I never thought that I would be afraid of a middle-aged man named Gideon, but this is the predicament I experienced.
Sorry – I also have to introduce you now: he’s the main character in the excellent Amazon Prime series The Devil’s Hour, played with a quiet intensity that keeps you entertained for a long time by Peter Capaldi.
Gideon looks exactly like Peter Capaldi if he’s vitamin C deficient and lives in a windowless basement. There are no prosthetics, wigs, blood or gore, but Gideon’s dead eyes haunt me.
It’s a testament to Peter Capaldi, one of Britain’s best actors, that the mere presence of Gideon on screen has kept him awake. I was given only the first two episodes of season 2 to review and my heart rate is thankful.
If you’re not familiar with The Devil’s Hour, Gideon is a shadowy Dexter figure – one who spends his time living with his own moral code killing people, even children, to save innocent lives.
He’s in a relationship with Lucy, a mother struggling with her son Isaac (Benjamin Chivers), played with raw reliability by Jessica Raine who could be mistaken for a neighbor, a feat in a show that transcends time and place.
Every night at exactly 3:33 a.m. Lucy wakes up and is disturbed by a terrifying vision that brings her to Gideon. Together with DI Ravi (Nikesh Patel), they put an end – at least for the time being – to Gideon’s murderous rampage by helping to put him behind bars.
However, season 1 ends with Gideon escaping from prison, when Lucy is seen slowly suffocating in a house fire, while Lucy is different from another time period, working as a police officer, watching on.
The first two episodes are straight from the last season. But what is the fate of Lucy and what does Gideon have up his sleeve? It won’t be fun to tell you, but I can promise you that the answer is satisfactory.
There is a risk with a high-concept show that can become an unsolvable puzzle, very confusing for viewers and frustrating watching – especially in the second season. But The Devil’s Hour manages to hold its own with a focused script, compelling performances and a clear vision.
It doesn’t feel like season 2 is a thoughtless renewal to expand Amazon’s library: clearly, the writers have planned beyond season 1 and it has to be said. As has often been the case in recent seasons, Devil’s Hour has never wavered and remained swaggering. I never got lost in the maze of the show.
It’s also a refreshing take on an oversaturated genre: the thriller. I’m tired of alcoholic detectives fighting demons while investigating the brutal murder of a girl. The Devil’s Hour could make a tired genre new again and more shows should pay attention.
We need more murky anti-heroes like Gideon who by raising an eyebrow can inflict terror on the soul and others every day, and I hate to say but ‘real’ characters like Lucy instead of caricatures. It is also time for true originality instead of sticking to the formula.
For that, you should not forget The Devil’s Hour: trust me, it’s worth losing sleep for.
Devil Season 2 will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting tomorrow.
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