Is the finale a Revelation?
Episode 1.6
Writer: Matthew Graham
Director: Adrian Shergold
THE ONE WHERE Zak and Tom defend a man accused of murdering his brother while Richard messes with the minds of all our legal eagles to help along the end of the world.
VERDICT In TV as in life, there’s no such thing as a sure thing, and with a second series of Eternal Law as yet unconfirmed the creators might have left fans of their show with a cliffhanger that will probably remain unresolved (didn’t Outcasts teach anyone anything?!). It’s such a shame because, despite the – as ever – rather lacklustre court case of the week which saw a college lecturer accused of killing his brother in a row over the family factor, this was by far the most intriguing episode of Eternal Law yet.
The celestial mythology has always been the strength of the show, and this episode is steeped in it. Pembroke ups his game from wise-cracking thorn in the side to full-on malevolent force, a worthy and interesting enemy, desperate to return to Mr Mountjoy’s presence, or to have Zak “cross the floor”, or anything, anything, other than endure the hell he is in. Suddenly you can understand why he’s so keen to scupper the team at every turn – and Tobias Menzies’ quips turn sinister very quickly, with Zak and Richard’s confrontation at the Minster (if nothing else the series must have helped the CofE finances a lot bearing in mind the amount of filming done in there) one of the stand out moments of the series as a whole.
Meanwhile Mrs Sherringham’s temptation – organised, surprise surprise, by Richard – and her decision to stay with “her boys” gave Orla Brady a chance to shine and the scene where the boys returned the favour and made her an anniversary supper was genuinely moving.
But it’s all too little too late. The greatest tragedy of Eternal Law is the missed opportunities – and the fact that while everything hangs on Zak and Hannah’s poignant first kiss, the number of people who’ve stuck out six episodes to see it happen is minimal, and the number who care probably even less. It’s a real shame. There was a gem of a great show here, it was just lost in a middle-of-the-road legal procedural and never really given the chance to shine.
LAW 101 We’re (clearly) no legal experts but is it actually allowed for Zak to hold a meeting between the defendant of a court case and one of the key witnesses shortly before the trial starts?
VALENTINE’S DAY COMES EARLY Mrs Sherringham celebrates her wedding anniversary with champagne, bagels and sniffing her dead husband’s brother. And who says romance is dead?
HE’S EEEEVIL He stares directly into the camera! Breaking the fourth wall, it turns out Richard Pembroke sees us all. Also, his wings are black...
FANFICTIONERS UNITE The lamest fight between male protagonists since Bridget Jones’s Diary , ending in a homoerotic tussle with Richard cupping Zak’s face and telling him he’d missed him. Awkward.
BEST DIALOGUE
Mrs Sherringham “You’re 14 billion years old, you’re a big boy now. This is your journey.”
Narin Bahar