Save Me (TV Series) Episode #1.6 (2018) User Reviews

Excellent conclusion that delivery a hammer blow ending.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 2 November 2018]

I think it's fair to say that the series was a little slow to start, once part four hit, it got better and better, with this being the best of the lot. This was a truly harrowing watch, hard to believe such things go on, but they do.

Many a series is built up, with the expectation of a 'big' finale, many fail, but that isn't the case with Save me, this episode was incredibly powerful, harrowing, emotional to the point of having me in tears.

It has an ending, but it's left in such a way, that I'm sure, and hope there'll be a second series.

I've talked a lot about how amazing Lennie James has been, and once again he doesn't disappoint, he's fabulous. Suranne Jones finally gets a chance to prove how good she is, Alex Arnold (Luke,) was also great, he so often plays a nice guy, he showed he's capable of playing the bad guy too.

More please Lennie. 9/10

Season One Review

[southdavid · 7/10 · 18 May 2021]

Another show that I came to due to the Guardian's top TV shows of 2020 list, I actually previously decided to let "Save Me" go, not because of the cast or any quality perceptions, rather that I just wasn't in the mood for another show about missing children. Anyway, the article inspired me to dive in and what I found was a grim but fantastically made series and I'm eager to move on to the second run.

Nelly (Lennie James) learns that his estranged daughter has gone missing and that someone has been posing as him in communication with her for the last few months. Though he hasn't seen his daughter in decades, he begins an investigation into what happened to her and using various degrees of violence, street smarts and connections is able to make more progress than the police do. His hunt sees him risk his friendships, his freedom and his life in order to try and save a child he doesn't know.

I should say that the Guardian article was praising the second season of the show, rather than this first one, but I felt it only sensible to start at the beginning. James is very much the creative force behind the show and serves as the creator, writer and the lead performer. He is in virtually every scene of this first run and the story is relentlessly focused on his search for Jody. There is a wide ranging group of quality supporting actors though, including Suranne Jones, as his ex-partner and Jody's mother, Stephen Graham as Melon, Nelly's close friend who is revealed to have unsavoury connections that progress the hunt and Susan Lynch as Stace, the landlady who is a confident and occasional employer of Nelly. The show very quickly and very cleverly paints a backstory for the majority of it's characters, revolving around this relatively grim London pub and the diverse working class people for whom it is their local.

Performances are great, the story kept me involved as did the twists along the way. The are, unquestionably, grim moments though, as the story dips into child abuse and rape storylines as the series runs on. There are certainly some places for the story to go, and aspects that aren't fully explore, such as the criminal enterprises of Claire's new husband, played by Barry Ward. I'll be heading straight into the second season to find out more.