2.1 - Litefoot and Sanders

This starts right off where series 1 left off with Litefoot taking on another partner as they investigate a series of bizarre murders. Jago is miffed and suspicious of Sanders, and if he were being honest, a little hurt.

I'm not a fan of vampire fiction, but this story is very well-done. It's eerie and atmospheric and moves at a good pace. In addition, it's great start for Series 2 as it's not only solid story in own right, but gives Jago and Litefoot both a chance to show their own strengths.

Generally, I'm not a huge fan of vampire stories, but here it just fits perfectly. For one thing, a vicious vampire loose on the streets of Victorian London is a very striking set up for a Jago & Litefoot adventure. But also, because Justin Richards delivers a tense and rich script, which wonderfully examines the dynamics between all the different characters. Both Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin sell the drama and conflict extremely well. The music and sound effects are superb (as always), creating a dark and dangerous atmosphere without ever overshadowing the story itself. A very strong start for series 2.

Be warned, there are heavy spoilers in the second half of this review.

That was a nice gentle ease in to the series. Enjoyable, but not quite as striking as the Bloodless Soldier. Gabriel Sanders was of course a highlight, as deliciously chilling as we knew Collings would be. And the other highlight was seeing Jago and Litefoot's friendship under strain. The only thing was, I felt it too fleeting. It seemed to me that there was the potential here to underlie several episodes. As good as Sanders is, he's despatched rather quickly (I am rather hoping he might rise from the dead further down the line), and similarly, Henry and George patch things up in a a matter of minutes, the whole thing laughed off as an understanding with a 'I should have trusted you' 'No, I should have trusted you' type resolution that didn't entirely satisfy. On the whole though, entertaining stuff; if my complaint is it didn't last long enough, it's obviously doing something right. The plot is reasonably entertaining, with double crosses and secrets and lies (Mag is a great character too - Her first moment with Jago hilarious), though they come a little quick. And it probably doesn't need to be said by now that all the staple elements of the series are superb.

***Spoilers Below***

***Spoilers Below***

I wasn't entirely happy with the ending. Killing Ellie felt somewhat gratuitous, perhaps because it was rather appended to the story, and because I didn't truly believe the performance of that final scene, and certainly because it felt like it was consciously imitating the similar opening to series one. I'm hoping later stories will make good meat off the fallout, because it seems a little dubious to me at present.

7/10