Ludwig season 2 review

 

The plethora of detective series means there’s something for everyone whether its disturbing thrillers or so called cosy murder mysteries (though I’m not sure how murder can ever be described as cosy), Ludwig sits somewhere in between and owes as much to the likes of Inspector Morse as it does to so called gentler series. Its also something of a comedy drama, a difficult thing to pull off but which writer Mark Brotherhood manages to do with aplomb. This second series offers a new set of homicides along with unexpected developments relating to the overall plot of missing detective James Taylor.

 

In an unlikely sounding contrivance that ended up working really well season one had James’ twin brother John assumed his identity to try and find out what happened. Somehow, his skills as a puzzle setter (he’s modestly famous publishing under the Ludwig nom de plume ) ended up helping him solve several murders as part of his subterfuge. While this ruse was eventually rumbled, John now works part time as a `crime scene consultant`, his knotty brain deployed to filet vital information in mu cases where there seems no logical explanation as to how the crime was committed. A seemingly unplannable poisoning, a death in a room nobody could apparently have entered (an old favourite of detective shows)  – these are the sort of unusual cases that John can use his skills to solve with a pithy wit. I’m not sure what Cambridge police do about cases not involving murder though, presumably they have to sort this themselves.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure if Ludwig would work for more than a season once John’s undercover work was revealed. Like the more serious Vienna Blood, there’s surely only so many incidences you can have an outsider hired to help the police but that proves not to be the case here. If anything, season two improves further on the idea of acts of murder being essentially puzzles to be solved while also unravelling an increasingly knotty overall plot delivered with considerable melodrama. Somehow the show manages to be both Morse and Marple in one package.

The first season was a surprise hit, despite some people being snippy about the style of the show which seems to deliberately mimic wordier police dramas of a different era, eschewing the tense thrillers currently in vogue. The big step up this time is making John’s sister-in-law Lucy a main rather than supporting character. Played by Anna Maxwell Martin with a schoolgirl bob hairstyle, she almost literally bounces from one scene to another, gleefully ignoring protocol in her zeal to follow the clues as well as hectoring local newspaper editor (played by Mark Bonnar being enjoyably long suffering)  at any opportunity. Though overtly comedic, her performance occasionally draws on the shock that the character must feel over what has happened. 

Her elevation means that Dipo Ola’s character Russell, the  outwardly calm yet inwardly conflicted detective, gets a little less prominence while the two junior officers have changed due to the unavailability of the actors from season one.   Both Rumi Sutton and Ben Ashenden fit right in, with subtle interventions that enjoyably reflect the fact that having more recently trained they’re not sure about some of the unorthodox procedures they witness. These changes fill out proceedings though it seems that John is still likely to solve the case largely by himself!

 If you stop to analyse it, the arc plot concerning a potential conspiracy may seem over the top but it enjoys throwing shade at the duplicitous nature of politicians when it comes to circling the potential mastermind behind all this, an MP called Joanne Kemper. As portrayed by Sian Clifford she conveys the insincere platitudes and entitlement of many a modern politician. Despite John and Lucy’s belief she is responsible for several murders each ten years apart - which appeals to Taylor’s puzzle skills- she is a slippery character to pin down. This season it is the chief Inspector Ziegler who has vanished, leading to theories as to why and his involvement in the crimes, if indeed they are linked.

As well as the overall plot, each episode also features a case, a sometimes slightly generic scenario designed for the puzzle rather than anything else. Amongst the set ups this time are a homicides in a theatre balcony, a fatality during a traditional dance at a wedding party, old rivalries surfacing during a snooker match and a fashion influencer being despatched in the nocturnal courtyards of Cambridge. My favourite is the workplace meal at one of those sushi restaurants with a conveyer belt upon which one of the dishes of food has seemingly specially been poisoned for a particular member of the party to eat. The latter aspect really befuddles John’s preference for odds and logic and the way he reaches his conclusions is always unexpected. That said, I did guess the episode six denouement before John revealed it but it provides a strong place to pick up for a confirmed third season.

The reveals of who did it use the old Agatha Christie notion of assembling everyone at the location to deliver the verdict which Mitchell does with just the right amount of gravitas and comedy. It’s very much a performance piece to the extent that nobody ever tries to escape when named nor even seems especially peeved to have been caught; mostly just accepting the deductive skills that have discovered  them. This is very much the style of the series where even the more dramatic or shock moments still have a theatrical flourish about them with the incidental music sometimes rising to classical heights. 

What I’d never realised till recently is that composers Finn Keane and Nathan Klein utilise strands of Ludwig can Beethoven’s music throughout their score, another puzzle waiting to be solved for  aficionados who can probably spot the origins of the pieces. I adds a grandiosity that recalls some of the music used in Inspector Morse. While not always as cerebral as the latter, this show delights more in the wordplay and observation rather than action. There are no chases and nobody does much rushing about while the police stations is unexpectedly vast like the inside of an art gallery. It is the case that some of the guest characters are thinly sketched but the show focusses on how the police view them; there’s no cutaways to their own conversations.

While some see Ludwig as being a show with limited potential or lacking in grit, I’d say it could comfortably run for five seasons. It’s on a roll right now,  with each of Mark Brotherhood’s scripts being involving, witty and interesting. Of course, the veracity of events needs to be taken with a pinch of salt but that’s part of the fun. With a Xmas special as well as third season confirmed, Ludwig has ascended to the top tier and I’m hoping the time is taken to ensure it retains the whimsical eccentricity that has made it so enjoyable.

The Other Ludwig

This is not the first series to be called Ludwig.  In 1977, there was a children’s animation about s magical egg shaped gemstone who played the violin. There were twenty-five episodes each lasting only five minutes and it also used some of Beethoven’s music.