Roadkill: Episode 3

 "I love your turbulence. It makes people think."

I may, while admiring the craftsmanship of the script, have been a little on the lukewarm side about last episode. Fortunately, and pleasantly, this third episode was full of incident, drama, wit, subtle characterisation and, yes, relataile characters.

We begin with two contrasts. Charmian is, indeed, dead. But we move swiftly to scenes of Peter smoothly speechifying as he leaves hospital. It's then sraight home where an outraged Lily has called a family conference- including environmental activist and Peter's other daughter Susan- to discuss his infidelity. It's a fascinatingly subtle series of scenes. Susan is closer to Peter, yet her politics are so different. And Peter's wife Helen throws him out of the house not for his infidelity but for the damage to her dignity of it becoming known, and her becoming an object of pity. These scenes feel very real.

Then Peter returns to Madeleine (still a surprisingly small role for Sidse Babett Knudsen), and a parallel reckoning as she lets out her own rage at being the other woman, used, never allowed into his life. Peter's personal life has collapsed, and all because of his past action- even before another consequence materialises as his secret daughter Rose, in prison, wants to make contact.

But Peter's secrets are being uncovered, as the barrister slowly pieces things together, ending with possession of the tape containing Charmian's last interview from before she died. The walls are seemingly closing in for Peter. Yet there also seem to be walls closing around the prime minister, and we all know that Peter is in the frame.

The concluding episode looks as though it will certainly ne exciting, but this episode was good fun, full of great dialogue and pithy observations, such as that the UK pretty much only does arms manufacturing, pharma and financial services. This still isn't Edge of Darkness, but it's good telly.