The Fall - General Discussion

[annlaw78]

Series Two of The Fall started filming in Belfast last month.  Anyone heard anything about a US/Netflix release date?

[dramachick]

I am so looking forward to this!  If they started filming last month, I'll take a wild guess and say that we won't see it here until March 2015.  Hopefully, I'm wrong and will be pleasantly surprised.

[atomationage]

The first season took much long than expected to air even in the UK.  I don't know what the reason was for that, but I'm assuming it had something to do with GA's availability, unless it was Jamie Dornan. 

[LakeGal]

Great news.  I watched the first season and enjoyed it.

[maraleia]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's first season. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[atomationage]

I just re-watched the entire first season last night.  What a great show! 

 

It's going to be a long time for the next season, so I would recommend Happy Valley for viewing in the meantime. 

Edited May 5, 2014 by atomationage

[atomationage]

I thought it was a not so inside joke that one of the victims was named Fiona Gallagher, the name of one of the characters on Shameless.

[Trooper York]

I thought this was a great show. I particularly liked the conflict with the ex-IRA guys. I remember in the 1980's when those guys were all over the bars in New York raising money to support the Cause. It took me back to those days.

 

Very interesting. Can't wait for next season.

[atomationage]

There's a new 2 part mini-series called From There to Here, about the IRA bombing in Manchester in 1996.

[Wilson Cat]

I just finished watching the entire season on Netflix.  Stella Gibson and Rachel Duncan (Orphan Black) have to be the two iciest bitches in a long while.  The way it all ended was interesting (I won't spoil it for those who haven't watched all 5 episodes yet) and leaves something for season 2 perhaps.  Is there definitely a season 2 in the offing?

[Bastet]

Is there definitely a season 2 in the offing?

 

Yes, it is already being filmed.

[stormy weather]

I'm sorry I don't mean to be mean but am I the only one who thought that Jamie Dornan was way hotter than the wife? I know it's shallow but to me that was the most distracting and least credible thing in the series. Unless Spector went for the opposite of his victim type, which might, on the other hand, have been based on his biological mother?

The other thing that made me go "REALLY" was how they identified him by mere chance because the pathologist remembered about a friend in university who told her once she hooked up with a guy who tried to strangle her. Seriously, how many inhabitants does Belfast have? 15?

Apart from that, it was an enjoyable watch and I'll definitely tune in for season 2.  

[Carrie Ann]

I think the attractiveness differential in that marriage was intentional. I think it fits his "profile."

[jeansheridan]

I also think the wife had baby weight.  Imagine her pre-pregnancy.  I enjoyed the 5 eps.  I like how people died randomly.  And seeing GOT actors.  Maybe Gillian will do a GOT cameo?  

 

I liked too that the killer was unraveling & that men did not like him in general.  His daughter was a good cover to make him seem less creepy when he was stalking.  Cute dad & kid are harmless, no?  

 

GA got better in later eps too.  Warmer.  Icy is fine but humor & nuance help a lot.  I liked her wardrobe malfunction because I remember thinking she needed a jacket.  I loved "Cleavage?"  "Just chest."  Heh.

[ApathyMonger]

Apparently S2 is coming sooner than we expected?

 

 

I thought it wasn't due until early 2015.

[Cubbiegirl]

Plan has been for Fall of 2014 all along. Probably anytime between end of Sept to before Christmas. Some cast had said possibly Nov, but no official word.

 

Though keep in mind, things may happen. The first series was supposed to air fall of 2012 too with glimpses in BBC fall show trailer, but didn't happen till May 2013.

[ApathyMonger]

Plan has been for Fall of 2014 all along. Probably anytime between end of Sept to before Christmas. Some cast had said possibly Nov, but no official word.

 

Though keep in mind, things may happen. The first series was supposed to air fall of 2012 too with glimpses in BBC fall show trailer, but didn't happen till May 2013.

 

Sure, but with a few exceptions (Doctor Who), the BBC rarely releases trailers for shows that are more than a month or so away.

