Vera (TV Series) A Certain Samaritan (2012) User Reviews

It's a brilliant mystery.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 29 February 2020]

A man is mortally wounded, and manages to end in Portsmouth the next day, a girl passing by him on a bus witnesses him brawling with another man.

It's a terrific episode, with some truly rich content. We have the taboo subject of drugs, we have more back story and content for Vera than ever before, and we have snippets of humour. There is one particularly moving scene, which gives us an insight of what a truly good character Vera is.

The start is terrific, and so visual, we have the injured man, and the hives on fire, the cinematography is outstanding.

I loved the character played by Judy Parfitt, she had some terrific scenes with Blethyn, Phyllis Logan was a real class act here.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. 9/10

Complex mystery

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 3 May 2014]

Vera faces some personal issues as well as a murder mystery in "Vera: A Certain Samaritan," from season 2 of the excellent series.

Vera (Brenda Blethyn) is called in on the murder of a young man, Niall Coulter. Niall fell or was pushed off of a bridge, but landed on a truck that was traveling to Portsmouth.

Niall was still living with his mother Shirley (Phyllis Logan), and she claims that Niall was a good boy, living with her so that he could save money to move out. His girlfriend says that Niall was moving in with her. Shirley seems to hate her, so there's a conflict there. Vera is certain that Shirley isn't telling her everything.

Then Vera meets a terminally ill gay man who says that Niall was moving in with him and staying with him until he died. The man had made what appears to be a financial arrangement with Niall, leaving him his house.

When a drug dealer beats up Shirley, the plot really thickens. What unfolds is a ghastly story of addiction and murder.

In the midst of this, Vera meets her father's girlfriend Maggie for the first time and has to face a few demons herself.

Never an upbeat show, this episode was particularly poignant, thanks in part to Blethyn's performance and that of Sean Campion as the dying Guthrie. The wonderful Judy Parfitt plays Maggie, a small but lively role. Handsome David Leon is on hand as Vera's partner David, who encourages her to meet Maggie.

Blethyn gives this series a special gravitas with her characterization of sad woman, dedicated to her work, dealing with many ghosts.

Tough

[hazangel-89910 · 8/10 · 15 January 2024]

Wow Vera is like a dog with a bone. Thank goodness she has Joe to balance out the team. She only seems to show sympathy when she wants. It was obvious that the deceased man's mother was terribly hurt but Vera did not seem to care. Joe is such a sweet kind soul. Bless him for having the patience of a saint.

Vera does come off as very selfish when it comes to Joe. She does not take time to learn his children's names, their likes/dislikes etc. She expects him to be at her beck and call. It's strange. His respect for her just allows him to put up with it. No doubt he will eventually get sick of it.

Anyways this was an interesting episode.

Exquisite music soundtrack and photography

[epacrisimpressa · 10/10 · 3 September 2017]

Am I the only one who notices how beautifully this show is put together? The photography of the natural landscape is one of the best things about it for me. The incidental music in this episode was also beautifully done, gentle, sad, poignant - exactly right. Throw in marvellous cameo roles by Sean Campion and Judy Parfitt and I think this is superlative television (though very grim of course).

I think THIS was meant to be the final episode of "Vera"'s season 2

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 24 July 2013]

Vera and her team investigate the murder of a young man who was stabbed multiple times in their territory, then thrown off a bridge, before finally expiring on the top of a truck heading for Portsmouth. The victim appears to have been a heroin addict, though his mother denies it.

This episode is mostly notable for the peculiar circumstances of the man's death, the slightly larger-than-usual doses of humor (it's still far from a barrel of laughs, mind you), and some crucial discoveries that Vera makes about her own family past - and present. The identity of the murderer makes a lot of sense. **1/2 out of 4.