SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for A Taste for Murder Season 1, Episode 4.
The fourth episode of A Taste for Murder finally gives BritBox viewers the plot answers they’ve been waiting for. There’s clarity, if not necessarily a lot of surprise, about every storyline in the show. But Episode 4 also stumbles in a major way when it detours into a massive cliche for Joe and Lara.
Audiences probably didn’t expect to hear the phrases “marine archeology” and “cryptocurrency” in the same mystery, but that’s what happens here. The murder victim, in Italy for a research dive, turns out to also have cost a lot of people a lot of money in a cryptocurrency controversy. This episode has the most disjointed story elements yet it also has the most plot twists that A Taste for Murder has used all season. Viewers likely will not be able to guess the killer until a few moments before Joe and Lara do. For any crime drama, that’s a major plus. It just requires the audience to pay closer attention because of all the pieces that are seemingly scattered.
More importantly, the show takes major steps forward with its ongoing subplots. Fans will not be surprised by anything they learn. It’s been obvious to viewers for a little bit that Angelica’s boyfriend Daniele is a drug dealer, and that Gennaro is involved with the Italian mob. A Taste for Murder has dragged its feet somewhat in connecting those dots, but it’s all spelled out very clearly in Episode 4. Now the audience has their suspicions confirmed and can get excited for how these problems are going to be resolved.
The most exciting scene in the episode involves Joe confronting the mob contingent that’s been hanging out in the restaurant, after one of Rocco di Biasi’s lieutenants lays a hand on Angelica. Firstly, Angelica is able to defend herself when she slaps the man; she’s not simply a damsel in distress. But of course her father is going to come to her defense anyway, which means actor Warren Brown is fully let loose. Let’s remember that this is the guy who spent several seasons on Cinemax’s Strike Back; he’s more than capable of doing damage. The scene establishes that the bad guys really are bad, but also there’s a ferocity in Joe, and Gennaro also comes to his defense when Joe has a gun in his face. A lot happens in just a couple of minutes, and it all works.
What doesn’t work is that A Taste for Murder decides it needs to have a romantic subplot between Joe and Lara. The duo visit a nightclub, end up partying until they’re stumbling back to the police station drunk, and Joe’s attempt to kiss Lara is rebuffed. This could all mean nothing—and hopefully it does, because it’s so tiring to see crime dramas that feel the partners also have to be romantic partners. TV shows in general don’t have a lot of well-written platonic friendships between men and women, but crime shows are particularly guilty of turning them into relationships. Joe and Lara do not need to be a couple to be interesting, especially not in the first season when so much time has been spent establishing his profound grief over the death of his wife. Episode 3 floated the idea of Joe and Daria, which would still be too soon, but at least that wouldn’t be cliched. And that felt like something that would develop organically in a potential Season 2. Joe and Lara’s subplot feels like it’s just trying to grab attention.
The appeal of A Taste for Murder Episode 4 is the plot information dump that happens. The BritBox show now has a clear endgame: of course Joe is going to agree to help Lara take down Rocco di Biasi, because di Biasi has also harmed two members of Joe’s family. And when they do that (as it’d be depressing for the season to end on a sad note), that will clear the way for Joe to move on. The first season is a very specific journey for him, and this episode launches that journey forward, with a pretty good whodunit on the side.
A Taste for Murder streams Tuesdays on BritBox. Photo Credit: Courtesy of BritBox.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 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.
