The Fall Season 3 Netflix Series Review

The Fall (2013-)
Season 3 - 6 episodes (2016)

Watch The Fall on Netflix
Created by:Allan Cubitt
Starring:  Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
DSI Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) chases serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan).
In season three, Gibson discovers more about Spector's past, while Spector may not be fit for trial.

Verdict
While not as good as the first two seasons, it is a conclusion to the Paul Spector arc, albeit a bit underwhelming.
This series started off with such a unique way to tell the story of a serial killer, and in season three it relies on an amnesia trope. The story becomes contrived and is far too static most of the season as the detectives uncover Spector's background. The first episode is great and never matched after that. It's not a bad season, but it doesn't live up to the first two.
Watch it.

Review
Season one was the setup, season two the case, and season three the aftermath (Read my Season 1 & 2 reviews).

Creator Cubitt does have ideas for future seasons, though thankfully Dornan won't be back. Cubitt had originally envisioned this show as Gibson tracking a different murderer each season.

I had heard season three was bad, and while the story isn't as well plotted as the first two seasons, it was serviceable as a conclusion to the story. For most of the season Spector thinks he's in the past, suffering from acute short term memory loss. We're left guessing as to the true status of his mind, as are the cops. This part of the story was annoying, but the show uses that to spur the detectives to dig into his past. We learn more about Spector, but it wasn't really necessary.

I wondered if this season would focus on his trial, as a way to end his story, but while we enter the court, there is no trial. The first episode picks up immediately after the final episode of season two. Doctors are trying to save Spector from his gunshot wounds. These scenes were electric as the staff is frantic. While we don't see much, it's still hard to watch. It could have been much gorier, but it isn't indulgent. As Spector is wheeled away, we see blood and surgical gloves on the floor. Gibson has to watch as the staff try to save a killer. It's certainly a conflict, but she doesn't want him to take the easy way out.

In episode two Paul finally wakes up and we discover that he thinks it's 2006 instead of 2012. I had to wonder if the show was really going to do this. I guess they had to add some kind of drama.
With Spector in custody this season is a lot slower, relying on interviews and bombshells about his past for excitement. While it's a method to develop his character, it just feels clumsy. The show plants a few seeds to indicate he might be lying, but that's because the cops are as incredulous as the viewer.
The cops dig up someone he knew in the past and ret-con a crime so they have charges for him despite his memory loss. It feels a bit disingenuous as it's pulled from thin air.

Katie and Spector's wife Sally Ann are left wondering who Spector really is as they read about the case on the internet after his name is released. Gibson wanted him tried in a court of law, not public opinion. Gibson has to endure an investigative panel questioning her safety protocols during the hunt for Rose. No one wore vests and Spector was out in the open with a known criminal hunting him.

In episode four Spector's lawyers begin creating a defense. They question the relationship between Gibson and Spector. If they are going to have any shot at this case, that seems like a good place to start. If they get into her relationships with other men on the force, it could certainly hurt the prosecution.

The driving question this season is whether Spector is faking memory loss. We get hints he might be, but nothing conclusive. What I don't like about this plot line is that it's such a typical story. What I liked about season one is that it subverted the usual mystery. Instead of leaving the viewer in the dark about who the killer is, it shows us in the first scene. The show isn't about who did it, but about what kind of person would commit such crimes. The show felt smart and treated us that way. This season is a reversion to typical plot tropes. It's just too easy of a story. We get a tried and true mystery, not befitting of this show.

It's a conclusive ending, certainly, but it feels a bit underwhelming. It's not a bad ending, and at least it's better than Spector becoming a lumberjack.

The Fall Season 2 Netflix Series Review

The Fall (2013-)
Season 2 - 6 episodes (2014)

Watch The Fall on Netflix
Created by:Allan Cubitt
Starring:  Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
DSI Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) chases serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan).
In season two, Spector's personal life is in disarray as Gibson closes in.

Verdict
This feels like the second half of the story season one began. This season is the noose closing around Spector's neck. Season one was slow methodical and chilling, establishing the characters of Spector and Gibson. This season is the chase. It's a different tone, but just as engrossing as season one.
Watch it.

Review
This season picks up right at the end of season one. It's a cat and mouse game between Gibson and Spector, but Spector is playing with fire throughout the season as he risks getting caught. The first season set the stage and put you in his mindset, with this season Gibson is on his trail.

Jim Burns and Stella Gibson.

To start the season, Spector is lying low outside of the city without his family, but it's clear he won't last long without a 'project.' As Gibson said, it's an addiction he has to feed. While he hid his criminal activity from his wife using the underage babysitter Katie as an excuse, Katie seems like a potential downfall that will get him caught.


Spector revels in the media coverage of the case. A composite image of him appears in the paper, and he asks a girl on the train whether she thinks the sketch looks like him. We know it's him, but he's curious and even draws a beard on the sketch. He isn't looking for a victim, at least not this time, he likes the attention.

Spector's flirtation with danger comes to a predictable end.