[Cubbiegirl]

Sure, but with a few exceptions (Doctor Who), the BBC rarely releases trailers for shows that are more than a month or so away.

No way the show will air before end of September. Anderson is doing a play till Sept 19, need a little time for proper promo. Oct/Nov sounds more realistic.

[annlaw78]

No way the show will air before end of September. Anderson is doing a play till Sept 19, need a little time for proper promo. Oct/Nov sounds more realistic.

I have a feeling that at least the American release will be closer to February 2015, when 50 Shades is released (and Hannibal will likely be back on).  Just too much of a good marketing tie-in to pass on.  Hopefully they won't wait until after 50 Shades, but I could see them waiting until the 50 Shades press tour/promotion blitz begins.  It should be huge -- Beyonce released a teaser of the teaser trailer on her Instagram a few days ago, ahead of the teaser's actual release later this week.  They're going to be flogging the heck out of that movie (I think that may be a pun???).

[annlaw78]

 

I think the attractiveness differential in that marriage was intentional. I think it fits his "profile."

Agreed.  The wife was hardly unattractive, but I think we're to assume Paul had some other, not so romantic motivations for marrying her, one of which was that she came from a stable, relatively well-off, and supportive family -- something he as an orphan lacked.  It gave him some credibility -- as Sally Ann noted, he was a real "unknown" to her (no friends, no family, no people), so marrying her, having an instant-family, having kids of his own, made him seem safer, and was a good cover for whatever messed up stuff is really going on inside him. 

 

Seeing this and another show

Broadchurch in close proximity to each other, did make me wonder if there was a mini-trend in having the better-looking husbands of relatively plain women being gross killers.  Not sure how I feel about that! 

 

 

This is the way the UK viewing audience would have seen the actress, Bronagh Waugh, who played "the wife" for most of the previous 4 years in about 360 episodes of Hollyoaks.

American audiences are so unused to seeing a woman who is not a total stick insect perfectly buffed and made-up, with hair extensions, breast implants, and Pilates arms playing even the "dowdy middle-aged housewife" roles that it can be surprising to see a relatively "normal" looking woman on our TVs!  Take, for example, Broadchurch.  For the American version, they've recast the Olivia Colman role with Anna Gunn, who hardly presents the same "everywoman" appeal as Colman.

 

That being said, wow, they're really hiding Waugh's light under a bushel with those dowdy, mumsy sweaters and nurses uniforms!

 

I thought it strange that the Belfast PD would request DNA and fingerprints from everyone who may have ever come into contact with the victims -- like those who sat on the next park bench over from one of them.  That would be quite an expense (though perhaps they would just save up the specimens and not run them until there was more evidence), and, frankly, seems a bit of a civil liberties issue -- that's a pretty good way to collect DNA and fingerprints for a database from a lot of innocent/non-involved persons!

Edited August 4, 2014 by annlaw78

[Morbs]

I don't really remember an actor who's handsomeness so heavily depends on his beard before.

I guess we just gotta assume Gillian Anderson has some sort of supernatural detective skills to take the chance of accusing "Peter" of majoring in literature and starting to choke girls in college. It seemed rather "WTF" to me; And I was surprised to see the show was over after five episodes on my Netflix. They certainly had a lot of subplots going for a show with only a 5 episode order.

[Tim McD]

The killer has a disturbing resemblance to Kevin Love.

[Cubbiegirl]

Rose Stagg (the girl who had a thing with Peter/Paul in college) told Gibson that "Peter" perhaps majored in literature. Besides, there was all those Nietzsche quotes.

I guess we just gotta assume Gillian Anderson has some sort of supernatural detective skills to take the chance of accusing "Peter" of majoring in literature and starting to choke girls in college.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Cubbiegirl

[Morbs]

I realize that but it still seems to me like a big leap to actually accuse the killer of that on the phone or meet his first victim through happenstance in the first place.

[annlaw78]

 

I realize that but it still seems to me like a big leap to actually accuse the killer of that on the phone or meet his first victim through happenstance in the first place.

