If the previous episode generated sustained tension, this one - the second of a trilogy - offered release even if not relief.
The cliffhanger at the end of the last episode saw Frank lying unconscious and bleeding from his nose after an assault. An assault that was all the more shocking for the lack of sound effects we're used to hearing in modern-day TV bust-ups.
This episode begins in the hospital. Frank's injuries have more or less healed. The attack has completely knocked the stuffing out of him though. Frank wants to pack in his inquiry agent work. He's disinterested in everything else too. Percy tries to help by offering Frank a potential case to work on, and he has the idea that Frank might form a partnership with new investigator in town, Ron Gash. Meanwhile Helen arrives from Brighton to visit, clean Frank's meagre bedsit and look after him. In spite of their goodwill, it was sad to see that even Frank's few friends didn't understand him enough to realise he couldn't bear their fussing. I was willing Percy to just take him to the pub for half a bitter, or for Helen to put a cup of tea in his hand and simply sit next to him, but that didn't happen. Eventually he lashes out at them both. Nowadays viewers (and Frank's friends) might speculate that he was suffering from depression or PTSD so I found the 'snap out of it' attitude very hard to watch.
The pathos generated by Burke's superb acting is balanced neatly by Frank's reluctant steps back into the only work he knows. He questions a new mother in dire financial straits, having been abandoned by her husband. She too is refusing the help that is offered.
Can Frank see his own situation reflected in hers? Will he be able to persuade her to accept the help she and her baby so desperately need? Will Frank return to his work? Will he consider partnering with Ron? And can his friendships with Helen and Percy be repaired?
The cliffhanger at the end of the last episode saw Frank lying unconscious and bleeding from his nose after an assault. An assault that was all the more shocking for the lack of sound effects we're used to hearing in modern-day TV bust-ups.
This episode begins in the hospital. Frank's injuries have more or less healed. The attack has completely knocked the stuffing out of him though. Frank wants to pack in his inquiry agent work. He's disinterested in everything else too. Percy tries to help by offering Frank a potential case to work on, and he has the idea that Frank might form a partnership with new investigator in town, Ron Gash. Meanwhile Helen arrives from Brighton to visit, clean Frank's meagre bedsit and look after him. In spite of their goodwill, it was sad to see that even Frank's few friends didn't understand him enough to realise he couldn't bear their fussing. I was willing Percy to just take him to the pub for half a bitter, or for Helen to put a cup of tea in his hand and simply sit next to him, but that didn't happen. Eventually he lashes out at them both. Nowadays viewers (and Frank's friends) might speculate that he was suffering from depression or PTSD so I found the 'snap out of it' attitude very hard to watch.
The pathos generated by Burke's superb acting is balanced neatly by Frank's reluctant steps back into the only work he knows. He questions a new mother in dire financial straits, having been abandoned by her husband. She too is refusing the help that is offered.
Can Frank see his own situation reflected in hers? Will he be able to persuade her to accept the help she and her baby so desperately need? Will Frank return to his work? Will he consider partnering with Ron? And can his friendships with Helen and Percy be repaired?