My Review of New Blood's 1x06: "Case 3, Part 1"

Written by Anthony Horowitz & Daniel Fajemisin & Marlon Smith
Directed by Bill Eagles

Rash: "So are you gonna thank me? I was there for you, I saved you."
Stefan: "Okay, thanks. Yeah I would've got out anyway. I had a move."

Onto the third case of the series and this one already is somewhat better than the previous one as the exploration into a charity and a serial fraudster named Daniel Lorca bring both Stefan and Rash back into each other's orbit once again.

In fact the episode opened with the two of them struggling to escape from a crashed car and then went back five days prior to when Lorca's actions caused the suicides of two elderly people. I liked Eleanor's discussion on the ramifications of being scammed out of serious money and it was a moment that certainly helped to humanise her character a lot more.

I also liked that Lorca was someone unseen and unknown throughout the episode as Stefan and Rash joined up once again to try and smoke him out. I also liked the charity plot as well, especially when we met organiser Lisa Douglas (Indira Varma on good form here) and of course, her accountant, Michael.

I'll give the show some props for exploring Michael's home life (giving him a husband for example) but I also knew that the character was instant cannon fodder. However I didn't expect that his death was going to end up having a negative effect on Leila, who by the end of this episode was at risk from losing her job.

I'm not sure where the second part/series finale is going to go with this but out of the three cases so far, it's certainly a little more compelling than before. I also liked the little insights we had to both Leila and Eleanor in this one too and that rapport with Stefan and Rash keeps getting better and better.

- Three writers for this last case. That surprised me a little.
- Lisa is cooking up some scheming with an African diplomat named David Kumalah.
- Too bad Stefan and Rash's scene at the massage parlour nearly ended up in the former nearly losing his manhood. Plus side, they're still moving in together.

Definitely the strongest episode so far. I liked the tension, the humour, the fact that both Eleanor and Leila had those choice character moments as well. I just hope that the second part resolves this one well though.

Rating: 7 out of 10