Crack in the Mirror

With Peter Noonan safely inside for murder, the neighbours start circling. Danny is offered the chance to take Noonan's territory, and the offer comes with a condition he cannot pretend to misunderstand: the new arrangement includes crack and heroin moving through his turf. Refusing has its own price, and everyone in the room knows it.

The business side of the episode is cold and matter of fact, which is exactly right. Danny has spent years deciding where his line sits. And this is the story about him being asked to move it. The men making the offer are not interested in his conscience; they are interested in his geography. Noonan's ground is valuable, and they have decided Danny is the one to hold it for them.

Meanwhile Frank is searching for a missing youngster, and that search gives the hour its heart. A missing kid cuts straight through the gangland talk. Frank works it like a parish matter, asking the questions the police are too busy to ask, and it is the closest the episode comes to showing what he is actually for.

Rosy Campbell and her people work the investigation around both threads, with DCS Graham, DS Fielding, DI Fairweather and DC Lambton all putting in their usual appearances, while Carol keeps the domestic side steady and Jonjo O'Brady and Polish Joe hover.

Murray Smith wrote it, Richard Standeven directed. Leslie Grantham's Danny and Don Henderson's Frank carry the week, with Kitty Aldridge, Barbara Wilshere, Leon Herbert, Peter Gowen, Frederick Warder, Nigel Harrison, James Saxon and Thomas Craig filling out the cast list.

The two halves do not quite meet, which feels like a missed chance rather than a flaw. Still, the image in the title holds up: Danny looks in the mirror and sees a man he is still deciding whether to recognise.