Ashes to Ashes - the Finale
Ashes to Ashes, and particularly its predecessor, Life on Mars, are simply some of the best TV you'll ever see. I finished the finale for Ashes to Ashes just over an hour ago, and it's still wandering around my head. It was heart-breaking, it was satisfying, it fit beautifully within the over-arching plot of both shows, and yet it's ambition was so great, and it reach so high, one would think it would fail miserably for such efforts. Yet, it succeeded. It succeeded with perhaps one of the greatest and grandest stories that can ever be told, that of good versus evil.
Sometimes the good didn't look so good sometimes, in fact, Gene Hunt by any rights should be considered a dirty cop, a man not given his opportunities to redeem himself. But, he was fortunate enough to live amongst men just like himself, and wade through their murky pasts and bloodied fists to come out the other side, thanks to the guidance of one Sam Tyler, his saviour. And in turn, Gene saved him. Gene saved so many, but doesn't save himself, but stays behind with his drink and loneliness to save others, so many countless others that we were not privy to seeing. He forgets himself, seeing himself as a sheriff ridding Manchester, then later London, of the baddies and the nasties that dare to enter his kingdom. He has forgotten why he's there, and when Alex confronts him with the truth, with his old police badge and a shallow grave, he is shattered, abandoned, and broken. Keats, his nemesis, can sense his victory is near, and forgets himself and his composure, and revels in what he thinks is Gene's destruction. But, he must be new to this game, because then the guv's down, it's only a matter of time when he rallies his forces and joins the fights once again. And Gene stands, and Keat's stumbles, and that's all Gene needs.
He's the Lion of Manchester, the Sheriff of London, and he will not stand down.
To the guv.
Sometimes the good didn't look so good sometimes, in fact, Gene Hunt by any rights should be considered a dirty cop, a man not given his opportunities to redeem himself. But, he was fortunate enough to live amongst men just like himself, and wade through their murky pasts and bloodied fists to come out the other side, thanks to the guidance of one Sam Tyler, his saviour. And in turn, Gene saved him. Gene saved so many, but doesn't save himself, but stays behind with his drink and loneliness to save others, so many countless others that we were not privy to seeing. He forgets himself, seeing himself as a sheriff ridding Manchester, then later London, of the baddies and the nasties that dare to enter his kingdom. He has forgotten why he's there, and when Alex confronts him with the truth, with his old police badge and a shallow grave, he is shattered, abandoned, and broken. Keats, his nemesis, can sense his victory is near, and forgets himself and his composure, and revels in what he thinks is Gene's destruction. But, he must be new to this game, because then the guv's down, it's only a matter of time when he rallies his forces and joins the fights once again. And Gene stands, and Keat's stumbles, and that's all Gene needs.
He's the Lion of Manchester, the Sheriff of London, and he will not stand down.
To the guv.