Why Ellis demands a season 2

The third episode followed on from the show's strong premiere which took quite the dark turn, as well as the second episode which honed in on misogyny and bullying within the police force.

Both episodes quickly went down a storm with viewers, but this final instalment follows Ellis (Clarke) and Harper (Andrew Gower) as they're called to the village of Brindleton, where they investigate an apparent murder-suicide of a newlywed couple.

One of the most refreshing things about this series is the very fact that you think you're dealing with one case on the face of it but, after some digging by Ellis, a whole labyrinth of trouble opens.

Much like a complicated puzzle filled with new characters each and every time, the joy of any good crime drama is slotting those pieces together and sussing out who the bad guy is.

But, especially in the third episode, your guesses may simply take you nowhere, as actually, the case spans much more than initially thought.

Filled with familiar faces such as Coronation Street's Charlie de Melo and Emmerdale's Charley Webb, as well as exploring themes of love and sexuality, we even see Ellis having to talk someone off the edge of a cliff – talk about stressful.

But, like the previous two episodes, Ellis takes some inspiration from recent events, this time around shining a light on the virality of true crime and the boom in armchair sleuths.

As we get to grips with the case at hand, it has echoes of the more recent real-life case of Nicola Bulley and the way her initial disappearance set social media alight, leading callous individuals to visit the location she was last seen.

Never feeling heavy-handed with its real-world callbacks, Ellis's last episode also opens our titular character up to a whole new emotional depth. Her private life has remained just that over the series, with the viewer only getting small windows into what Ellis has left behind in order to come and do her job in these remote countryside locations.

It's easy to get the sense that things at home aren't straightforward for our lead detective, but in the show's final moments, we get a glimpse into that side of her life more than ever.

From the first episode, we've seen Ellis clutch her phone like an umbilical cord, ensuring that her weathered charger can still sustain itself so as to never miss a message from the person she hopes will pop up the most – her daughter Grace.

By the time the third episode rolls around, the audience gets a pretty good idea of the kind of detective Ellis is, but not so much how she is in her off-duty time. So, it's almost a selfish shame that we're capped right there with episode 3 just as we're getting that little bit more. 'More!', fans will rightfully demand.

Not only in her personal relationship with her daughter but also within her own partnership with Harper, we see things start to naturally blossom, and it sure is a heartfelt crime-fighting duo we've got on our hands here.

Clearly inspired, we find out that Harper has just started a long-distance learning course in psychology, and is obviously wanting to break the cycle of bullish and confrontational behaviour from the station he was originally at, with Ellis even spying him passing on his own understanding nature to a fellow officer.

All of that is to say that, while the third episode is another example of a well-executed mind-bending case – which is what Ellis does so well – it's also such a fitting full-circle episode in many ways.

Having gone up against steely officers and locals in previous episodes, it feels as though this final third case was one where both Ellis and Harper's input was accepted wholly by the station they worked with.

Similarly, Ellis says they should go for a drink after all is done and dusted – mirroring the very same offer Harper made to Ellis in that first episode, which went down pretty much like a lead balloon.

But at the pub is where Ellis's mood instantly lifts, when she realises that the texts on her phone are actually from her daughter, who is telling her that, after being told to do so by her grandfather, she will call Ellis later.

Soon, Ellis's previous order of a cuppa turns into asking for the whole bottle of overproof white rum sitting on the shelf and two glasses. It's a celebration, one that Harper doesn't really know the personal depths of, but one they are willing to take a pained shot of rum for nonetheless.

The lasting image of the series is of a laughing Ellis, something we haven't seen tons of through the three episodes, but it's a shot that blissfully teases what's to come should Channel 5 commission the show for another season.

And that they should – Ellis has been a welcome addition to the very many crime dramas on our TV screens, and quite frankly, we need plenty more of it.

Ellis is available to stream on My5.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.