Blue Lights - Season 3

The third season of Blue Lights surpasses its predecessors on multiple fronts. For the past two years, I have voted with great conviction for Blue Lights in the Series of the Year election in the best crime series category. The police drama from Belfast succeeded in seamlessly weaving societal issues, tension, character development, and the bloody history of Northern Ireland together in its first two seasons. Although that painful Northern Irish history lesson is somewhat less present in the third season, season three manages to surpass the first two seasons in other areas by a considerable margin.

Belfast remains a place of unrest. The police unit of Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke), Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin), and Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) faces a heap of trouble once again, from car accidents and runaway teenagers to confused people in restaurants and reports of domestic violence. And as if that weren't bad enough, a new criminal gang is eyeing Belfast as a base for a drug empire.

The creators have mastered the art of escalating to perfection.

The creators master the art of escalation down to the last detail. Something very small, like a noise complaint somewhere, can quickly lead to a legal battle with another security service, a stabbing, or something else significant. These moments create enough tension, both in terms of spectacle and drama. Yet this escalation always happens in a believable way, and even when the pace is high, you don't feel like the story is going off the rails.

This season also shows characters growing naturally, more than in previous seasons. For example, Officer Stevie Neill (Martin McCann) is considered for a promotion he initially doesn't want. Yet you can clearly see how he embraces this role after some hesitation and becomes increasingly confident. Additionally, secondary characters who previously had smaller roles are given more space, and you also see their growth. This is most evident with Sergeant Sandra Cliff (Andi Osho) and Officer Aisling Byrne (Dearbháile McKinney). Furthermore, Michael Smiley is a very welcome addition as the head of the organized crime unit.

That combination of growth and escalation is strongly evident at multiple points. The highlight for me was Aisling's storyline. After she has to assist at a traffic accident, her view on life and death and her place in the universe changes. What follows is a series of reckless decisions that cause her to completely spin out of control. Even though as a viewer you know she is making mistakes, you can also very well understand her choices. In other storylines, too, the creators manage to bring out that nuance effectively.

Blue Lights is not only exciting, it's also very human.

While the first two seasons seemed to do everything to pit everyone against each other, this season seems to be about connection. Of course, there are struggles and contradictions, but it is clear that efforts are being made to bridge those differences. And here too, the growth of characters is evident. Blue Lights is set in a harsh world, but the police unit tries to show a bit of humanity. Certainly, after the cynicism of the first two seasons, it is nice to see that warmth. The end of the fourth episode is an excellent example of this.

There is a good chance that I will vote for Blue Lights again this year in the Series of the Year election. Each season of Blue Lights is one to look forward to, and season three is no exception. It offers tension, but above all, a high-quality human drama. Although the last episode closes almost all storylines in an appropriate manner, the door is left wide open for the already announced fourth season. I am already looking forward to it!