This episode feels very off-the-mark for the series, to me. The teaser, showing moments from the last few days in the life of support worker Angela Konan, is spooky and atmospheric, but the way it's edited makes it hard to follow exactly what's happening and in what sequence it happens. After Angela's corpse is discovered in the woods of a national park, Vera and team show up to investigate. Vera seems needlessly harsh in her interviews of those acquainted with the victim, and though the witnesses involved act suspiciously and withhold information, it appears to be for no real reason other than to drag out the story by necessitating repeat interviews with the police, in order to fill out the episode's running time. Mark Benton does make a good impression in his low-key role as a secretive park ranger.
The entire story feels contrived, and although, as pointed out in other reviews, guest actor Jamie Ballard does a standout job in his interrogation scene, the denouement doesn't feel earned at all. It's also disappointing after all this time to see Aiden still basically just following Vera around like a lap dog and being given barely anything to do. Worst of all is the "Hallmark" ending, in which Vera and Aiden watch as the addict mother and her violence-prone daughter, who has already given her mom at least one black eye, walk off into the sunset together (Vera telling Aiden "they'll be alright", after cheerily advising the mom she'll have to "learn how to duck". I mean, WTF? Really? We're supposed to feel optimistic about this resolution?)
"Vera" has been a superb series which I have watched from the get-go, but the writing in this episode really falls short of the quality I've come to expect from the show. At least the location cinematography is up to its usual excellent standard, as is the acting. And I do like Riley Jones' new shaved-head look. Hopefully "Recovery" is just an aberration and the remainder of season 11 will be better.
The entire story feels contrived, and although, as pointed out in other reviews, guest actor Jamie Ballard does a standout job in his interrogation scene, the denouement doesn't feel earned at all. It's also disappointing after all this time to see Aiden still basically just following Vera around like a lap dog and being given barely anything to do. Worst of all is the "Hallmark" ending, in which Vera and Aiden watch as the addict mother and her violence-prone daughter, who has already given her mom at least one black eye, walk off into the sunset together (Vera telling Aiden "they'll be alright", after cheerily advising the mom she'll have to "learn how to duck". I mean, WTF? Really? We're supposed to feel optimistic about this resolution?)
"Vera" has been a superb series which I have watched from the get-go, but the writing in this episode really falls short of the quality I've come to expect from the show. At least the location cinematography is up to its usual excellent standard, as is the acting. And I do like Riley Jones' new shaved-head look. Hopefully "Recovery" is just an aberration and the remainder of season 11 will be better.
