Prime Suspect Review: Watch Jane's Heart Melt

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Whoa.

Just when I thought Prime Suspect was going to serve up a bland case on "Underwater," the series went and shot a little girl... and I inched towards the edge of my seat.

Jane at Her Best

“Underwater” was a bit of a departure from the standard Prime episode, smartly dealing with the at-times toxic relationship between Jane and Reg by placing them into an unknown area and forcing them to work together; while putting the rest of the cast on the backburner.

However, it is nice to see that no matter how heated the arguments get between these partners, they can put their differences aside and work together as a team to protect a little girl.

Speaking of working together, the shootout in the hotel room was intense and very well done. Over the course of watching this drama, I’ve realized how scary and scarce these gunfights the police have to deal with are, and when they decide to write one into the story it grabs your attention and sends adrenaline pumping through your body.

The scenes at the hospital were moody and bleak when Jane had to deal with the cop who murdered the little girl’s parents, particularly the scene when she recognized him as the murderer. The standoff as the elevator doors were closing was chilling, as was watching the sets get bleaker and darker as the danger escalated.

Of course, there are some clichés that refused to die this week, such as the adorable little girl who softened up the hardened Jane to the point of shedding a tear or two, but I’m more than willing to overlook it since it was a very nice moment... and I may have shed a tear as well and yelled at Jane to take her home. Maybe.

Everything came full circle by the end of the episode as Jane and Reg shared a few well-placed barbs at each other after being told in a polite way by the local sheriff to get the hell out of his town.

Overall, I can only hope Prime Suspect ends strongly since it was effectively cancelled this week by NBC. It’s sad that a show that’s gotten this good never found its audience because there’s a lot to love here, but this is NBC and it’s a good day if they can pull in ratings better than their cable cousin USA.

Other thoughts:

  • I didn't see any Nicotine Gum this week, but Reg had a cigar so that counts, right?
  • I'm taking a wild guess here, but I think Luis is the guy with the stuff.
  • I really missed Augie's wit.
  • How dumb was that deputy? Did he really expect to get away with murdering three more people after the hospital staff sees him escort them down there?
  • I wish we could have gotten a scene at the end with Jane, Matt and his little boy.

Underwater Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.9 / 5.0 (36 Votes)
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Prime Suspect Season 1 Episode 7 Quotes

Luis: How vague?
Jane: A guy walking out of a room vague?

Do you ever arrest someone up here or do you just write parking tickets?

Reg