‘Luther’ Series 5 Episode 2 Review: The 8 Burning Questions We Now Have

We’d only had 24 hours to recover from the gruesome debut of ‘Luther’ series five (which left us all convinced we will never ride the nightbus again) but the drama continued apace on Wednesday night.

Following the apparent suicide of ‘serial killer’ James Hauser, his psychologist Dr Vivian Lake came under increasing suspicion from Luther and Halliday, as they began to believe there was more behind the recent spate of murders carried out by the masked assailant. 

A visit to Dr Lake’s husband, surgeon Jeremy Lake, left them more convinced than ever that something was not right, as – unbeknown to them – he was struggling to contain his murderous urges. 

Elsewhere, it was revealed Alice’s sudden reappearance was connected to the kidnap of George Cornelius’s son, as the show began to unpick the mystery of where she has been for the last few years. 

Here’s the eight burning questions we’re now asking…

Is Vivian the real mastermind behind the killings and has she manipulated her husband into doing them?

As a psychologist, she certainly has the ability to do this, as proved by the revelation she had brainwashed James Hauser in order to use him as “the contingency”.

But if Vivian is not the mastermind, what is she standing to gain from the killings?

Something about her relationship with Jeremy just does not ring true, and we’re not so sure she is standing by him simply because she loves him. So, if she’s not manipulating him, what else is she gaining by covering up for him?

How the hell was James Hauser living with 39 needles embedded inside of him???!

No, seriously, how?

What happened in the two years between George ripping Alice off and her coming back for her money?

The flashback at the start of the episode revealed George stole the diamonds from Alice in Antwerp two years ago, but she waited all that time before seeking her revenge on him by kidnapping Alistair – what else happened during those 24 months, and why did she wait so long?

What is going to happen to Alice and DS Silver when George finds out she’s killed Alistair?

If we were DS Silver right now, we wouldn’t be feeling too confident about making it out of that bunker alive, and as for Alice – well, lets just say we think George will be even more desperate to catch up with her now, which can only mean more bad news for Luther. Speaking of which…

What will DSU Schenk do now he knows Alice is alive?

Luther is going to have some explaining to do to get himself out of this one with his boss. 

Is the woman in the suitcase still alive?

As Jeremy conducted his latest perverted act, we were left to assume he had bungled the body of the young woman in the flat into a suitcase. However, unlike his previous crimes, we’re still not entirely sure she’s actually dead. A preview of the next episode saw Vivian setting up a makeshift operating theatre, perhaps indicating she will facilitate Jeremy’s fantasy of killing someone during surgery, using the woman in the suitcase.  

Why does Luther live in such a shit hole?

It’s a question that has bugged us for a while now, but come on – how much can a tin of paint and a bit of wallpaper cost?

‘Luther’ continues tomorrow night at 9pm on BBC One.