Sidekick
promotion has always proved somewhat of a stickler for long-running detective
shows. There’s some reshuffling of authority, which can
often produce manufactured drama. In Morse the transition was rocky, as an ailing Morse had so little confidence in his
sergeant’s abilities that he shadowed him incognito, much to
Lewis’s dismay.
This
time around, Superintendent Innocent has recruited a retired Robbie Lewis as back-up for
newly promoted D.I. Hathaway. Hathaway is
not too hip on this idea, and does his usual Brooding number. Unsurprisingly,
we only get half a glimpse of his motivations, something involving doubts and
faith and insecurity, probably, and also some trip to a church in Spain, and
now he’s in a bad mood and nobody knows why, even him. Is this just me? It’s
what makes the character interesting, but also frustrating—he is just sort of a
vague intelligence without reality. Morse, on the other hand, was constantly
displaying tangible flaws, and his existential ponderings had real weight because of it.