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Fortitude Episode 4 begins by still treading water which it’s done for the majority of its existence so far, with DCI Morton (Stanley Tucci) going for a nosey around Charlie’s abode, not realising there’s a houseguest already inside – that weird chap who was handed a gun by Dan Anderssen (Richard Dormer) in the second episode. Or maybe it was the first. It was a double-length premiere and was overhyped and dull, anyway. Either way, Morton nabs some research from Charlie’s house which is linked to that Pettigrew man who was eaten by a polar bear.
Dan’s then called to investigate shots being fired by an unknown person, only to find it’s Henry with a rifle, shooting up some puffins at the local pet shop. Is it Puffins Pets? Sadly not, but back at Henry’s home, the dying man continues to piss and moan about how he’s nearly dead, with Dan telling him, “Stop behaving like a mad old bastard.”
Meanwhile, Dan discovers Ciaran Donnelly (Jonjo O’Neill) having been tied up by Ronnie, Liam flinches about unconvincingly inside his hyperbaric chamber, his mother, Jules, comes down to Frank at work and berates him, right in front of Dan, for not checking in on Liam from time to time, while Max (Michael Obiora) and the rifle guy want the paperwork back which Morton took from Charlie’s house. And then we wonder if the game is up for Henry, as Morton pays him an uninvited visit and reminds him of his threatening phone call from the bar in episode 2, where he left a message saying that the governor is responsible because her sheriff killed both Pettigrew and Charlie; ultimately offering the drunk, dying man protection if he spills the beans, but Henry denies making the call…
At this point, I ask myself – why am I still watching Fortitude? The dialogue is appalling – example in the cafe, after Trish leaves following her chat with Hildur, as Morton comes up to them both:
- Morton: “You’re good friends, huh?”
Hildur: “Yes, since she married Charlie.”
Morton: “How is she doing?”
Hildur: “Not good. Hardly surprising.”
Morton: “She moved out of your house?”
Hildur: “Yes.”
Morton: “Hardly surprising.”
WOWEE!!!! Morton explains that Trish most likely thinks Hildur had Charlie killed so as not to knacker her glacier hotel project. But would anyone really go to that much trouble?
Meanwhile, rifle-nut-job-man steals the scan paperwork back from Morton’s room while cleaner Elena is otherwise engaged, and Hildur’s cop husband, Eric, visits Jules, joking how she has to run everything past him, then goes to use the toilet, accidentally smashes a perfume bottle and somehow that leads to him opening the bin, where he discovered a blood-stained shirt… WTF?!
This is so badly scripted, it’s criminal! Each scene just sets up an improbable event without any real connection.
Elsewhere, Dan and Frank go searching for Ronnie on his boat, but only find the rabbit that he and his son used to keep, and little else; Natalie is looking into the mammoth’s tooth, with Jason moaning about it being commandeered for their use; Trish barges into Hildur’s office, stating she knows she deleted Charle’s message about re-writing the report to make it rather less favourable to her hotel project and Hildur counters this by saying Trish should go see the doctor.
As the episode draws to a close, Ronnie comes back and saws off a piece from the diseased carcass, warning his daughter how the cops will want to split them apart, the t-shirt at Frank’s house turned out to contain human blood, causing Dan to go crazy ape bonkers, tracking Frank down to Elena’s flat and beating seven shades of shit out of him.
And the most interesting thing about Fortitude Episode 4? Snow glides down slowly in every scene…
Why am I even bothering to continue watching this…
For the initial double episode, I gave them 5/10 overall, then with no progression to speak of, I dropped it a point to 4/10 for ep.2, and like a crap kidnapper, I’m going to ransom this show one point each week, until either it drops to zero or it seriously ups its game! So, down to 3, we go.
Fortitude is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, and the next episode is on Sky Atlantic on Thursday at 9pm.
Overall Score: 3/10
Director: Richard Laxton
Producer: Matthew Bird
Screenplay: Stephen Brady
Cast:
Dan Anderssen: Richard Dormer
DCI Morton: Stanley Tucci
Henry Tyson: Michael Gambon
Governor Hildur Odegard: Sofie Gråbøl
Frank Sutter: Nicholas Pinnock
Jules Sutter: Jessica Raine
Elena Ledesma: Verónica Echegui
Jason Donnelly: Aaron McCusker
Ronnie Morgan: Johnny Harris
Natalie Yelburton: Sienna Guillory
Vincent Rattrey: Luke Treadaway
Markus Huseklepp: Darren Boyd
Shirley Allerdyce: Jessica Gunning
Eric Odegard: Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
Liam Sutter: Darwin Brokenbro
PC Ingrid: Mia Jexen
Trish Stoddart: Chipo Chung
Petra: Alexandra Moen
Max Cordero: Michael Obiora
Ciaran Donnelly: Jonjo O’Neill
Carrie Morgan: Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips
Hanna Donnelly: Lara Decaro
Doctor Allerdyce: Phoebe Nicholls
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.