SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Lynley Episode 2.

The second episode of Lynley is where the BritBox series can start to have some fun. With the table set and the main characters introduced, Steve Thompson can now begin exploring. He does so right away with the speedy introduction of Helen Clyde, whom Inspector Lynley fans know becomes Lynley’s wife. That immediately makes Episode 2 worth watching.

The introduction isn’t without a hiccup—one must ask why Lynley is surprised to see Helen at her office, when he should have noticed her name on the top of the missing persons report—but it’s charming all the same. Not only because those who read the books or saw The Inspector Lynley Mysteries will be excited, but because Helen’s arrival also gives the dynamic between Lynley and Barbara Havers space to continue growing. Havers naturally wastes no time in ribbing Lynley about Helen, yet Thompson doesn’t just use that for jokes; it’s an opportunity for Havers to get to know more about him as a person, not just her partner. And through Havers, the audience gets additional perspective on Lynley, too.

More of Havers’ life is explored as well, through a subplot involving her father. That goes back to the innate strength of Lynley: everything is balanced. The fact that one character’s name in the title doesn’t mean that character dominates the narrative. Havers not only gets enough screen time, but she also makes her own major contributions toward solving the mystery. One can argue this is more Havers’ episode than Lynley’s. This evenness is the show’s best quality. There’s no shortage of whodunits on the air, and genre fans can often find similarities between the cases on different shows. But the immediate appeal of Lynley is what’s happening between the two main characters, both plot-wise and in the way they’re brought to life by Thompson, Leo Suter and Sofia Barclay.

The disappearance of Gemma Hastings is a solid story. The first quarter of the episode is predictably creepy and explores themes that have been done plenty of times before. But Thompson eschews that simple “point A to point B” approach and instead makes Gemma’s vanishing just one piece of a larger narrative, and that’s when the investigative part picks up steam. What’s most remarkable about Lynley Episode 2 is the way the script sidesteps television cliches. Things like Havers’ father’s illness and the arrival of Helen do not solely exist to create the near-obligatory personal drama that’s a staple of so many procedurals. They have relevance to the main plot and to the development of Lynley and Havers.

If anyone gets shortchanged in Episode 2, it’s Daniel Mays as Nies reverts mostly to being the cantankerous boss archetype. The episode’s final scene of him watching Lynley and Havers from the window suggests that he’s going to be more of a problem for them than an ally. Perhaps it’s bias from knowing how talented Daniel Mays is, but hopefully his character breaks out of that mold quickly. He deserves a character with more depth and wit, and Lynley so far has been a series that successfully bucks almost every expectation in the book.

Lynley streams Thursdays on BritBox. Photo Credit: Courtesy of BritBox.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.