SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Blue Lights Season 3, Episode 6.

The Blue Lights Season 3 finale is strong in some ways and weaker in others. The BritBox drama answers most of the questions that viewers will have, so they can walk away satisfied. But there are other aspects left incomplete, presumably to pave the way for the already-confirmed Season 4.

“World of Our Own” does get the biggest things right. It immediately resolves the cliffhanger from Episode 5, with Grace Ellis’ fate resolved instead of dragging it out for the audience. Obviously, that then paves the way for Grace and Stevie Neill to resolve their relationship issues, which takes a weight off both them and the audience. It’s a common plot device that trauma prompts TV characters to make relationship decisions, but it’s common for a reason—shocking events do make people put things into perspective. And the way this is handled is done incredibly well, both in terms of the writing and in the performances by Siân Brooke and Martin McCann. Grace and Stevie end the season with a bright future ahead of them.

Audiences also get good news regarding Shane Bradley. Not only does Shane survive, but he doesn’t lose the use of his injured leg. Give Blue Lights co-creators Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson (who wrote this and the prior episode) credit for not just choosing the most dramatic option. The emotional arc that Shane goes through, relatively short as it is, is engaging enough without hurting him more. Plus, they find a way to cleverly tie it together with Annie Conlon’s personal arc about the loss of her mother. Annie passes on what she learned from that to help Shane. It’s an example of how Lawn and Patterson are always looking at the big picture; they don’t just wrap a subplot and forget about it. All of the pieces have a place.

But the big picture is where “World of Our Own” gets a little bumpy. The main storyline doesn’t get completely resolved, and most of the closure comes from jumping the action ahead three weeks. It feels like quickly tying some things off that could’ve benefited from more screen time, and then letting others go to set up Season 4. The real villains—Tina McIntyre and Dana Morgan—are still at large by the end of the hour, as Helen McNally is offered a promotion to oversee the new “Operation Harvest.” One can’t blame Lawn and Patterson for wanting to carry on the story since they know they can finish it next season, but that still makes this episode feel a bit anticlimactic. At least Donal Fogerty is finally out of the picture.

The season-long storyline about sex trafficking gets a quick hook, as Lindsay is shown identifying several men including George McClelland, and it’s suggested that George should start talking. But viewers don’t get any information about how that case actually resolves, aside from Lindsay taking her university exam. Especially with a topic as serious as sex trafficking, it would be better to clearly let Blue Lights fans know that the guilty parties have been brought to justice—or even give them the satisfaction of seeing it, even if it’s just a quick montage of some arrests. Viewers don’t need every answer, simply something to give it some finality.

There’s also no further update on how Aisling is doing; that’s not strictly necessary for the plot, but again, it’s something that audiences would have appreciated, since they’ve invested time into her character. But to end the season with everyone knowing that Shane is a Westlife fan—and a too-brief sing-along to the song that gives the episode its title—is a perfectly Blue Lights scene. It leaves the fan base on a good note, and it’s an example of what Annie talks about earlier: how much this group of people means to each other. So many TV procedurals talk about their characters as found family, but Blue Lights is one of those rare shows where viewers can feel it.

“World of Our Own” holds a little too much back for Season 4, and one wonders if this is an instance where the six-episode season worked a bit against the series. Could another hour have taken what got put into that montage and expanded it further? At the same time, because the show has always done six episodes at a season, it’s understandable to stick at that number, especially since there’s another six to plan for. Is it a perfect ending to Blue Lights Season 3? No, but does it give enough that audiences feel like they have something to hold onto? Absolutely. And with what’s left unanswered here, Season 4 should be interesting and then some.

Blue Lights Season 3 is now streaming on BritBox. Photo Credit: Peter Marley/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.