an Shetland still be Shetland without DI Jimmy Perez? Douglas Henshall spent seven seasons nudging the BBC One sleuth up the ranks of British crime shows, playing a bruised, haunted homicide detective with no gimmick apart from the steady erosion of his will. Last year, Perez finally crumbled, driven out of the force by an injustice that required rules to be broken, and by his desire to no longer be left personally broken-hearted by the job.
Tosh, however, needs a new foil and Shetland needs new impetus. To answer those needs, the latest episode dips into several crime drama tropes, the first being one that’s nothing to do with regular Shetland: for the opening eight minutes, all the established characters are absent and we’re watching a different show altogether, dealing with organised crime in swanky London locations.
Other developments further suggest that Shetland is overcompensating for its big personnel change. The surely doomed Ellen is a member of a powerful local family who “take care of their own”, with the presence of Phyllis Logan as its fierce matriarch being one of a few examples of the show flexing the casting muscles it has acquired since becoming the BBC’s Scottish drama flagship.