More Murderous Twists, Criminal Marital Secrets & Musical Memories

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. In this blog, I will be sharing some more TV reviews. These include the return of a crime drama starring Adrian Dunbar, a KDrama that included a dark mystery, and a love story based on the novel with the same name, accompanied with a nostalgic soundtrack. So without further ado, here are my thoughts of the latest shows I've been watching.

Ridley:

The first show I’m going to talk about is series 2 of Ridley, starring Adrian Dunbar, Bronagh Waugh, George Bakhari, Julie Graham and Georgie Glen.

This second series continues to see Ridley solve more crimes at Coppleton police whilst also facing some personal demons of his own. 

Adrian once again made the role of Alex Ridley brilliant. He had the passion and drive for solving the cases, but at the same time we also got to see his personal demons take over from time to time. These included in episode one where he admitted to projecting the grief of his daughter Ella. And his colleague Carol (Bronagh Waugh), had her own troubles when it came to newborn meadow and her son Jack (Tareq Al-Jeddal), who following the traumatic events of the last series was trying to block out the pain, also leaving her wife Geri (Bhavna Limbachia who was best known for playing Rana in Coronation Street), struggling. And towards the end of the series where got to see Darren’s (George Bumhari), money problems spill, but Ridley showing the kindness he brings, offered to help when he can. And we also got to see Ridley’s jealousy when it involved friend Annie (Julie Graham), getting involved with jeweller Harry (John Michie), who at first did a good job in saving the club, but she got to see the true version of him, and it gave Ridley a reason to stay and be with those he loved, which include Annie.

Throughout the 4 episodes like last time, there’s been different cases. These include a jewellery heist followed by a murderer, leaving a mum to be (played by Isabelle Smith who is currently playing Frankie Osborne in Hollyoaks), on edge, and an undercover cop Tasha (Chloe Harris), wanting to find out the truth, with a brilliant performance from Krissi Bohn who played a straight talking solicitor, along with a missing person who the real culprit was a member of the family, where Ridley’s old colleague Jean Dixon (Elizabeth Berrington), got involved. It was then followed by a murder of her partner Ross (Kevin Doyle), where the daughter was the real culprit, knowing how bad he treated her. There was also a murder at a rave, and it was all at the hands of an influencer (Lauren McQueen), and it was the one Jack ended up getting involved in, and episode 4 showed a missing woman in a beautiful village, but it was then followed by a murder. I won’t reveal who the culprit was in that one, so I’ll let you reading this watch until the end who it really was, as even I wasn’t expecting it. All of the actors in each episode helped drive the story along, therefore bringing out the best in the leading characters. And a huge shoutout to Suzanne Packed who plays Ridley’s therapist Dr Samantha Larsson, as her objective to get Ridley to open up has definitely worked, therefore it’s helped Adrian develop his character move past his grief. 

I don’t think I have any downsides to it other than because each episode was an hour and a half long, I had to break it down into bite size chunks. And I don’t know if there will be another series of Ridley, but if there is I’m keen to see how Darren’s struggled with money are at the moment, and how it’ll impact his job.

Overall I would give the show a 4.95. It was suspense, it is tension, and Adrian’s singing never gets old. Definitely worth a watch if you love a whodunnit program. 

The Trunk:

The next show I’m going to talk about is The Trunk, starring Gong-yoo and Seo Hyun-jin.

Based on the novel with the same name, as stated on the Netflix website, the plot of the show goes as follows:

"A mysterious trunk washes up on shore and threatens to unravel a web of secrets involving a discreet matchmaking service and one of its couples."

Gong-yoo took on the role of music producer Han Jeong-won. After seeing him in squid game, this role was definitely the complete opposite, but in a positive way. He definitely had unresolved trauma that came from childhood, where flashbacks showed what happened that stayed with him. And it was only until he met wife for hire Noh In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin), who made him realise how he should be treated. At first, in-ji herself was only doing what her job stated, therefore blocking out any real emotion (which we got to see flashbacks on how it happened), but slowly we got to see their romance blossoming into something more. But there is a twist that links both of them to the past, but I’ll let anyone reading this watch it for themselves. But one thing that stood in the way was Jeong-Won’s ex wife Lee Seon-yeon (Jung Yun-ha), who a flashback saw them meeting at a young age. Little did he know that her controlling behaviour only increased his guilt and shame of his past, and there were moments that in-ji herself confronted her, and let’s just say you do not want to mess with her. 

