This second part of the Partners in Crime series should have had an easier job; the characters are introduced, they are setup in their crime-investigating roles, and the tone is set. To a point this is true of the second lot of episodes and there is a more relaxed tone to them as a result. The third episode gets a lot darker and more urgent quite suddenly, and while the narrative does sort of need it, it is also a reminder that this series is not really comfortable with what it is trying to do. There seems to be a lot of people involved in making it this way, and it does feel like a series designed by a committee, knowing it has the pressure of the Christie brand, and the successful Sunday night shows on BBC and ITV that have gone before it in the same way.
The pressure of this means it does seem to jump around quite a lot, and doesn't settle particularly well. The second serial also shares a pacing issue with the first – in that it really didn't feel like it justified three hours to be told. This is not to say it drags or is padded too obviously, but for sure there is a sense that it is in no great rush to get things done – so if there is a chance for a bit of a chase sequence, then that is what we're going to get whether it adds a lot or not. The cast also seem a bit out of sorts. Not so much Raine, who is pretty decent, but Walliams never is really settled into how to play someone brave but yet bumbling, smart but yet stumbling – in the end he just flits between what the scene requires, and never sells us his character. Not sure where the fault lies, but the bigger damage of the cast is that Raine and Walliams really do not have any chemistry at all – there is no spark between them, which means the fun and adventure that we should feel drawn into by virtue of them as a couple, really doesn't happen.
All told, this did the job for a Sunday night and was easy viewing with high production values and enough about it to distract and entertain. It did feel longer than it needed to be, and it never really settled into doing what it wanted to do in a relaxed and precise manner; the casting didn't help as the lead two don't spark as they should, and Walliams in particular just seems ill at ease throughout.
