I’m a huge Luther fan and was hoping that the new season would be the highlight of the beeb’s xmas/ny schedule. Alas, the writing was not as tight as the previous seasons. This meant that that the storyline, which started brilliantly in episode 1, became a bit mixed and muddled before finally finishing a little clumsily at the end of episode 4. Acting from Idris Elba, and Dermot Crowley as Schenk was on point and Vivien Lake was brilliant, yet woefully under used in her role as a psycho version of Lady Macbeth. I was honestly expecting her to provide the “twist” at the end by outfoxing Luther but I was left unsatisfied as her character was arrested and processed in a very normal way. Also, hate to say it but I was also disappointed with the return of Ruth Wilson as Alice. I can’t quite put my finger on whether it was the writing or the actress but the character seemed to have lost her ability to be deranged and lovable at the same time. Overall I would still give it 3 out 5 stars but it’s the weakest season by far in my opinion. [Oh and note to the director - I have never seen the streets of London so deserted of cars and people - made it all a little unbelievable!!]