Next of Kin, final episode, review: this implausible drama with delusions of grandeur would have worked better as a silly thriller
After six hours of Anglo-Pakistani family drama and terrorist shenanigans, Next of Kin (ITV) finally concluded. Loose ends were tied, attacks were foiled. Those expecting a happy ending were disappointed. Not all the bad guys got their comeuppance.
Dr Mona Harcourt (Archie Panjabi) was freed from the house where she'd been tending to a terrorist's wounds. She'd been invited by her nephew Danny (Viveik Kalra), who'd been caught up in plotting an attack. He wasn't to know his aunt came with the British intelligence services at her shoulder. He and his co-conspirators were under surveillance by DCI Vivien Barnes (Claire Skinner) and lots of shouty men with guns. They wanted Danny alive, but despite his change of heart on his way to wreak havoc, his card was marked.
Meanwhile, Mona's besuited husband Guy (Jack Davenport) tried to derail a nuclear power deal being done by the shady Mr Khalid (Nasser Memarzia). Set against the vested interests of the establishment, he failed. Despite Davenport's manful blustering, his character never really had enough to do, and was only about a hundredth as interesting as Mona.
This was an odd, inconsistent programme, in the end. There was plenty to enjoy, especially Punjabi's performance in the lead. Mona remained psychologically plausible, even in the grip of some of the script's more outlandish twists. As a silly thriller, in fact, Next of Kin would have worked fine. It rattled along, ticked its boxes, and delivered enough proper action scenes that we didn't mind the complete unreality of the depiction of the security services, the occasional burst of dodgy music, or the odd lapse into cliché.
But the series set its sights higher. It wanted us to believe in the slow collapse of this family under the weight of suspicion and death. The effect of someone's radicalisation on their close family is a rich subject, rarely seen on our screens. Despite being initially well drawn, however, the characters didn't go anywhere. In place of personal development, events were piled on top of each other. Even Mona seemed more or less the same at the end as she had in the first episode. It was hard to believe, given what she'd endured.
