FACING THE LYNCH MOB (GUILT, SERIES TWO)

When series one of BBC Scotland's drama 'Guilt' aired in 2019, it met with an enthusiastic response from audiences and critics.

Most reviewers were struck by its similarity to 'Fargo'.

Others called it Hitchcockian or 'Midnight Run on the Leith".

The flagship drama on the BBC's BBC Scotland digital channel, it was a runaway hit there but also travelled well, earning rave reviews in Australia, Sweden, Germany and the US where it aired on PBS.

Neil Forsythe's four part crime drama was even optioned in India where a Hindi remake is currently being developed.

After such success, a second series was inevitable.

And so, here we are.

(SPOILERS ALERT!!)

At the end of Series One, Mark Bonnar's Max was bound for prison, his marriage was over and his professional reputation as a lawyer was trashed.

His brother Jamie Sives' Jake left Edinburgh for a new life in Chicago, having left with Ruth Bradley's Angie who turned out not to be the woman she claimed.

Series two sees Max emerge from prison, trying to rebuild his life.

He has remained in one piece after refusing to implicate the gangland figure, Roy Lynch - now played by Stuart Bowman after Bill Paterson bowed out of the series.

Lynch, nevertheless, is keeping a close eye on him on the outside.

In a preamble, we are also introduced to Lynch's daughter, Sara Vickers' Erin as she hosts a dinner with friends in her plush Edinburgh home with her  unreliable, addict husband, Robin Laing's Adrian.

Later Adrian returns home after going out on a bender, returning with a bag full of money which he insists is the answer to all their problems.

However the owner of the bag, Paul Tinto's Joe turns up and a struggle breaks out in the cellar, with Adrian being shot and then the intruder after Erin grabs the gun.

Not knowing what to do, she calls her estranged dad who agrees to get rid of the body and the cash before anyone starts asking questions.

On his release, Max turns up at the Leith offices of Emun Elliott's private detective Kenny Burns offering to go into business with him.

He persuades Kenny that it isn't really a good idea to call his business 'Burns Investigations'.

However Kenny, a recovering alcoholic, only agrees to Max providing legal counsel for his clients on matters like divorce and probate, if he accepts that he is the junior partner.

Roy, however, pops up asking Max to work his magic laundering the money he recovered from his daughter's home - a task he reluctantly takes on.

However it soon becomes clear that Max has other fish to fry, as we discover when he sits on a park bench beside Sandy McDade's Jackie after a nighttime jog.

A mousey looking woman in a beret with a West Highland terrier, she tells Max a story about how the breed came to Scotland originally from the Spanish Armada via the Hebrides and was kept a secret for centuries.

Jackie isn't merely imparting a shaggy dog story, though and we realise she also has skin in Max's game.

As ever, the execution of Max's scheming is not plain sailing and his machinations are further complicated by Kenny's relationship with another Alcoholics Anonymous attendee, Rochelle Neil's Yvonne.

Max also comes across Erin who shares his loathing of her father.

She is not too thrilled with her mother, Phyllis Logan's Maggie either, who lives in an assisted living apartment.

Noting Roy and Maggie appear closer than ever, Max probes her parents' particular interest in a new property development in Leith.

However a former criminal associate turned Pastor, Ian Pirie's Sandy is standing in the way of the development.

When Max's 'Papillon' obsessed, scary cellmate, Greg McHugh's Teddy turns up asking him and Kenny to look into his brother Joe's death, it adds a further level of complexity.

Can Max avoid getting the short end of the stick once more and continue to talk his way out of tough spots?

Having wowed critics and audiences with his 'Fargo'-esque tale in Series One, Forsyth and director Patrick Harkins continue to set their sights high with a complex tale of skulduggery.

There are echoes of 'Chinatown' as well as 'Fargo'.

However in setting the bar high with an ambitious plot, Forsyth sometimes risks confusing his audience and tripping the plot up.

Viewers in later episodes may find themselves scratching their heads and wondering if they have missed a key plot development as the narrative threads become a little frayed.

Nevertheless, 'Guilt' remains an enjoyable watch - thanks to Bonnar's charismatic performance as Max.

Bonnar enjoys the roguish, risk taking element of Max's character and you often find yourself trying to second guess his motives.

In the absence of Sives, Elliott steps up as Kenny - cutting a hugely sympathetic figure as a man who just wants to do the right thing and be lucky in life and love.

Bowman bravely takes on the challenge of stepping into Paterson's shoes and turns in a decent performance as Roy Lynch - even if he is slightly overshadowed by Logan's assured performance as Maggie.

Vickers, McDade, Neil and Laing are good value in the supporting roles, as is Henry Pettigrew as a corrupt cop working for Lynch, Stevie Malone.

McHugh is also excellent as Teddy, infusing him with an air of psychotic menace.

Pirie captures the imagination too as the mysterious Sandy, hinting that he harbours a dark secret or two.

As with series one, 'Guilt' is propelled along by a smart soundtrack that includes songs by The Fall, The Skids, Leonard Cohen and Working Mens Club.

It is tidily directed by Harkins who captures Auld Reekie in winter in all its dark, damp, cold glory.

While there are many things to praise, 'Guilt' nevertheless doesn't quite feel the complete sum of its parts.

Full of narrative ambition, it occasionally overplays its hand.

But that ambition, combined with its droll Scottish humour, still sets it apart from the competition.

And it is Bonnar, in particular, who makes it a rewarding watch.

(Series Two of 'Guilt' was broadcast on BBC2 from October 14-November 4, 2021)

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