THE FIXER 1.6

Writer: Ben Richards
Director: Hettie Macdonald

Cast: Andrew Buchan (John Mercer), Jody Latham (Calum McKenzie), Peter Mullan (Lenny Douglas), Tamzin Outhwaite (Rose Chamberlain), Liz White (Jess), Aleksander Mikic (Georgie), John Castle (Richard Blakeney), Elisa Terren (Manuela), Oliver Bower (Robert) & Tyler Anthony (Abigail)

Mercer is tasked with killing a jury-fixer, but his target makes him an offer that would improve his life; but at a traitorous cost...

The Fixer's finale revolves around a conflict of loyalties for hitman Mercer (Andrew Buchan), who gets a chance to end his Faustian pact with handler Lenny (Peter Mullan), by defecting to the criminal side with infamous jury-fixer Richard Blakeney (John Castle; excellent). Is it better the devil you know, or the devil you don't?

After last week's episode, Lenny is seemingly co-operating with Mercer; keeping him in the loop and fully briefed about his tasks. The working life of a hitman is still gloomy and dangerous, but the social life Mercer's created with Calum (Jody Latham) and Rose (Tamzin Outhwaite) appears to be genuine, as the pressured threesome enjoy a night's get-together. But of course, this moment of relative calm and normality can't last...

After Lenny gives Mercer his next target – Blakeney's right-hand man Georgie (Aleksander Mikic) – Mercer is shocked to find psychopath Georgie is already been softened by Rose, on femme fatale duties. An argument boils up with Lenny, for not explaining the situation and reverting to his old ways, but Lenny stands firm against Mercer's onslaught.

This scene also reveals the background to Rose, who lost her job as a policewoman after sleeping with a serial rapist while undercover, before the tabloids exposed the operation and her career was tarnished. While it's nice to get some background on Rose, surely this could have been shown -- in flashback, or in an episode centred around Rose?

The turning point comes when Georgie is killed by an unseen assailant, and drops his golden cigarette lighter to the ground. Mercer is the obvious suspect, but pleads his innocence, while Lenny is worried Georgie's death will make Blakeney thirsty for revenge. Maybe I missed something here, but wasn't Mercer tasked with killing Georgie to begin with? I didn't understand why it was suddenly a bad thing for Mercer (or whomever) to have killed him. I'm sure I did miss something, as that error would just be too glaring!

But anyway, Lenny's furious enough to cut the power to Mercer's flat (which particularly bothers Wii Boxing fanatic Calum, I'd say) and Mercer starts severing his links with Lenny, Rose and Calum -- whom he gives the ventriloquist doll stuffed with cash. Lenny's hold over Mercer has always been built around threatening his sister Jess (Liz White), so he visits her and explains the real circumstances of his early release from jail and life as a hitman. Jess actually doesn't look that surprised by her brother's story; which is either because she's always been aware of John's dark side, or Liz White just can't act. Make your choice.

Mercer threatens Lenny with retaliation if he touches his sister, but Jess is refusing to move house and get to safety, instead appealing to her brother to "fix this". Well, he is "the fixer", but Jess really doesn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation!

Later, Mercer gets an unexpected phone call from Blakeney, who arranges a meeting with him in a church. Once there, Blakeney offers Mercer a job, performing hitman duties for the unlawful. The bonus with working for Blakeney include less work (only a few hits a year), guaranteed safety for his family, and the promise of no secrets. Blakeney also reveals that Lenny and Rose are married, which pricks Mercer's ears. And if Mercer agrees to join forces with Blakeney, his first target will be Lenny.

Knowing Mercer has met with manipulative Blakeney, Lenny insists that Blakeney can't be trusted and is just making empty promises. He also alludes to the fact he's actually divorced from Rose (or maybe just separated, it's not very clear) and asks Mercer to assassinate Blakeney as his next job. Later that night, Mercer calls Lenny and says he's come to a decision, before calling Blakeney and stating the same.

Blakeney and Lenny meet outside, on opposite sides of an outdoor restaurant's table. Mercer is atop a building close by, with both men believing he's working for them. Lenny claims Blakeney made a fatal mistake in revealing his relationship with Rose, as it gave Mercer pause for thought. Blakeney is certain Mercer's defected, and leaves the table expecting Lenny to be shot dead any second. But it's Blakeney who falls to the floor, shot by Mercer's rifle as he reloads and trains his sights on Lenny – who looks straight back at him with cold eyes. Mercer loses his nerve, realizing how killing Lenny will send the "unit" (his new "family") into disarray, and lowers his weapon...

The episode ends with Calum's wedding to Manuela (Elisa Terren), a sudden development that awkwardly formed the basis of a subplot, and crushed the more interesting possibilities of a love-triangle between Calum, Manuela and Mercer -- the seeds of which were sewn last week! Whatever. Mercer is stoic at the reception party, and Rose finds him sat alone in his bedroom, pondering recent events and his life. She's particularly stunned when Mercer reveals he's holding Georgie's lighter, proving he was the one who kick-started the dangerous situation between Blakeney and Lenny. The series ends with Rose and Mercer dancing to "La Bamba", the same upbeat music used to end the first episode.

Episode 6 was entertaining because of its emphasis on the show's inner workings, and the conflict for Mercer was fun to see play out. However, The Fixer's broader problems with its set-up and some unconvincing developments worked against the story. The writers still can't decide if Calum is a necessary part of Lenny's unit, or a simpleton thrown into the mix for comic relief. Likewise, Rose is vaguely employed as "honey trap" for criminals every so often, which is already overplayed and boring. Is sleeping with men all she learned from years as a police officer?

When I first heard about The Fixer, I imagined a more organized "team" element to the show – but that hasn't appeared. Beyond picking a few locks (Calum) and sleeping with villains for intel (Rose), what value do those characters add for Lenny and Mercer? There was a hint last week that Calum is essentially a pet for Mercer, to stop him going insane like his predecessor Finch, but that's a disservice for Calum's character. I want him to be instrumental in things; the streetwise Robin to Mercer's Batman.

Basically; I love The Fixer's premise, but it hasn't been implemented well. I hope the show returns for a second season (it's still the only ITV drama that has kept me watching in years), but the writers need to rethink the character dynamics. I want to see three skilled people cleaning up London's streets (Death Wish style) under the lizard eye of Lenny. There can be antagonism and distrust within the group, but Mercer's personal turmoil was becoming laborious, and I've never understood why Lenny keeps so many secrets! It never helps the situation.

The biggest waste of time has been Jess' bland character, whose pudding-faced innocence has been tedious from the start. White doesn't convince me as a victim of family (sexual?) abuse, her scenes with Andrew Buchan lack any spark, and her role on the show (as the face of normality and trust) hasn’t been very interesting.

So yes, while the individual plots have been involving (ignoring last week), and some of the performance are excellent (Latham and Mullan, but I warmed to Buchan), I don't think the writing is doing justice with the high-concept idea. There have been flashes of the slick-and-gritty vibe I'm after, but frustrations with the Mercer/Calum/Rose triumvirate drags everything down, character development has been spotty (Calum's wedding was particularly mishandled) and the relentlessly depressing atmosphere was becoming a drag.

Hopefully The Fixer can be fixed and will return with a stronger, leaner, fresher dynamic.


14 April 2008
ITV1, 9.00 pm