The Ties That Bind

Mr Whicher has taken a divorce case for landowner Sir Henry Coverley in Wilshire. He believes that his wife Jane is cheating on her with another man Matthew Thorogood in London.

Whicher gets the evidence but before the divorce case reaches trial, Thorogood is found dead.

The main suspect turns out to be the brother of a pregnant woman carrying Thorogood's child.

Whicher also learns that Thorogood was not his real surname. He was the son of a clergyman and deep in gambling debts.

In order to clear the brother, Whicher sticks around and comes across more suspects.

A complex layered mystery becomes rather absorbing. This is the most successful of the Whicher mysteries, even though only the first one was based on true facts.

There are some pointed comments about the role of educated married women in society. The lengths they had to go through to initiate a divorce.

Despite my disappointment at the shortness of this series one must reserve one's deep admiration for the quality of the writing, acting, stage setting and all the rest of the production effort that raises this brief series up firmly into the Golden Standard of film for television.

The layers of plot development were not forced by anything more than Wicher's own admission that his search for the Truth is his driving force alone. Paddy Considine achieves a remarkable sincerity in his delivery and non-speaking reactions that truly hit home in so many subtle ways other histrionics could never touch. A careful application of the less-is-more style works beautifully here.

The ending is very satisfying too.

A quiet contentment for a finale.

Mr. Whicher sure does get kicked around a lot, and by such despicable people, too.

After watching the third of the series we watched #1, #2, and now #4. "The Tie That Binds" is the best of the set. The plot unfolds carefully and is not trite. Whicher is a tenacious detective and does not cower from unpleasantness. In this ephisode, we see a man with a big heart and pretty much free of prejudice and bigotry that is common in the heart. We like that he is not intimidated by the bluster of bullies. We have no intention of giving details of the story for its twists are delightful as well as surprising.

I guess people just didn't have the time or the money to shave those bad boys off their faces back in the day. Those things are bold!