Are Adam Dalgliesh’s detective days coming to an end?
Dalgliesh season 2 opened on an uncertain note for Bertie Carvel’s lead detective.
Alongside his day job, he has returned to writing poetry following a hiatus due to the death of his wife and his latest body of published work is receiving lots of positive attention.
During a meeting with his agent Blanche, she reveals that he’s sold 18,000 copies in the US, with a tour of North America beckoning.
“I have a job, Blanche,” he says, acknowledging his responsibilities as a detective.
“No, you have two jobs, and this one’s getting bigger and wants attention,” she says before referencing his previous comments about “stopping the policing”.
He tells her it’s a “trick he plays on himself sometimes”, to tell himself he can stop so that he can keep going.
“Why do you need to keep going?” she asks.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” he responds.
Dalgliesh agrees to consider the tour, but he only has a few weeks to decide. In the meantime, he’s focused on investigating the murder of Dr Lorrimer, a senior forensic biologist.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press about his character’s future, Carvel said: “I don’t think he knows [what he wants]. A big point of personal connection for me with the first series was grief because I recently lost my mother, and I was able to work through that to some extent.
“But one of the things that struck me in the aftermath, in the initial year of grief was a big questioning of what am I doing? And what’s it all for? And so when in the first episode Blanche asks him, ‘Why don’t you give up your day job and stop looking at dead people and come and be Dylan Thomas’, I think inside a voice goes, ‘Why not? Why wouldn’t I do that?'”
“Last time I was clear that that [character] arc was about grief, but this time I thought, well maybe it’s about this question of… what am I doing as a policeman? Why do I spend all this time looking at dead bodies?”
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Carvel continued: “Usually something incredibly depressing is happening [in his day-to-day], he’s having to look very acutely at pain and death and dysfunction. And some part of him is massively excited by that and energised, and some part of him is hugely depressed by it. And he’s trying to wrestle those two things together.”
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Carvel also highlighted the role of DS Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer) and the newest member of the team, DS Daniel Tarrant (Alistair Brammer) in relation to that questioning of his future.
“He sees potential in Kate and he’s got this new guy on the team, and so there’s an element of stepping back and watching how other people do things, and trying to bring them on and bring them forward and give away his power,” he explained.
But “the bloodhound in him [can’t] help being pulled back in, and getting excited by or angry and righteous about pursuing the truth”, he said.
A third season of the drama was confirmed before season 2 arrived on our screens, which means the lead detective isn’t going anywhere just yet. But the future beyond that is uncertain.
“There’s a potential ending where he gives it all up,” added Carvel.
Dalgliesh season 2 episode 2 airs on Friday 28th April at 9pm on Channel 5.
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