Annika Season 1 Episode 4 Review

Romance is always a bit awkward on crime drama, balancing the pursuit of justice with something much more personal. At least Annika Season 1 Episode 4 lays all its awkwardness right on the counter.

For a little while, it feels as though Jake has vanished as soon as he appeared. Morgan is starting with a new therapist; one she’s clearly not as happy with. Given the clear flirtations between therapist and mom, it’s to be expected, but his initial complete absence is disconcerting.

Then he’s back just as suddenly, and the lingering discomfort is quickly handled. I feel we as the audience can get behind this new romance, but the idea that it could still be awkward for Morgan lingers, especially when he spends the night on Annika’s houseboat.

In fairness, things have the potential to get just as weird in Morgan’s own love life. We can be almost certain now that her interactions with Blair are and will be completely innocent—especially with the spark she has with Blair’s younger sister.

These are all pretty chill people, so I don’t think we’ll be getting to any soap opera levels of interpersonal drama here, but it still seems a dynamic that could boil over easily, especially between teenagers.

There’s also the fact that Michael’s grudging attitude toward Annika as his boss is written with heavy hints of a potential spark between them down the line. I can’t really say where any of it will go. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, the case of the week focuses on a local author of books on various social issues being knocked out and pushed off a pier to drown. There’s a lot of talk about bridges in this episode, and on how people manage to (metaphorically) burn them.

Despite a few frosty feelings from old friends, we do at least have a victim we can empathize with. It’s nice to be able to want justice for someone because they truly deserve it, and not only because our team has an obligation to see things through regardless.

We’re still presented with a host of leads that distract us until all but the final few minutes of the episode. It still feels like this takes more time than it should. I might not want to get deep into the mind of a killer, but I’d at least like to flesh out their motive.

That’s especially true in this case, where the motive may be the most intriguing part of the case. The author is killed by a man who co-wrote a book with her—one that misrepresented some of the people and facts involved, leaving her with lingering regrets.

We see lots of human strengths and fragilities in her willingness to tear town her own work—and in the fact that his fears of being taken down with her would push him as far as murder. Again, the talk of burning bridges is brutally pertinent.

I’m curious to see whether we’ll get any extended storylines in this show besides the romantic and mother-daughter ones, especially with the relatively short seasons typical of BBC/PBS. I do like the episode format, but I’m itching for some more background on everyone.

 

What did you think of this episode of Annika? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Annika airs Sundays at 10/9c on PBS.

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