Episode #5.4

As the police investigate Precious life they see how miserably she was treated by her mother and how poor.y her son is now. A Tory statesman tries to buy his redemption as he faces his own death.

The drama reveals how much stress is put on social workers to solve grave domestic troubles without proper resources. They are underpaid, understaffed, and most need guidance and support from their agencies before they burn out.

The body is found in a chimney. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of expert investigators, medical examiners, many expensive lab tests are concentrated on discovering her killer.

If only this kind of high level attention was directed to the woman while she was alive.

While I'm sure that realization was not part of the plot, it is what I will take with me after watching this well written and produced drama.

I have been a fan of Unforgotten since I caught a random episode several years ago and was instantly enthralled. I was a bit surprised when I learned there was going to be a season/series 5 without Nicola Walker, but while I can easily say five is my least favorite so far (evidently 6 is already in the works according to IMDb), it isn't all bad.

I have already watched the entire season but decided to post here because episode 4 is where the new DCI Jessie James starts to turn her character around after her chat with Sunny. Having said that however, even after Jess begins to mend her work relationship with the rest of the team, particularly with Sunny, I'm still left thinking why the powers that be felt the need to add her at all? Nothing wrong with the character per se, and the actress is perfectly capable, but instead of adding a new boss to the team why not just let Sunny run it, like he did when Cass tried to retire? The show brushed over this concept with Sunny saying he passed on applying to DCI, but what's the real world reason? If the writers absolutely, positively had to have a cliché this season why not throw in the uptight superintendent who's main concern is staying on budget and going by the book?

Aside from the questionable change in cast, the main plot wasn't all that interesting either. There was the standard group of suspects to choose from that is normal for this show, but the guilty party this time around was so predictable I don't know why we were made to wait until the end for the reveal, leaving some of the 'drama' for afterwards. Speaking of drama, why is every main character in cop shows always such a mess of a human being? Sure, policework can be daunting, but also very rewarding. There wouldn't be any detectives in the world if their personal lives were such soap operas, and when so many are like this it ends up not being dramatic at all since it's the norm.

So what did I like after all this nitpicking? The actors did a great job, the cinematography is still top notch, and I enjoyed the loyalty the team had with each other trying to get used to someone new. Other than that, and avoiding spoilers the best I can, I'm sorry to say the season ended on a lackluster note, at least regarding the murder mystery anyway. I think it's safe to say fans would've been more excited for another season with the remaining cast to work through their grief together rather than throwing in a new DCI focused on personal issues, but maybe that's just me. Cheers.

Hume sets up a fairly risky meeting with Jay Royce, both Sunny and Jess are under huge pressures at home, both are struggling to focus on the job in hand.

It still hasn't burst into flames, but it's at least feeling more like Unforgotten, all of the random pieces of the puzzle are all starting to come together. This was the best episode so far.

Maybe I warmed to Jess a little more here, you can see why she's so hurt and angry, but also she's a little controlling, we even saw that with her mother. We're finally seeing her and Sunny finding some sort of common ground, they're at least conversing with one another.

Jay's domestic arrangement, it's a very strange one, but we are at least starting to learn a little more about him.

Some nice filming in Snowdonia too, if you get the chance, to there, it's breathtaking.

Getting better, 7/10.