C.B. Strike (TV Series) Lethal White: Part 2 (2020) User Reviews

Lethal White: Part 2

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 3 September 2020]

Episode two flowed much better than the first one.

At least I felt there was teeth to the two mysteries which are interconnected. Strike goes after Billy Knight who is kept hidden by his brother, a rabble rouse.

It leads to some fisticuffs with Strike, good job he has a stick with him. Although the odious Jasper Chiswell had to come to the rescue on one occasion.

Cormorant Strike return the favour. He has the dirt on Geraint Winn's dodgy dealing with his wife's charity. It is enough to have Jasper to stop the blackmailing. Although there seems to be more reasons why Winn targeted Jasper.

This is certainly more intriguing. Robert Glenister is having a hoot as Jasper who is nasty to everyone including his children. The one son who he adored is dead. Strike knows that the son was a chip of the old block who was despised by his army unit.

At least there are complexities in this mystery that the book is supposed to have.

Silly Sequels

[DoctorStrabismus · 5/10 · 4 March 2023]

Like so many sequels, this one is descending into sheer silliness, as they try to create new story lines for the principal protagonists to act out, and in doing so wander into the world of fantasy.

Episode 1 of 'Lethal White' was just about OK, but little more than that, and it has now run very badly off the rails. We are invited to suspend disbelief over and over, and this is not respectful of the audience.

The central characters remain strong in their portrayal, although we do have to wonder just how much more of the 'chemistry' and unresolved sexual tension between them we need to watch. We really do get it!

And for the peripheral characters, they are utter lightweights, even Robert Glenister, playing the grumpy old patrician, the very wealthy aristocratic politician, as if he were no more than a cardboard cut-out.

I will give it 5/10, which is probably quite a bit generous, and just hope that the next two episodes show radical improvement.

More Gimmicks

[Warin_West-El · 5/10 · 21 June 2023]

This episode Billy Knight has been revealed to be just another writer's gimmick. That character is full of chaos, which is used in a formulaic way to generate drama. Essentially, the writers have given themselves a Get out of Jail Free card. Whenever they fail to create a plot that is inherently dramatic, they pull out a fabricated scene with Billy.

I also agree with the other reviewers: How many times are the filmmakers going to chronically pummel us with their "unrequited love" paradigm? It was OK several episodes ago but now the filmmakers are beating a dead horse. It's hard to empathize with central characters who consistently fail to identify their needs and fulfill them.