While near-strangulation to the degree Rose experienced probably does not happen often, if Stella's looking for a man who has a history of rough stuff/simulated choking at some point in his past... I agree that would probably include a lot of men.  As the one victim's online profile showed, the "50 Shades" subset is not that small.  I'd have to imagine there would not be just the one dude in Belfast who fits that profile.  I'd rather the connection have been made with less happenstance -- "hey, Stella's friend has a friend who..."

Edited August 12, 2014 by annlaw78

[dubbel zout]

I like that they didn't catch Paul. They were closing in, and he knew it, so he picked up and ran. Makes me wonder if season two will be an extension of this one or a whole new case. Or a bit of both?

 

I liked the sexual politics. Everyone was kind of miffed that Stella had a one-night stand with Olson, yet the fact that Olson's partner was sleeping with Olson's wife was considered dumb, not sleazy. I also liked the scene where they were figuring out how to write the news release, and Stella didn't want "innocent" or "professional" used because they implied judgement. 

 

I was surprised the babysitter wasn't killed, though that probably would have been too close to home for Paul. Though when Katie was strutting around and trying to be all sexy, all I could think was, "Oh, girl. If you only knew who you were trying to seduce." I thought they played those scenes well—all coy glances and stuff until Paul gets up close, then you see Katie realize, "Uh-oh, this might actually happen," and you see her trying to figure out if she should let him or shut things down. It thought that was very realistic. Katie's just figuring out that she can get attention from men, but she's not exactly sure what to do with that attention.

[joelene]

Couldn't find a link but according to a poster on IMDb season 2 will start on November 9th on Irish channel RTÉ One and on BBC sometime the following week.

Edited October 25, 2014 by joelene

[ApathyMonger]

Starting the following Thursday on BBC: http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2014/10/bbc-two-sets-premiere-date-fall-season-2/

 

Last series, Netflix put all the episodes up halfway through the UK/Ireland run. I doubt they'll do that again, but who knows.

Edited October 28, 2014 by ApathyMonger

[annlaw78]

Y'all in the UK need to DISH about what happens in the premiere!  

[Nighteyes]

Not sure about the US, but The Fall is broadcasting on Bravo in Canada on November 14. They didn't specify whether it was S1 or S2, but still, does it matter all that much? New Gillian Anderson and new Jamie Dornan, or old GA and JD, it's all good.

[Lisin]

Premiere Dates are finally fully announced!

 

The Fall debuts tonight at 9PM on BBC Two in the UK, Stateside and Latin American viewers will have to wait two more months to see the psychological thriller’s return. Netflix, which is currently streaming the first season of The Fall, will premiere the next six-episode installment beginning at 12.:01 AM PT on January 16.

[John Potts]

The Fall returns for its second Season. Paul Spector is now single, having separated from his wife (and daughter), presumably for his "affair" with an underage girl. As "luck" would have it, he's already got his eye on a new potential victim, and now he's not having to operate under his wife's gaze. Stella Gibson is still hunting him but is having trouble keeping the investigation going, struggling to find the funding.

 

The trouble I'm having with the start of the new season is the same I had with the end of last season - how have they not caught him yet? Never mind dredging the river for the murder weapon, how about cross referencing the security cameras from the Shopping Centre (Mall) and see who were on the phone for the duration of the call to Stella? Even if we (generously) suppose there would be 100 men that fit that criterion, surely the fact that one of them had already been interviewed would set alarm bells ringing. I know that involves the untelegenic tedious leg work and not the "exciting" psychological or forensic breakthrough, but there's a reason police usually resort to the dull, methodical approach: it works (the police do, in fact, catch most murderers). I also thought it was unbelievable that Spector would quite so aggressively point out that he might be the killer - then again, I don't (so far as I'm aware) know any serial killers, so maybe the arrogance is justified.

Edited November 14, 2014 by John Potts

[Lisin]

It has been ten days since Paul Spector told DSI Stella Gibson that she would never catch him. As Gibson tries in vain to help Spector's surviving victim to remember the identity of her attacker, Spector is forced to deal with the loose ends that he left behind in Belfast.