There have been many characters who moved the story along. The main ones included Jeong-won’s friend Oh Hyun-cheol and his wife and Seo-yeon’s friend Kang Yoon-a (Hong Woo-jin and Joo Min-kyung). Hyun-cheol had very strong opinions on Seo-yeon, and giving his advice to him is someone you would call a true friend. But Yoon-a is kind of those friends who’s abit ditsy at times, like the villain and ditsy sidekick. But I definitely think it’s secretly their opposing views that cause friction in their marriage. There was also the villainous Eom Tae-seong (Kim Dong-won), who was the definition of creepy. But let’s just say that Seo-yeons younger husband Yoon Ji-o (Jo I-geon), had a strong link to the case, and throughout the series, he genuinely cared for her, so how he stayed with her knowing her plan for jeong-won is crazy. But then again people do crazy things for love. There was also In-ji’s best friend Jung Si-jeong (jeon Hae-jin), who also helped her with the case against Tae-seong as well as making her realise her feelings for Jeong-won, and neighbour Kwon Do-dam (Lee Ki-woo) made sure that In-ji’s flag was in check and how she’d always looked out for her during her times in need. I also don’t think that the head of the NM Lee seon (Uhm Ji-won who was also in the show Little Women), is a bad person when she first hired In-ji, but just more on making money. But at the same time she respected her wishes when In-ji made a decision. 

I don’t think I have any downsides to it, other than it did take me a couple of episodes before I was fully hooked into it. But I managed to switch between the English dub and the original language which helped me as well.

Overall I would rate the show a 4.80. It was tense, suspenseful and the kind of romance which I dream of having.

Mix Tape:

The final show ok going to talk about is Mix Tape, starring Jim Sturgess, Teresa Palmer, Rory Walton-Smith and Florence Hunt.

Based on the novel with the same name, this tells the story of former lovers Daniel and Alison, who reconnect 20 years since their first meeting over their shared love of music. 

I loved the way they decided to flit from the past to the present throughout the series, as then you get the full picture of how they become the people they are today. Daniel in the past (played by Rory Walton-Smith) is a proper gentleman, not to mention a smart kid. and alison from the past (played by Florence Hunt who you might recognise as Hyacinth in Bridgerton) was someone who to most people, is deemed weird, but when you look at her family, you can see why she's a very closed person. In the present, Daniel (Jim Sturgess) is seen wanting different things from his current marriage whilst going through his career as a freelance journalist, whilst Alison (Teresa Palmer) is starting to grow her career as a writer, but still faces those demons she left behind in Sheffield. But it ultimately led to the 2 of them being back together, realising that they were their one true love.

The supporting cast also helped and made a big impact on their romance. These included Alison’s neighbour Sheila (Jacqueline McKenzie) who throughout her childhood and her adult life was always there for Alison when she needed it, and Alison’s brother Peter (played by Brendan McCormack), who in the past (with the young Peter played by Conor Sánchez) has struggled with who he was after exploring his sexuality, but survived his ongoing trauma to reunite with her in the present and help Alison with her love life. There were also dans parents Bill and Marian (Mark O’Halloran and Helen Behan) who each had their own opinion on Alison, with Bill seeing that she deeply cares about him, but Marian having her own way of protecting Daniel. But I loved Alison’s maturity and understanding on why Marian did what she did back then. Then came Daniels wife Katja (Sara Soulié) who I felt wasn’t as supportive of Daniel’s work as much as he wanted, and clearly wanted different things, and Michael (Ben Lawson) where at first when he meets Alison (with Ryan Morgan playing the younger Michael) he seemed charming following Alison’s escape from the hands of her mums boyfriend Martin Baxter (Jonathan Harden), as he did something to Alison that was kind of hard to watch but it showed why she escaped, but as they got older, married life isn’t always plain sailing, taking more control of their daughter Stella (Julia savage) when she has an impossible choice to make, and also shaping signs of controlling behaviour, which Alison only realised at the end of the series. But at least she had support from her publisher Cass (Chika Ikogwe) who after much encouragement, supported her with her decision for her book tour. 

I think my only downside was that whilst it was a happy ending, in the book after doing some research, it was a different story. That's not meant to say that we could explore our minds to say that the show was different from the book, but it would be nice as someone who doesn't know the social cues, to gain abit more clarity. I also would've liked it to see how Daniel met Katja, as it showed how Alison met Michael, but it would've been interesting to see how he met Katja whilst getting over Alison.

Overall, I would give the show a 4.90. It was romantic, nostalgic, and really showed how the power of music can bring people together and even heal you from unresolved trauma. 

And that is it for my latest review of these three shows! Let me know if you have seen these shows and what your thoughts are of them!

See you soon for another blog. Until next time...

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)