Security in the British crime series Protection is not exactly safe. Concerned security officer Liz Nyles (an excellent role by Siobhan Finneran, best known for Happy Valley) is confronted with her own imperfections. Privately and at work. The sexual escapades with a colleague do not make her life any easier. Certainly not when he seems to be involved in the violent death of witnesses who are under protection of their department. The fact that he is married makes it all even more complicated. Liz already has a difficult relationship with her own family and ex-partner. Then an extramarital affair and tensions at work do not help to improve that relationship.
Liz soon comes under the microscope in the police investigation into the deaths of the witnesses. This investigation is led by Hannah Wheatley (Katherine Kelly). She tackles the case rigorously. Liz tries to prevent it from becoming known that she had a relationship with the married colleague. Her behavior in keeping things quiet makes her increasingly suspected of involvement.
The department where Liz works is simultaneously being investigated by DCI Amanda Kelman (Nadine Marshall). This causes unexpected things to come to light. Manipulation and abuse of power seem to be the basis for the abuses. Liz is increasingly coming under fire. Her determination to solve the case herself causes her to find herself increasingly cornered.
What the British series scores highly on is the strong acting.
The story of Protection is generally quite well put together. However, there is a caveat to be made about the ending. This plot has been used more often. It is one of the minor points of criticism. The beginning is quite innovative. The story is told from the perspective of someone who works in witness protection. That is something different from the 'standard' detective work that we normally see. Unfortunately, this does not last long. The series quickly culminates in a police investigation as we have seen more often. Fortunately, this does not detract from the tension and the cleverly found intrigues.
The dilemmas that Liz has in her private life are not exaggerated too much. Sex with your married colleague is more common. As is a difficult relationship with your father, daughter and ex-partner. It makes Liz not the prototype traumatized protagonist that we often see. She does struggle with her private life, but the problems are surmountable and probably quite recognizable for the viewer.
The beginning is quite innovative.
The British series scores highly on the excellent acting. There are a number of well-known and lesser-known actors cast. Despite the complex and sometimes quite bizarre situations, it still feels true to life. This is mainly due to the actors who are able to portray their characters excellently.
Another point on which this series also scores well is the filmed images. The often somewhat dark colours, the locations and the angle from which the filming takes place seem meticulously prepared. It fits the story perfectly and creates the right atmosphere.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
