Review: GHTTB: Ashes To Ashes 2.7

Martin Summers' traps start to close in on CID.

Ashes To Ashes - Series Two, Episode Seven

While it began in a mediocre way, 2.7 evolved into a list of the reasons why I adore this fourth series of the Bonanza. It was very dark and a lot of it didn't make sense when you really thought about it, but because of the strength of this series' characters and of this arc, it pulled through and ended with a spectacularly written and acted final few scenes. Last week may have been a dip in the series, but this episode uplifts us back to an excellent standard.
    After chasing a drugs gang based on an anonymous tip-off, CID find a Polish man buried in concrete at a building site. Excavation reveals that the man was murdered, but the site mananger Michael Rafferty denies any involvement. Police officer Martin Summers (the young version of the corrupt cop from 2008 that has been manipulating Alex) comes in to tell Gene that Rafferty is bad news, and Rafferty claims that Summers is the one in the wrong, having come asking for a bribe in exchange for his safety. Alex follows a note sent by the 2008 Summers and meets the young Summers at the building site. There, Old!Summers shoots his younger self, shattering Alex's preconceptions about this world and making her have nightmares wherein her parents tell her that she should have tried harder to save their lives. Old!Summers puts the gun in her hand, leaving her to clean up by dropping the Young!Summers corpse into some conveniently wet concrete.
     A vital piece of evidence goes missing in the investigation, and the signature on the release form is that of Summers. Knowing that the young Summers is dead, Alex reveals that the perpetrator must be a member of CID. Still bitter after the Mac scandal, Gene goes on the warpath. He gives Chris, Ray, Chaz and Vic the number of a vault at an open storage building, knowing that if one of them is a traitor, then Rafferty will go there and open a specific vault. He does so, and that evening Alex joins gene as he confronts the traitor - Chris. Feeling pressured by the wedding, Chris has been working for a voice over the phone as far back as Episode 2, trying to get the money to pay back a loan. He was the one who destroyed Kevin Hales' records, stopping the team from preventing his eventual murder and postponing their discovery of Mac's operation. Gene forgives Chris on one condition - that he never leave the police force, and forever live with his shame. Alex tracks back the phone number to a small flat - and discovers that Summers has been manipulating events from the beginning.

Chris is forced to reveal his betrayal.

     The first half of the episode wasn't as engaging as I would have liked it to have been, not really covering any themes other than the usual undercurrant of Police Corruption. Like in 2.5, Alex acted the psycho again and started attacking someone who didn't know her, but the cards really fell onto the table when Old and Young Summers met. It felt like a direct response from the writers, saying that this isn't really a Time Travel show and at the same time allowing Alex to show a real depth to her character. It was a final seperation from the world of Life On Mars, and a preview towards the more religiously-oriented finale next series. Unlike that finale, however, this is far from disappointing.
      The second half provided some outstanding drama and a real chance for Marshall Lancaster, who usually plays the bumbling comic relief, to give some actual emotions. Despite how surprising it was, it makes so much sense and also neatly ties the otherwise irrelevant Shaz and Chris storyline into the main arc. Adrian Dunbar is so strong as Summers, with his charming but equally sinister voice and demeanor, that he's easily one of the most memorable villains in the Bonanza. His existance as a malevolent entity is completely at odds with the Mars finale, where Gene was the force to be fought, and shows not only how much the characters have grown, but also how much the writing has moved on since the simple caricatures of Life On Mars' first series.

Gene is disappointed in Chris.

      Episode 2.7 was a due reminder of how good the Bonanza can be, and showed off this series characters and themes in a way that left me gagging for the finale. It may have a had a bit of a shitty first half, but the second half made up for it thousandfold and stands as some of the best Ashes To Ashes ever made.

Thanks.