaming MATTHEW DID IT, HE’S the psychopath!!!! but I guess we’ll need to see what shakes out. As above, I’m having trouble believing the Berrington family dynamic, but that may be because I haven’t seen everything yet. UBI Jonathan Rothman, nary a mention? One last thing: yay Anne Reid back as Sarah Lancashire’s mum, woo hoo! Until next time, cheers!