I love a murder mystery as you may have noticed, so when another cosy crime drama was advertised by the BBC with Timothy Spall, I couldn't help but be intrigued.
I was hooked from the first episode and on top of that was overly pleased at the fact this was a Welsh based cosy crime drama as it just fit a bit nicer. All the characters were tightknit as all were from quite a small community, and the outsider John Chapel who everyone loved but also didn't include, soon wormed his way into their hearts.
This was the most gripping yet adorable show I've seen in a while. Its got Father Brown meet Gavin & Stacey vibes. I'm not just saying that as its got two members of Gavin & Stacey cast and because it's Welsh, it's due to the comradery of the characters, the family even when you arent family.
Death Valley follows Janie Mallowan as she accidentally becomes partners with social recluse and her hero, retired actor John Chapel. Janie and her best friend obsessed over Chapel's detective show Caesar and when she was put on a murder case which brought her closer to her hero she grabbed the bull by both horns.
Together Janie and John form an unlikely duo, both having suffered a loss and both helping each other through it. Through the next six episodes they solve murders and we see them start to bond and move on from their grief in such a lovely way.
My favourite episode was the murder mystery one where they are trapped in a big house during a murder mystery event. Of course it was chaos and the plot was mad but that's what I loved about it. It's a bit of fun and Timothy Spall bouncing off Gwyneth Keyworth is so worth the watch, these are the duo we didn't know we needed.
Death Valley is light hearted but also quite morbid, this is what makes it funny. When Janie is interviewing suspects or family members she says things she shouldn't or is quite rude. We see her backtrack and then take it in her stride. Jamie says she reminds him of me, the cheek of it! But Janie gets results and it's nice to see its from John's tutoring both in and out of his character. When assessing the corpse she often has inappropriate chats with the coroner and it's amusing as they take it in their stride as if dead bodies are an every day thing.
John on the other hand is both vain and endearing. He is massively insecure since retiring from acting due to his wife's death, angry at himself, but also full of ego with being known for such a successful show. We see him evolve from bad mannered recluse to a member of the community and that's Janie's influence. I'm hoping for a series 2 as honestly I need to see more especially after the bombshell it left on.
There is also more focus on Janie's grief in this series so I'm hoping series 2 will focus on John's wife and how he uses his happier memories to keep going. We got closure explicitly for Janie, but only a small nod to him moving on. It was sad her grief. She'd kept her best friend's car following her suicide and was doing her best to keep it going but in the end had to give it up. What with them having to solve a murder connected to her at the end of the series, I half expected them to turn around and say her bestie was murdered but alas that didn't come. The twist was a surprise though but I wont spoil it.
I'm giving Death Valley an 8/10. I want more. I want to see how Janie continues now she's been promoted and her dynamic with John has changed. I want to see her branch out, maybe get a romantic interest of her own, see how she navigates her hectic life and honours her friend. She's got a numbness in her right now due to closure, I want to see how she fills the gap.
Leave a comment on my socials if you have any thoughts about this one!
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