 

His return to the city reveals that someone from his past has been helping police with their enquiries, forcing Spector to change his plans with terrifying consequences.

[Lisin]

Gibson realises that her mistakes have put the life of witness Rose Stagg in danger. Desperate to save Rose's life, she steps up the police investigation as serial killer Paul Spector continues to stalk Belfast's streets.

[Lisin]

As y'all know, the second season of The Fall is currently airing in the UK (and possibly other places), but won't be released on Netflix in the U.S. (and some other places) until January. So, here's what we're going to do:

• Airdates will be the date the episode airs in the U.K. (This follows PTV policy about non-U.S. shows.)
• Episode topics will follow the "flow" of the airdates in the U.K. This means even if you're streaming it later on Netflix for instance "count" as separate episodes for our purposes.
• If you go into an episode thread and you haven't seen it yet, prepare to be spoiled.
• Elements that have broadcast in the U.K. may also be mentioned in the speculation, media, etc. topics. Please spoiler tag S2 plot points in non-episode topics for the benefit of North American viewers.

Keep in mind also that discussion in the episode topics should only include elements that have aired in that episode or previous episodes. That's a general site spoiler policy. 

Our goal is to keep this forum "clean" so that everyone can find a place here. In theory people who want spoilers will be able to find them, and people who don't want to be spoiled will be protected. The Brits will have a place they can discuss the episodes right away without all the obnoxious spoiler tagging, and everyone else can join in as their broadcast window rolls around.

Please post your comments/questions/concerns below.

[Lisin]

Gibson orders extensive surveillance on Spector's family, believing they will lead them to Paul, whose whereabouts remain unknown. As the search for Rose Stagg becomes ever more desperate, Spector directs his fury at Gibson after the two narrowly avoid meeting, trespassing into her private world and delighting in taunting and provoking her.

[Knittzu]

Not until January! 

*sobs*

 

Thank you for this post, I really appreciate you clearing this stuff up.

[Morbs]

Yeah, with any other actor the train scene wouldn't have worked, but with Jamie & his beard it is believable the woman would want to just flirt instead of realize who she was talking to.

[annlaw78]

I figured it be close to the release of 50 Shades. Boo to the long wait!

[SoWindsor]

I just want him to stop being a serial killer and just have passionate sex with the women. Is that too much to ask lol!?

I wonder if he's going to go after the not-a-real blonde woman.

It seems odd he's focused on the Annie women (is that her name)? I didn't like that he was with her daughter and why wasn't that little girl scared that a strange man was in her house?

[annlaw78]

Jamie Dornan is definitely playing the best looking serial killer ever,.

Mads Mikkelsen makes a fairly dishy, very well-dressed Hannibal Lecter...

Edited November 16, 2014 by annlaw78

[Morbs]

Except when he shaves the beard!

[joelene]

I was wondering about the peeping tom, too! Catnip for serial killers, that Katie. But really, girl must have a deathwish. Okay, not really, and I know she's a teenager who might not fully realise what the fuck she's doing but she's getting on my nerves. Jamie Dornan, I mean "Paul", is hot as fuck, but come on. Had he killed her then and there I can't say I would've been very upset about it. Not like when he attacked the other women. I'm coming off like I'm saying she deserves what's (possibly) coming to her, but I really don't think that, but she is getting on my nerves playing around like that. I guess it's the blatant disregard for anyone's feeling but her own that bugs. She did make a copy of that key, though, which made me like a wee bit more. At least that's proactive.

Second episode of the season and he's already been made! I wonder if they catch him and he somehow gets out again on a technicality or something. His family shouldn't be without police guard for long.

[joelene]

She had a scene later when she met her friend at a gig and told her they'd had sex, so she's alright. For now.

[Morbs]

I think the teenager is a psychopath as well.  At first I thought it was ridiculous the way she was behaving, but then I remembered real life cases where serial killers met up with people on their wave length.  I think she will be the Robin to his Batman.

