I must admit to avoiding detective series—until two friends recommended “Unforgotten,” streaming on PBS. What a delightful discovery there–police who are gentle, compassionate and humane. And it’s stimulating to follow twisted plots and random clues that seem to lead to dead ends, but eventually result in closure.
I know. It’s fiction. And it’s British, so even an interrogation can seem mildly conversational, and even a psychopath can ask for a cuppa as he’s being accused. Remarkably the star detective is as fair and decent to suspects as she is to victims. She and her partner accomplish brilliant work never once using guns, flashing lights or sirens, only the power of their wits.
The pattern of the episodes is: accidentally finding a body buried for 30-40 years, prompting a revisit to the cold case. Then we see three or four people with their families and careers, leading ordinary and sometimes exemplary lives in different parts of Britain. (The scenery an added bonus.) The viewer wonders what could possibly connect these disparate threads, but they come together as all the people become suspects. Sometimes the scrutiny unveils other unfortunate things they’ve done, but not murder. Sometimes, it pinpoints the murderer. But clever writing keeps us guessing, trying to piece together the little we know, admiring the detectives who finally pull it all together.
Nicola Walker, who plays detective Cassie Stuart, and Sanjeev Bhaskar, her partner Sunil Khan head a team exploring tedious mountains of information as well as discovering sudden brilliant connections. In the case of a missing girl, Cassie cautions them, “Tread very gently.” Although she doesn’t pontificate about her work, occasional comments unveil her motivation. In this case, she explains “somewhere parents are suffering unimaginable pain.” She becomes so close to the mother and sister of the girl that she takes up a collection to bring home the remains in a lovely coffin, and tenderly brings flowers to the burial site.
I was especially touched by an episode where the team gradually discovers that three people abused as children killed their abusers many years ago. In the meantime, they have become a nurse, a high school teacher and an attorney trying to adopt a girl he and his partner clearly love. Cassie asks Sunil what purpose it would serve to send them to prison when they’ve been suffering all their lives. The story powerfully depicts the life-long traumatic effects of child abuse, especially when the victims reveal it to their families. In all the cases, the crime has been a secret kept from even the most supportive and sympathetic spouses. The two detectives make a wise decision to not pursue charges.
On the other hand, when two suspects in a particularly grisly murder and dismemberment are fellow police officers, the detectives agree, “Let’s do it by the book.” It’s a refreshing departure from the police corruption that’s surfaced in the US recently.
Although Nicola Walker doesn’t play a role in the most recent series, there’s a stunning contrast between her vulnerable humanity and the lack of feeling in one murderer she pursues. Normally, she’s calm and professional. But as he reveals, almost proudly, the number of young women he’s raped and murdered, and displays the places he buries them, she falters. Her partner subtly takes over the questioning, as Cassie surreptitiously wipes away tears. Exhausted, she makes a mistake in that investigation, forgetting a confidential folder at a coffee shop where’s she’s been working. A seemingly small error can have huge consequences, which lead to the odd reassurance of a “tough cop” weeping in the ladies’ room. The job also takes its toll on her personal life, as she struggles to cope with a dad falling into dementia, prod a son who can’t seem to get a job, and find time for an understanding boyfriend.
While there is nothing about the series that’s explicitly religious, humans have loved stories since Eve first hooked her kids with “Once upon a time…” And we love to cheer for the imaginative, plucky, persistent good.
Kathy Coffey 