There's no two ways around it: The Tunnel is having a simply excellent second series. The script is strong in how it simultaneously advances plot and develops characters while still leaving time for humour, the cinematography is impressive for a show without an enormous budget, and the narrative remains as tightly focused and thrilling as ever. With episode four, the exact midpoint of the season, The Tunnel has presented us with its strongest episode to date.
This was a numbingly intense episode. Stephen Dillane and Clemence Posey gave their best performances yet here, the nature of this episode asked an awful lot of them but they succeeded. Whilst the bulk of the episode was focused on the terrorist group's attempt to break Rosa out of her cell, we even got some solid advancement with Vanessa's subplot. Just when it was starting to feel as if her arc was entirely separate to the main narrative, the show pulls her in closer than ever. The pacing of this series is superb, it never slows down or has to find a way to fill out an episode.
Whilst this was all perfectly fine, the main plot of episode four was extraordinary. The breakout attempt for Rosa was thrillingly handled, but what's most refreshing about this story is that the police force isn't portrayed as inept. It would be easy for the show to act as if the police are useless in order to move the story along and make the terrorists feel like a bigger threat, but the Tunnel avoids that trope entirely. The police force are intelligent and professional and strong, and the terrorists aren't a match for them. Thus, it makes it even more thrilling any time that the terrorists succeed, because we feel as if they've genuinely earned their victory, as horrific as that might be.
The Tunnel, thus far, has avoided every pitfall, transcended every gimmick, and surpassed every expectation. If the back half of this season is anywhere near as good as this, then this could be something truly truly special.
Grade: A
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