He visits one of his victims in the hospital. It's audacious. We're waiting for him to get caught because he's blatantly mocking the victim and the cops.
He's on the outs with his wife, Katie is a whole new level of drama, and the cops are tracking him. He knows he's playing a dangerous game, but he likes the stakes.

The camera lingered on tire tracks in episode two and those tracks are revisited in episode three with the police using them as a clue. I wonder if the show has been lying down clues I've been missing. That was the first I noticed.

Katie and Paul Spector

Spector is grooming Katie. His worldview is dark. He tells Katie to embrace darkness and take joy in the pain of others. Shes' so infatuated that she would do anything, though she does pause for just a moment leading us to wonder if she'll see the truth. She doesn't.
Did he intend to manipulate her from the start or was she just an easy target? It's clear Spector uses everyone. His wife was just a cover. Katie is convenient.


You know he'll get caught, so the question is not whether he will but what happens after he is. As disturbing as his actions are, his detachment to his crimes is even worse.

Spector and Gibson face off.

With the last couple of episodes I wondered what the third season would cover. I still wonder, but I know how it will start. Ending this after two seasons wouldn't have been a bad idea. This season seems ready to call it done until it throws in a quick to be continued. The first two seasons are a unique twist on the crime drama, focusing equally on the cop and criminal.

The Fall Season 1 Netflix Series Review

The Fall (2013-)
Season 1 - 5 episodes (2013)

Watch The Fall on Netflix
Created by:Allan Cubitt
Starring:  Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
DSI Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) chases serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan).

Verdict
This is an amazing season that defies convention to create a subtle yet terrifying serial killer. The best way to catch a psychopath is to use a sociopath. DSI Gibson is clinical and cold, unable to relate to people, where Spector has a family and is employed as a grief counselor.
The mystery isn't who the killer is. This identifies the killer in the first scene. We don't look for clues to determine who, but to determine how he fits into society. This guy looks completely normal, and yet he's not right, causing you to wonder who you know could be a twisted psychopath. That person could be blending in and you don't even realize.
Watch it.

Review
Allan Cubitt wanted to identify the killer immediately so that he could focus on the psychology and underlying motivations. He also named many characters after guitar brands.

This is a show that forces you into the mind of a killer and a cop.You want the bad guy to stand out, to be a loner. If you can pick out the bad guy on a show, how can do it in real life. The clues you look for aren't to determine who the killer is, but to determine how you'd spot him in everyday life. That's the scary thing, this guy blends in. He could be a coworker, a friend, or even family.

Episodes compare and contrast Spector and Gibson. He's hunting his next victim, and she's hunting him. They share many similarities, but she seems like more of a sociopath than he does. He realizes he has to blend in and act the part. Gibson doesn't have the time to fake empathy or civility. She is anti-social, not needing to hide in plain sight. In most cop shows, Gibson would be the killer. This show flips those roles. The cop isn't that likable.

The first episode starts with Spector breaking into a house, rifling through belongings and taking pictures with his phone. He leaves before the home's owner returns.
We then see that Spector is a father, a seemingly normal guy employed as a grief counselor. It's one thing if he's a deviant, but another if he seems normal. He's not a longer. He and his wife go out with friends.

Gibson doesn't have friends. She is unable to fit in, but both of them are obsessive concerning their "work." His murders are deeply intimate, though we don't know why he does this. Gibson strives to make everything, even sex less intimate. She's devoted strictly to her job.

What is this about for Spector? He enjoys the hunt for sure, but it's about more than just sex. Is this a way to live out his fantasies? In the second episode, it's clear he's not that normal. He keeps locks of hair from his victims and even gives his daughter a necklace he stole from a victim.

This show really makes you pick apart the actions of the characters. In episode three Spector finds a house in the woods he wants to put to use. He leaves his daughter outside, which seemed neglectful, but we've seen him act like a good father before. That's the trick of this show. We don't know if we're seeing Spector or the false front he uses to hide in the world. We want him to be a neglectful dad, because a good dad shouldn't be able to murder.

Gibson briefs other cops on the serial killer, comparing it to an addiction. The cravings happen more frequently and larger doses are required. This isn't something that is going to go away.

The editing in this show is excellent. It frequently intercuts Spector and Gibson's scenes. Gibson is creating a profile as Spector breaks into his next victim's house. The cops muse about why he does this, as we see him actually doing it, wondering the same thing ourselves. The editing is always used to great effect.

In episode four, Spector's boss gives him flak for breaking protocol and making a house visit. He did it as a last resort to cover up casing a house, but we see him mock his boss and it's an indication of how smart Spector thinks he is. It's a rare moment where he breaks character. He seems normal, but he's learned to live an intricate lie to appear that way.

The final episode unravels Spector's home life when he asks his wife to lie for him. He contacts Gibson, telling her she is like him. They are both driven and ruthless. He's surprised to discover she knows more about him than he anticipated.
It ends on a slight cliffhanger which was unnecessary. The final line of dialog wasn't necessary. It might as well say, "Just wait for season two." A show this good doesn't need to tease the next season.