The Fall Season 2 Epi 1-3 Recaps: Oh Stella Gibson, How Well I Know You Now (Season Premiere)

"The Fall" is a BBC series staring Gillian Anderson (of "X-Files" fame) and Jamie Dornan (of "50 Shades Of Grey" and "Once Upon A Time" fame). Each season is released on Netflix (after they air in the UK). There are 5 episodes in season 1 and 6 in season 2.

Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is called to the Belfast Northern Ireland police department to track a serial killer. We of course know what the police do not. The murderer is a grief counselor and family man named Paul Spector. As the heat is turned up, he flees to Scotland with a pregnant Sally Ann and their children. She previously provided him with a false alibi. For a season 1 refresher, check my previous reviews: http://gmonster320.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Fall

Some Of The Team

As season 2 opens, only one woman has survived the attacks thus far. They're not able to get many clues from Annie Brawley since she's so traumatized. Stella examines Annie's house at night. She is startled by Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns. The investigation is running out of funding. Tracking a serial killer is both labor intensive and expensive.

Quick Paul, Make Up Another Lie

Meanwhile Paul's daughter Livvy calls and pleads for him to bring her dollies back home. I'm glad she doesnt know he sleeps beside the naked bound dolls (ala the BTK killer). Very freaky. He and Sally Ann are still splitsville. She believes he had an affair with their teenage babysitter (as if that werent bad enough). She does not suspect him of being the strangler. Katie Benedetto encounters Sally Ann on the street. Sally gives her the brushoff for the affair. Katie says Paul brutally attacked her. Sally calls Paul for an explanation but he hangs up on her.

On the way back to Belfast, Paul starts up a conversation with a woman on the train. He mentions his likeness to the strangler's picture in the paper. He tells the woman she shouldnt worry about the killer. She has blond hair and the strangler only attacks brunettes. But she's not a natural blonde (well who among us is these days?). She dyed her hair when the killings started. She even shows him an old photo. Good lord, woman! Why are you so stupid? You are the next victim.

Paul breaks into Katie's house. She confronts him about being the strangler saying: 1. He looks like the police photo; 2. He has a "type" of woman (dark hair); and 3. He has a lock of hair in his study. Paul tells Katie to keep her crazy theories to herself. He's just a husband/father and has a profession to protect. Katie managed to survive the scene. I fear Katie is so stupid she's not long for this world. Sometimes I want to jump into the show and throttle these women myself. What about self preservation people? OK I'm done. Thanks for listening.

Next Paul enters his/Sally's house while she's gone. He checks the mail and calls the Alice Monroe Fund (Alice being one of the victims). I suspect he's offering counseling services. Oh dear, that's not good. Paul also leaves a letter for his Olivia. He put her dolls in her suitcase.

Stella meets with the pathologist Reed Smith. In her autopsy report, she noted that the scratches on James Olson's back were from sex (not knowing it wasnt from his wife and was from Stella instead). Stella does some more swimming. She swims a lot. That must be how she keeps her great shape.

Poor Rose

Next Paul sneaks into Rose Stagg's (his old girlfriend) house and chats with her daughter. He then pulls Rose from the bed and shoves her into her car. She calls him "Peter". She swears she didnt go to the police about him. She makes light of the situation saying he was just experimenting and was drunk. It was a long time ago. He drags her into a vacant lot. I assumed she was dead but it's later revealed that he's holding her captive.

Stella visits Rose's husband Tom. Tom was drunk on the sofa so he didnt hear anything. They had argued about Rose meeting with Stella. He recalls back to when they were in university. She had stopped speaking to him for a while. It was because Peter had attacked her. Rose's daughter later reveals that she met "Peter Piper" that night.

Katie takes off with Livvy (at the request of Paul). That girl is psycho too. She already suspects he's the strangler and she's still doing stuff for him??? He tells her to meet him at a hotel and gives her a room key. He uses this "kidnapping" as an excuse to Sally Ann that Katie is really crazy (and that everything she told Sally were teenage fantasies).

We learn from Sally Ann that Paul's mother abandoned him and later killed herself. I wonder if that's really true or if he killed her? Paul visits Katie at the hotel. At first he strangles her but she says "kill me". He stops. That ruins all the fun if they dont put up a fight. Next he ties her to the bed. He's grooming her to eventually help him stalk women. The police get a partial print from the scissors that were drained from the lake. It's Paul Spector.

At the beginning of episode 3, Stella announces to her team that Paul Spector is their chief suspect. He was spotted on CCT (closed circuit television) at the botanical gardens when Sarah Kay was there. He came into the police station voluntarily afterwards and gave his fingerprints and DNA. He is now linked via the shears to Brawley. He is also responsible for the abduction of Rose Stagg. The police visit Sally Ann again. Next they visit Katie. She covers for Paul but inadvertently gives them a valuable clue.

Poor Stupid Kaite

Paul meets Katie again (yes Paul and Katie are spending WAY too much time together) and feeds her a line about Sarah Kay. He was out jogging and found Sarah Kay's drivers license in the cemetery. He saw Stella at the press conference on the TV. She was so smug. He thought to himself "fuck you, you English bitch". He hated her instantly and wrote a letter as the killer (and included the drivers license). Katie buys it hook, line and sinker.

The police are staking out some residence (I'm not sure where). They report back to Stella (while Reed waits for her in the hotel bar). A hooded figure approaches but the police cant tell who it is. Meanwhile Paul is in Stella's hotel room reading her journal. The hooded figure is Katie. She has a tshirt with a pic of the strangler on it. She takes a pic of herself and sends it to Paul. I thought that was very effective the way those three scenes were intercut.

Well I Didnt See That Coming

When Stella returns to the table she embraces Reed in a passionate kiss. The guy who bought Reed a drink is insulted when Stella confuses him with a waiter. He says "I'm not a waiter". She says "Then why are you still standing there?" Hilarious. That Stella knows how to cut em down to size. Reed starts to go to up Stella's room but apologizes and leaves. Looks like Stella has a way with the men and the ladies.

Oh Jim

Paul is in the hotel hallway but hears the police. He heads back into Stella's room. A drunk Jim (who has fallen off the wagon) visits Stella. Something about he's trying to get rid of Eastwood on the police force. Blah, blah, blah. I dont really care. Anyway he comes on WAY too strong. Stella pops him in the nose to slow him down. After Jim leaves, Stella figures out that Paul was in her room. He wrote in her journal "Oh Stella Gibson how well I know you now."

Favorite Quotes:

Katie: "Who are you?" Paul: "I'm lots of things"
Stella "Thanks, keep em coming." Guy trying to pick up Dr Smith: "I'm not the waiter." Stella" "Then why are you still standing there?"
"Fuck you, you English bitch."- Paul's reaction upon seeing Stella on television.
Jim: "Why are women emotionally and spiritually so much strong than men?" Stella: "Because the basic human form is female. Maleness is a kind of birth defect.
"Being a serial murder is a form of slow suicide, deep self destruction. I'm sorry to disappoint you Katie but that's not my style."- Paul
"Oh Stella Gibson how well I know you now."- Paul after reading her journal.

A Man Obsessed

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). An excellent followup to season 1. I was worried they would stall on finding any clues until the end of the season but the evidence is quickly piling up against Paul Spector. Stella is still hell in high heels and I love her for it. She's one of the most interesting TV characters I've seen in some time.