After the cranked up pace of Episode 2, someone at the BBC must have told the writer Peter Moffat that this is a six part series and not a four parter. The reason is that this was a poorly written episode full of clichés and plot holes.
In 1996 Michael Antwi is killed by a racist cell mate in police custody. Brightman orders a cover up. Maya is investigating the true facts and ropes in a journalist friend Julia who works for a tabloid newspaper.
Julia also meets Nick at a dinner party but becomes sceptical of his recollection about his parents as a four year old, it is just too detailed for a small child.
In the present day Maya has become the new head of the DPP. Which should cause concerns for Brightman and the rest of the police. A long term and current undercover investigation on someone who is now a senior and establishment public figure, you expect that in the Soviet Union of the past not in Britain in the present.
Abigail Strickland who was also undercover and became a crack addict contacts Maya to tell her about Michael's death at Hackney police station and agrees to meet her. Abigail also sees Nick and tells him to tell Maya the truth about himself. They are also both spotted by Julia. Nick finds out that Abigail is the witness and informs his handler.
I wonder if Maya has ever read any of Nick's crime fiction? Because all he seems to be doing is running or swimming. So it was a nice jolt that that Julia saw through his cover story.
Then again it was also convenient that in the present day Julia also drops off her child at the University on the same day Nick drops his daughter off and gets to see Abigail embrace Nick so publicly.
Nick being so many years undercover has also lost is instincts as a policeman. He tells his handler about Abigail being a witness and that she is about to meet Maya. The result, in 45 minutes the bad policemen somehow locate her in a shopping mall, abduct her and give her an overdose and dump her without anyone noticing. Nick handler coldly tells him what did he expect when Nick finds out about her death. No one apart from Nick seems to care that they murdered a former police officer, who incidentally looked rather nice given she spent two decades as a crack addict.
However thickety thick Nick perseveres and tells his handler he will spill the beans to Maya. Talk about digging a hole for yourself given the handler just told him, we killed the last person who was going to give us all up.
A sub par episode that would past muster in a soap opera but not on a prestige Sunday night drama slot. Hope it is better next week.