Ashes To Ashes: The Plot Thickens

Well! Forget the wonderful case the team were tasked with this week - it was awesome and Shaz (played touchingly well by Montserrat Lombard) broke my heart - but leave it! Because I'm far more interested in the developing, slow-burning plot bubbling away under the surface. I speak, of course, of two other investigations under way; Alex Drake's revelatory dig into the events surrounding Sam Tyler's "death" and Jim Keats' mission to bring Fenchurch East CID to it's knees, exposing Sheriff Gene Hunt as the murdering son-of-a-bitch that he is! Maybe!

So, Alex has ordered the Sam's personal effects from Manchester. I think I got a little too excited when that jacket showed up! Imagine what I'm going to be like when Sam himself turns up in episode 8 (maybe)! But what is she hoping to find out? Clearly there is something not quite right with the case file about Sam's death. Both Gene and Chris seemed very reluctant to even remember the day, let alone recount what happened!

If you ask me, she thinks Gene killed Sam - or is at least covering up what really happened. Obvious, yeah... And the whole "Gene killing Sam" thing is being pushed a bit much for it to be the case... In my opinion Sam Tyler is alive. Somewhere. He'll be back, it's all going to come full circle. But I'm afraid that there my theory falls down. I have nothing to go on. And there are so many "clues" being thrown at us that it has to be bigger than that. There's the identity of the ghostly figure with the bloodied face, clearly the "police officer found dead in the field" in present day. And what's with the flash-zooms onto the Weather Vane? And the haunting snipped of Life On Mars playing when the camera singles Shaz out for a spooky moment when she agrees to stay on the force. And Why did Gene take down Sam's obit because he felt like he let him down, just like the murdered girl?

You know what? I have no idea! But what I do know is this: Jim Keats is possible the best character ever introduced in Ashes To Ashes. He's this series' Frank Morgan (remember Sam's surgeon? Named after the actor who played the Wizard Of Oz). And there is clearly much more to come from him. Eyes peeled kids. And your theories are more than welcome this week, because I have NO bloody clue where this is going!