Minor spoilers contained within

The Watch pursue their leads… but is Carcer one step ahead?

What a ride. Cards on the table – this was an excellent episode in what’s turning into a superbly funny show. In terms of Pratchett we got references to the Wee Free Men, Auditors, a certain elderly barbarian, virgins and a soliloquy on how the price of boots tells you all about socio-economic status.

More than that we met the real Team Bad Guy this week and we got to see some solid character work across the Watch with Cheery in particular making me smile.

Given the developments in this episode it’s probably time to talk about Vimes. We’re four episodes in now, half-way through the run and there’s a lot going on for Vimes.

Firstly it needs saying he’s not the Vimes many people will remember from Discworld. I say that because the Vimes most people remember from the books is not the loser at the beginning of Guards! Guards! but the wizened commander from the later books in the series.

Vimes here started out washed up (if indeed he was ever the opposite of that). He was a man without hope, without ambition and, crucially, without any confidence in himself. As the four episodes have unfolded we have seen exactly what we saw in Guards! Guards! – the growth of Sam Vimes into a Captain worthy of the name. A man who is lifted up by the faith of others, by realising he can make a difference after all and by finding out there is something he can offer the world. Not least we see how Carrot’s arrival acts as a catalyst for Vimes on a number of levels – as father figure, as reprimand to how far he’s fallen and as a call to arms for a justice he once believed in.

The show has done a fantastic job of taking us on that journey with Vimes. We’ve seen him realise there’s a point to the Watch he’d all but drowned in alcohol and despair. We see him realise he might actually be someone others want to listen to, who they’ll follow. He lurches into it like a one legged penguin on a rodeo but all his movement is kind of in the right direction. I’m loving this character work by Richard Dormer who brings a scowling, confused vulnerability to the role.

I’m saddened by how people are judging this Vimes’ authenticity by the lens of where he finishes the series of books rather than by where he starts. In many ways the show’s interpretation of Vimes is more authentic than those memories people are judging him by.

I’m guessing that if you made it past episode 1 then you’re still with me now and good on you.

The editing was improved this episode but I remain concerned about Carcer’s role in the show. There’s potentially some uncomfortable stuff going on here with Carcer being a PoC while Carrot and Vimes are White. There’s a confrontation coming between them and there are definitely messages about how the downtrodden respond to the abuse of power that I hope they get right – namely that the powerless shouldn’t abide by the abuses of the powerful or seek to serve the powerful to keep themselves safe. Remember that Vimes is a servant of the state and Sybil is an aristocrat. It makes for uncomfortable reading and viewing that Carcer is the only one actually trying to address the injustices of the city and he’s both Black but also the antagonist.

I’m hoping for further brilliant subversion but Pratchett didn’t really address the injustices of society at large even if his satire was biting on those wielding power. His attacks weren’t designed to provoke reform or revolution but to render foolish the powerful in their own eyes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a valid form of criticism but here – where we see the potential contradictions in this approach (and it’s deeply aligned with medieval romantic fantasy tropes of the underdog dealing with the powerful to themselves benefit from the perks of being at the top of the pile) – well, it makes for potentially uncomfortable viewing.

This isn’t a problem yet – we’re too far from the end of the show to be overly concerned, but its niggling. We shall see. Let me be clear – it’s also a problem in the source material and not one Pratchett ever really convincingly solved on paper.

Verdict: This episode was genuinely funny, featured great character development and provided some lovely moments. The best so far.

Rating? 9 Auditors out of 10

Stewart Hotston