This City Is Ours is a thrilling watch, but plays it safe with episode 2's big "twist"

Screenwriter Stephen Butchard has created a thrilling tale of organised crime, populated by fascinating characters and peppered with a number of surprises (both delightful and distressing).

It's a shame, then, that one of the earliest "twists" (if you can even call it that) is so predictable that it might elicit eye-rolls from the audience or, even worse, compel them to switch off entirely.

Yes, folks, Sean Bean's character dies – and it's frustrating for several reasons.

First and foremost, let's spare a thought for Bean's fans, of which there are many, who haven't had the chance to see the actor really settle down into a role since his days as Sharpe, which ended back in 2008.

Of course, there is a certain artistic freedom that comes with the actor's frequent killings-off, allowing him to step into various characters and worlds that have transformed him into one of Britain's most-recognised screen talents.

However, in the era of Peak TV, there are dozens of actors who've enjoyed five to seven-year runs as a single character, while still finding ways to push boundaries, shock viewers and earn numerous accolades in the process.

It's unclear, then, whether Bean's early exits are a conscious career decision on his part or a case of morbid typecasting, but I for one would be content to never again see him take his spluttery last breath. We've had enough!

Oft-cited estimates have put Bean on a mere two-dozen on-screen deaths, but by my count his recent roles in the little-watched manga adaptation Knights of the Zodiac, and This City Is Ours, bring that total to a whopping 26.

Those demises have included a slashed throat, several stabbings, two hangings, a beheading and at least nine shootings, to say nothing of his moving depictions of falling off a cliff, drowning, freezing and being buried alive. What left is there to try?

This discourse isn't new, either! More than a decade ago, US network TNT ran an ad campaign for Bean's short-lived crime drama Legends, which was centred around its pledge that the actor would not be killed off in the series.

As it relates to This City Is Ours, when Michael (James Nelson-Joyce) – the trusted protege of gang boss Ronnie Phelan (Bean) – takes a blade to his mentor in episode 2, it garners not a jaw-drop, but an exasperated sigh.

The reveal is especially disappointing after Ronnie makes it through the first episode of the show entirely unscathed, which led me to naively believe that he might well pull through until at least the season 1 finale (Ned Stark-style).

As the catalyst for virtually everything that follows, this death scene should have been a heavy hitter, but instead it is undermined and overshadowed by the real-world reputation of its star (despite being well acted by Bean and Nelson-Joyce themselves).

It leads me to wonder why series creator Stephen Butchard chose Bean for this pivotal role, as surely he must have been aware that it would give fans more than an inkling of where the story was headed.

The pool of older male actors who could have played the role of Ronnie Phelan – without the baggage of being death incarnate – is wide and goes far beyond the city of Liverpool, where the show is primarily set.

After all, Bean himself is from Sheffield and retains his natural accent for the series, which suggests that age-appropriate talent from most Northern or Midlands cities would be an eligible candidate to play Ronnie. Have a look around!

The most vivid comparison I can make is to the collective shock that coursed through fans when Stephen Graham's undercover cop, John Corbett, was abruptly killed off in the fourth episode of Line of Duty season 5.

Would that killing have had anywhere near as much impact if Bean had played the role? Unfortunately, we have simply reached a stage where his very casting paints a target on the back of whichever character he is playing.

Luckily, there is ample talent in This City Is Ours which is ready to take the spotlight when Bean makes his early exit, with Nelson-Joyce and co-stars Jack McMullen, Julie Graham and Hannah Onslow among the standouts.

The power vacuum that Ronnie's death leaves in its wake is also ripe for tense drama, which Butchard certainly delivers in the remaining six episodes; my only wish is that the inciting incident of the season wasn't so visible from miles away.

The violent assassination of a crime boss is, admittedly, a staple of gang drama, but replacing Bean with an actor less synonymous with all things death might have thrown us off the scent for just a little bit longer.

This City Is Ours is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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