Law & Order UK “Pride” brought back Dame Harriet Walter as Natalie Chandler, a former MIU Detective Inspector. She’s tied into a murder via her father’s connection to the victim, a connection not made clear to Natalie or to Ronnie Brooks until close to the end. This episode was based on the original Law & Order episode “Identity” (season 14, episode 6), and while both cases dealt with identity theft and murder, “Pride” uses this case to bring back Chandler. This time she’s not as in control of the situation as she'd been accustomed as DI. Her desire to believe that her estranged father is not a murderer causes her to go off the rails more than once, despite promising Ronnie she’d stay out of the case and behave. Natalie gets her answer in the end, although it’s not the answer she’d like to hear.
This case was heavy on the detective work and light on the legal work, but this imbalance did not detract from the story. Harriet Walter always brought a stern, yet likable crustiness to Natalie Chandler, and it was nice to see her as the focus of an episode now that she is no longer a series regular. Clearly, Bradley Walsh is the cornerstone of this series and it has been truly interesting watching Ronnie develop over the years. Ronnie is one of those people that if he was your friend, you would have confidence he would move heaven and earth to help you. He risked getting in trouble with his boss yet again to help Natalie get to the bottom of her father’s involvement in a murder and fraud.
It was a very nice touch to see a scene where a bus comes into the picture with a large ad in the side with the words “Identity.” Not only was in an indicator of what was at the root of the murder, but it also seemed a homage to the original episode.
Each week, Law & Order UK continues to impress me. It’s one of a handful of shows that I actually look forward to each week.
Here is the recap:
Cast:
Bradley Walsh - DS Ronnie Brooks
Ben Bailey Smith – DS Joe Hawkins
Paterson Joseph - DI Wes Leyton
Dominic Rowan - Jacob Thorne
Georgia Taylor - Kate Barker
Peter Davison - Henry Sharpe
Guest cast:
Harriet Walter - Natalie Chandler
Martin Jarvis - Eddie Stewart
Roy Hudd - Felix Hargreaves
Laura Rogers – Sally Lester
Alexander Aze – Ethan Lester
Nicola Sanderson – SOCO Joy
Roxy Sternberg – Alice Edwards
Ella Kenion – Cashier
Matt Slack – Rob Hebden
Melanie Kilburn – Julie Perkins
Leila Hoffman – Florence
Jessica Gunning – Angela
Martin Jarvis – Eddie Stewart
Geoff McGivern – Geoffrey Sykes
Jack Beale – Clerk
Cyril Nri – Judge DeMarco
Fraser James – Dr. Toby Marsh
Michael Luxton – Paul Harrison
At the Lester home, as kids race into the house for a party, a woman screams as she opens a door to another room.
Later, DS Ronnie Brooks and SOCO Joy are on that scene where Neil Lester lay dead from a head wound from a paperweight. Ronnie and DS Joe Hawkins speak with his wife, Sally Lester, and ask about her husband’s job and his recent actions. Things sound very good and Ronnie and Joe wonder who wanted him dead.
Back at MIU, Ronnie and Joe confer with DI Wes Leyton. There is a laptop missing from Lester’s desk, and there is no match on the prints on the murder weapon. The wife is not a likely suspect. They think there was something on the laptop. Wes tells them to find out why Lester came home early.
At AKDC Marketing on March 11, Ronnie and Joe ask about Lester’s job. The detectives ask why Lester went home early, and a colleague seems confused at the question, They find Neil Lester hasn’t worked there for 9 months, his job was cut.
On the same day, back at the Lester home, his wife was not aware of this. Ronnie gets a call and then asks Sally Lester about their finances, specifically a £160,000 in a savings account, deposited 3 months after he lost his job. She thinks they are mistaken.
Later, Ronnie and Joe are at LPB Bank and find the account was opened 6 months ago and closed it 24 hours later. It was transferred there by an Edward Stewart. Stewart recently took out another advance – a loan against the value of his property. They wonder what Stewart had to do with Lester,
The same day, at Lincoln Rise, they think Stewart took out a loan to pay Lester. When they knock on the door, a property developer answers. The house went to auction 3 months ago, the owner slopped paying his bills,
Back at MIU, Ronnie and Joe explain what they found and wonder if the two had a scam going. No leads on Stewart. Wes instructs them to continue to see if anyone knows anything about Stewart.
At Chiswick High Street outside Jimmy’s hair stylist, Joe tells Ronnie that the landlady hasn’t seen Stewart in 3 months and Ronnie comments that Stewart hasn’t been in Jimmy’s for a while. Ronnie complains there is no sense of community anymore and whines about texting and twitting. Joe calls him “gramps.”
At Julie's, having a meal, they hear Stewart was there about a month ago and get a suggestion to speak with Felix Hargreaves at the Community Center, he and Stewart were thick as thieves.
At Oak Reach Community Center, where the people look very elderly, they meet up with Felix to talk about Stewart. They were paratroopers in 1952 and had since moved to Australia. Felix blows them off to go back to the old ladies.
Back at MIU, Wes tells Ronnie that Angie tracked down a next of kin, a daughter who is in Finsbury Park. But Wes tells Ronnie to take a closer look at the file and Ronnie looks stunned.
At the daughter’s home, Ronnie decides to take the lead. When the door opens, it’s former DI Natalie Chandler that is standing there.
Inside Natalie’s home, she explains her mother’s death and then once Joe introduces himself, she asks what they are doing there. They ask about her dad. She last saw him 4 months ago. They explain he defaulted on loan payments and repossessed his house. Natalie explains he didn’t take it well when her mother moved in with her when her mother became ill. They explain they talked to Felix and Natalie doesn’t understand why they did that. When Ronnie explains Felix and Eddie were good friends, Natalie asks what is going on. They explain they think her father went into business with Neil Lester, and Natalie has never heard of him. Joe mentions the possible bank fraud and then explains Lester was found dead Monday afternoon.
Afterwards, outside MIU with Wes, Ronnie and Joe discuss Natalie’s reaction and they don’t understand why her dad got into that business at 78. As they enter MIU, Angie is there and explains they traced Lester’s laptop to a second hand shop in Shepherd’s Bush. They see a photo of the person who was at the shop and Ronnie recognizes the person in the photo.
