Beyond Good and Evil (2)

Hathaway and Maddox keep digging into the murder of Travis, and every thread leads back to the case that started it all: Lewis's first investigation as a Detective Inspector. The trail is tangled with lies, several suspects caught in contradictions that point towards the same conclusion, and an unexpected death finally gives the investigation the break it needs. The solution, when it arrives, closes the circle on the reopened appeal.

While the case resolves itself, Lewis watches from an uncomfortable distance. The scrutiny has left him isolated, his reputation hanging on evidence he can no longer control, and the episode is honest about the cost. The two detectives working the case know they are not just solving a murder; they are settling the account of a colleague's career. The pressure does not lift until the last piece lands.

But the unexpected death that unlocks the case lands with real force, an ending that reorders everything the detectives thought they knew. Hathaway and Maddox carry the investigation, but the episode keeps returning to Lewis alone in the middle of it, a man waiting to hear whether his life's work still counts.

Colin Dexter and Noel Farragher wrote it, and David Drury directed. Angela Griffin plays DS Lizzie Maddox, Joe Dixon is Tony Maddox, Alec Newman plays Graham Lawrie, Richie Campbell takes Douglas Wilkins, Patrick Walshe McBride plays Luke Burgess, Robin Weaver is Pamela Carson, Clare Holman plays Dr Hobson and Rebecca Front appears as Ch Supt Innocent. Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox anchor the story.

The resolution has the satisfaction of a properly paid debt, the old case vindicated through the new one. But the episode is careful not to let Lewis off easily. Reputations take years to build and moments to shake, and the show leaves the damage visible. Justice is done. Trust, however, is a slower thing to rebuild.