I watched the first episode of The Fall yesterday. I don't think I can recall seeing a show with such an implausible initial premise. It's hard for me to get into the show because it's so ludicrously unrealistic. I can suspend disbelief in lots of areas for entertainment, but this show is supposed to be taking place in our world, not some bizarre utopian world for serial killers.
As best I can tell, I am supposed to believe that one of the principal characters, Paul Spectre, is potentially a serial killer. He's married, with two active children and a full time job.
Leave aside for the moment the question of why he would develop these criminal obsessions. Sure, he's got a lot of frustration with the kids, doesn't like his job. Okay, I'll accept the idea that could build to a violent , unquenchable rage that can only be temporarily sated through killing women who fit his victim profile (though I think we'd have a lot more serial killers around if that were the case).
But when does he find time to stalk these women? He's got a diary with all kinds of entries on it tracking their movements. Sure, they show him bringing his kids or his wife along on the stalking missions, but does he think he's so non-descript that his daughter can run around in an arboretum pulling up plants and no one will remember him four hours later?
Maybe I'm just self conscious. When I'm out with my kids, whether they're pulling up public flowers or whether they're well behaved but talking in their usual tone of voice (i.e. can be heard across a playground without difficulty), I think people notice the parents and wonder about them. Maybe not a lot, but enough that if they see the same guy at their local bar that night, and driving by their house and following them when they jog, that they might make a connection.
The show appears to imply that as a grief counselor he has pretty flexible hours, but at the same time, it appears he's a major, if not primary caregiver for one or both kids. It's unclear why he's out with just the daughter at the greenhouse, but the son seems to be home alone in the evening and relying on Dad if he wakes up and needs a glass of water or something. If his wife (who I gather is a nurse) has irregular shift work I don't see how he can count on regular surveillance activities to plot out his victim's schedules. The show explains that by assuming that he can sneak out when his wife is working the night shift. Have you ever tried to schedule something for "after the kids are asleep"? In my house, that's a revered, mythical time, much talked about but never actually occurring. Even if you think they're asleep, they'll be up again, you can bank on it.
Mr. Serial Killer Dad's kids are no different. As soon as dad heads out to rifle through some woman's underwear drawers, the son wakes up and wants to know where Dad is. He figures out how to call Dad's mobile and Dad doesn't answer. I suspect that's because he's been called in the middle of creeping someone's house more than once before. In any event, I know my son would then promptly call Mom, even if she was at work.
The daughter regularly wakes screaming in the middle of the night from dreadful nightmares. Does that sound like it creates a perfect opportunity for him to go out at night and take photos of himself standing in his victim's bathroom? Is it a really good plan to keep his secret serial killer backpack hidden in his daughter's room, so he can sneak in and out at night whenever he needs to look at his gruesome pictures?
I don't see how he could arrange his schedule to find the time to devote to stalking and planning his murders.
But even leaving aside the schedule, how could he develop the focus, the intensity needed to be a truly creepy serial killer? Yes, he has these diaries with creepy pencil drawings of the women he plans to kill. When would he work on a diary at all? After the kids are asleep I guess (insert knowing parent laugh here). Have you ever tried drawing on a pad of paper while you have a six year old and a four year old around? All of my paper writings have scribbles on them, additions to the artwork, food and beverage stains, rips and crumples. I didn't even see any crushed cheerios in his serial killer diary. In our "off limits" home office I have several tax forms with superhero and smurf stickers on them, the remains of a lollipop stuck to a business continuity plan, some chewed up cat treats, toy cars and half eaten candy that is being "saved" in my filing drawer (I just hope the cat treats were eaten by and are being saved for the cat, but I'm afraid to ask).
Can you maintain your focus to learn about the locks on your victim's back door while your daughter is in your lap asking questions about how whether she'll grow up to be a giant? Can you be planning your next break-in while she's gotten into her mother's make-up case to make herself look like a singer and is showing you how good she can dance? Could you make notes about your murderous fantasies while you're listening to "Dad. Dad. Dad. Are you listening Dad? Look at me Dad. Dad I'm doing stuff." Maybe your answer is yes. But are those murderous fantasies directed at female victims who fit your profile?
And what about your energy level? Yes, I get that these are young parents. That's the rationale for everyone who has more energy than I do, I guess. But serial killer Dad is working a day job, picking up the daughter and looking after her after work, being awakened in the night to deal with nightmares and (since the wife is working shift work) probably making breakfasts and lunches too. It's unclear at this time, but his alleged volunteer job at the suicide hotline may even have some basis in fact as well. I have to say, I found it hard to believe he even maintains an exercise regimen in the face of all that. The one part that rang true was Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson's (Gillian Anderson) analysis that the prolonged strangulation endured by the victims may not have been the result of torture, but may have been that the killer had gotten too tired to sustain a hold on their throat. No kidding. I'm surprised he didn't fall asleep in their beds after creepily laying out their underwear.
I could see how the lack of sleep could be driving this man to making poor decisions, exercising poor judgment. I could even see his desire to set up that secret lair in the basement of an abandoned building, where he can work out and have a few minutes of quiet for himself. But if most dads had a secret lair that they could sneak out to in the middle of the night I think they'd spend the time there sleeping, maybe having a drink in peace, not making duplicates of keys to break into houses or standing outside to stare through someone's window. Could you even stay awake to make creepy looking faces at them? If it was me, I'd be found sleeping in their backyard the next morning I think.
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