So instead of lots of talk about being on the edge of life and death, as well as time travel and psychological profiling, we have Alex settling down into her role and ‘getting on’ with her new position with Gene and co. In polar opposite, we also get introduced to the other side of the development and regeneration argument as Alex is wined and dined by an ex-wide-boy-come-business man whose ‘greed is good’ philosophy has bought him a way out of the East End and a life of penthouses and DeLorean cars. So with the two opposing sides, all set to a backdrop of the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Di, we have a great episode involving dynamite, bomb plots and even suicide bombers. What makes this a great episode is not only the well developed and quite poignant storyline, but also some of the points Alex makes, which are in part responsible for the sad and quite unexpected ending However there is a lighter side to the whole proceedings. From the street party at the end where Gene tries ‘feeling up some posh totty’ to his continual referral to Alex by her new nickname of ‘Bolly Knickers’, to the fact that it is a requirement of the Met to stamp the bum of any new recruits to show that they are property of the police service, Gene brings the ritual fun and sexist tendencies to it all. He even goes against convention by not driving through a huge pile of cardboard boxes for fear of scratching his Audi. Added to all this we also get a cameo of a DeLorean car (winged doors and all), and a great club filled with 80s clichés of harlequins, Boy George look-a-likes and pom-pom skirted clubbers. Finally we also get Chris wearing eye make-up and a flounce shirt with velvet cuffs as he tries to impress Shazza with his new found love of the entire New Romantics movement. For a second episode the show has established itself and while some plot threads, themes and ideas are ported across from the last series, Ashes is really its own show with a complete different dynamic, tone and writing style. And after the very over the top opening last episode, if this week’s instalment is anything to go by it looks like things are going to get a lot more serious from now on.