[Ravenya003]

I spent most of this episode thinking that Katie was too stupid to be believed, only for the morning paper to tell me that a 26 year old woman is marrying Charles Manson. So apparently some girls/women really ARE just that ludicrous.

 

The net is closing pretty quickly on Paul considering they've more or less identified him, so I'm interested in seeing how they're going to stretch out the case for another three episodes (and beyond?) Like most crime dramas, it runs the risk of jumping the shark if Paul starts outwitting the police at every turn. I've seen a LOT of shows go south because the writers fell in love with their villain and refused to either kill them off or bring them to justice.

 

As it is I thought it was fairly far-fetched to believe that Annie Brawley's mother hadn't a) seen the sketch of the would-be killer in the paper, and b) have some sort of reaction after speaking to its exact likeness.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Ravenya003

[joelene]

Oh, I believe the ludicrousness of Katie's behaviour, especially in this day and age. She might even think she's immortal.

I didn't even think about Annie Brawley's mother recognising Paul from the sketch, and you're absolutely right about that. I guess it could have something to do with him being so handsome and so charming, like Stella keeps pointing out, that you just ignore it? Still, you'd think those feelings would be put aside for a mother who's lost a son and nearly a daughter.

Edited November 19, 2014 by joelene

[joelene]

Holy hell that was tense! My heart is still racing. Phew. That camera angle with Stella and Jim on the right and the closet on the left that we know Paul is lurking in. Jeepers. When they moved the scene into the bathroom though I figured Paul had hightailed out of there, what with this only being the third episode and all.

I became highly suspicious of Archie's character that she wished to meet with Stella at the same time Paul broke into her room. He seemed to know she wasn't there, but how? Just figured she'd be out investigating? I laughed out loud when Stella kissed Archie to get the guy away from them and was surprised it turned into flirting and almost sex. "I can't. I'm from Croydon." Heh. Of course Stella's bisexual, seeing as she's a higher being and all.

Wow, Katie, you little psychopath. I think the poster who thought she was one might have been right. Is Paul actually grooming her now or is he just taking advantage of the situation? Not gonna lie, I was very jealous of her at the end with the webcam sex.

This might've been the best episode yet.

Edited November 24, 2014 by joelene

[Ravenya003]

I don't know whether to be amused or frustrated that both Paul and Stella are being given the complete run-around by a bratty teenage girl. Paul seems to have asserted power over her for the time being, but she's very much a wild card.

 

Had to laugh when Stella's smile at thinking Reed had returned turned into an eye-roll when she realizes it's Jim instead. And if Paul overheard that conversation (I'm assuming he snuck out when they were in the bathroom?) his own inferiority complex is probably going to be quadrupled by the stuff Jim had to say about himself.

 

Kind of disappointed that they're going to explain Spector's psyche by pinning it on a Catholic priest paedophile. It's a bit of a cliché.

 

I really hope this ends with Spector getting arrested by Stella and not taking the easy way out by committing suicide. I HATE it when that happens. I want to see him brought to justice.

[joelene]

I don't know whether to be amused or frustrated that both Paul and Stella are being given the complete run-around by a bratty teenage girl. Paul seems to have asserted power over her for the time being, but she's very much a wild card.

Kind of disappointed that they're going to explain Spector's psyche by pinning it on a Catholic priest paedophile. It's a bit of a cliché.

I don't know how much of a run-around she's giving Stella, they knew she was lying about the alibi ("What the fuck is she playing at?") and then they caught her doing the selfie break-in (what the hell was that, btw? I didn't get it). Keep tabs on her from now on and they should book Paul in 24 hours.

And I was a bit confused about whatever Jim was talking about at Stella's (someone's dad had killed someone, or something? What?) because I was busy Eep!-ing at Paul hiding in the closet. Was the pedophelia specifically linked to Paul? I missed that too. I thought it was a general "Bah I dug up another priest pedo destroying the reputation of my faith" kind of deal, but, no?