The 'Dalgliesh' Season 2 Finale Explores "The Murder Room"

Dalgliesh Season 2 wraps up with the two-part finale, "The Murder Room." Adam Dalgliesh, elusive and enigmatic, is pretty much a mystery in his own right, and since it’s the end of the season, maybe we’ll learn more about his inner life. We know he still grieves his dead wife and child, and DS Kate Miskin is in love with him. There’s been awkwardness between them ever since she cried in his arms after killing a murderer in the last episode. There’s also the issue of whether he will have to choose between his burgeoning writing career and police work. His agent is very keen on expanding his career, particularly when he’s a finalist in a major poetry competition.

I have a vision of myself without this job, disappearing down emotional tunnels, writing myself into despair. I need something to hold me to the world.

"The Murder Room" represents a jump forward in material, as James wrote it in 2003, a good 15-20 years after Season 2's other stories, "Death of an Expert Witness" or "A Certain Justice." While its signatures of dark, gothic elements, a claustrophobic, intimate environment, and a host of details to keep us guessing matches James' other work. This story also bends the rules of the mystery genre more than the first two episodes, as Dalgliesh loses his usual coolness as he interviews suspects.