Jenny has an unwelcome caller after someone tries to burgle Paternoster Row…

Lisa McMullin kicks off this latest box set for the Steven Moffat era trio of investigators, with a story that deftly mixes drama and comedy, emotion and action. We learn considerably more about Jenny’s background along the way – the title is deliberately ambiguous, depending on how you parse the second word – and it seems as if this has the potential to drive a wedge between her and the love of her life. Particularly when said love is kidnapped and treated in a way that reinforces her beliefs about humanity’s lack of moral fibre.

Oh, and Strax gets a pet.

The juxtaposition of these, and the swift move from one mode to another without it feeling – as it sometimes can – that there’s been a sharp 180 in storytelling, is perhaps best demonstrated by two scenes. The first sees Strax convinced that he’s found a dog (it’s not – it’s… well, it’s not a dog, let’s just say), and the next where Vastra quite rightly lambasts the human love of regarding something different as wrong. (There’s also a lovely irony that we realise later about that scene!)

Ken Bentley handles these changes of tempo and tone with precision, aided by sharp performances from Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart and Dan Starkey, as well as guest stars Issy Van Randwyck, Jack Shalloo, Wanda Opalinska and Ignatius Anthony. Joe Kraemer’s score has some hauntingly familiar elements at times, and his and Josh Araekelian’s sound design blends well with it.

Verdict: A very strong opener – welcome back! 9/10

Paul Simpson

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