{"id":6029,"date":"2021-10-20T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T21:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1394852"},"modified":"2021-10-20T23:23:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T21:23:14","slug":"shetland-series-6-episode-1-review-bbc-drama-has-vigil-style-twist-in-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/shetland-series-6-episode-1-review-bbc-drama-has-vigil-style-twist-in-season-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Shetland series 6, episode 1 review: BBC drama has Vigil-style twist in season opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Flora Carr\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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<\/div> 3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

*Warning: spoilers for Shetland series six episode one*<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long wait for the sixth season of BBC One crime drama Shetland<\/a>, but on Wednesday night the show finally returned \u2013\u00a0with a nail-biting final scene that will feel rather familiar for viewers of another, more recent BBC drama: submarine thriller Vigil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last season, the series writers really put poor DI Jimmy Perez through the wringer (the woman he fancied turned out to be married \u2013 oh, and running a sex trafficking ring). But for longtime fans of Shetland, it won\u2019t be a surprise to learn that season six doesn\u2019t let up on Jimmy either.<\/p>\n

The episode begins with Jimmy (Douglas Henshall) attending his mother\u2019s clifftop funeral, before he\u2019s called in to a high-profile murder: the shooting of a renowned local lawyer, Alex Galbraith (Jim Sturgeon), whose teenage daughter was on the phone to him at the time of his death.<\/p>\n

Throughout the episode, Jimmy\u2019s suppressed grief and his anxieties over his father\u2019s apparent dementia are threaded through his interactions with suspects and colleagues alike. Still dressed in his funeral suit, his voice trembles during a briefing meeting, before he advises the victim\u2019s bereaved wife and daughter to \u201ctake time\u201d to grieve \u2013 which, of course, is exactly what he should be doing, too.<\/p>\n

\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Shetland season 6<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Unfortunately, the gloominess that permeates much of this opening episode is sometimes (unnecessarily) also conveyed by literally gloomy shots, meaning you might finding yourself squinting during some of the key scenes.<\/p>\n

In one scene, Jimmy even points out that his elderly dad has forgotten to turn the light on \u2013 before they both just sit there, in the dark.<\/p>\n