I’ve really enjoyed the latest series of Luther. Did it live up to the hype? Yes - for the first three episodes for sure, perhaps not so much for the finale (I’m aiming to not include any spoilers in this post until near the end!).
The ending… well it sort of left us with an end to “Luther” as we know it - but I think the writers have left some interesting clues to the future development of the franchise.
Idris Elba may not be about to be the new James Bond, but he is certainly going to be the new Batman.
Where is Luther set? London of course… well maybe. But the series seems to be set in a kind of English Gotham. Gotham-on-Sea if you will. It has all the brooding and gothic characteristics of the fictional one (and far less Pret a Manger outlets).
Cut to the scene with Alice Morgan on the roof of the warehouse dealing with…. henchmen. These villains were clearly super-hero style ineffective mobsters. One of them even had the requisite hat. She was acting like a super-heroine. She was never in danger, invulnerable and one step ahead of the poor henchies. We practically had a Mwuah-ha-ha.
The villains seem more and more like Batman super-baddies.
My prediction for the next series - Luther escapes and is on the run but continues to fight crime in a tortured kind of way. Maybe he’ll team up with a tech-savvy companion to give him a few affordances beyond the coat/costume.
All we’ve had so far then becomes the hero-origin story, which was always the best part about Batman.
