The Capture Review

I have adored this series on BBC. It has been a welcome introduction to the autumn season of high quality television we have come to expect each year. After a tentative first episode, that didn't immediately convert me to the promotional enthusiast I would later become, the series unfolded into a grippingly intricate and winding narrative that had me hooked. 

Perhaps my eagerness to love this series, comes in part as a response to my disappointment in the most recent series of Black Mirror. Whilst the 3 episode Netflix-offering felt stagnant and unexciting, The Capture's prophesying regarding technology's role in the modern world, was both fresh and thought-provoking. In terms of the plausibility of 'correction' in the future landscape, I am entirely ignorant. However, it certainly doesn't appear entirely farfetched in today's landscape of face-tune and ubiquitous fake news. 

Whilst the premise itself, and the confident, competent narrative play a large part in the series' success; the performances are also integral to its believability. The acting, led by Callum Turner's Shaun and Holliday Grainger's Rachael, are nuanced and compelling. 

Having spent most of the series inclined to view MI5 as the villain to Shaun's injustice, the reveal of his guilt shone light on MI5's previously opaque perspective. As someone with a natural inclination to favour the underdog, and a propensity to harbour an Orwellian hatred of 'The Establishment', the moral argument for such manipulations was surprisingly convincing. 

Despite this, I would posit that if we are to live by the societal constructs we have built, then no party should feel vindicated in 'playing God', regardless of outcome. Gemma Garland's court room monologue was disappointing, and her attempts to justify her utilitarianism was both defensive and unconvincing. After all, what happens when inevitable mistakes are made? 'Justice' should not be the remit of an unregulated few. The law must surely be paramount, and evolve in the modern landscape, to permit lawful conviction. 

Overall, this series has been a welcome addition to the objectively innumerable, and yet seemingly finite London-based police procedurals. I recommend this series to all who share my fondness for this rather specific niche; as well as a more general desire for a modern,  captivating (sorry) watch.