Fates Are Left Up in the Air in 'The Responder' Season 2 Finale

Chris Carson had a very rough night in the Season 2 finale of The Responder. And if you've been watching along, that is really saying something because Chris never has a good night on the job.

At the start of the episodes, Chris wakes up just in time to find out that Jodie has called Franny and will hand over the phone in exchange for help tracking down her stolen drugs. Chris managed to escape with the mobile and survived another couple of close calls before giving up and giving Franny the phone. We think Franny took the exchange pretty well, considering most TV drug dealers would have beaten Chris to a pulp for delaying the exchange. Franny instead gave Chris a lovely apartment, a bed to finally catch a nap, and a job. Chris initially rejected the offer, but he decided to stay when Kate and Tilly (Romi Hyland-Rylands) were impressed with the new digs.

He felt okay about that decision for about half a day. While Chris sleeps in his fancy new place, Jodie discovers that Casey is the reason Carl was killed. She teamed up with Franny again to find Casey, and Franny employed Chris to see Casey and hand her over to Franny's goons. Chris decides to help Casey instead, leading to a chase around town until our favorite delinquent, Damien (Charlie Monaghan), hands Chris and Casey over to Franny for money to get to London. 

The incident inspired Chris to quit the force. We know that is ultimately the best decision for Chris' mental and physical health, but it does beg the question: where do we go from here? Kate and Tilly are on their way to London because Ray (Warren Brown) told her Chris has secured a job in the drug trade. (Chris did get revenge by beating the crap out of Ray at Tilly's communion, but that feels like a choice that is going to have consequences). Kate didn't pick up when Chris called to wish her and Tilly luck in London so we are not sure how all that will work out.

Meanwhile, Rachel finally made the right choice and filed a formal complaint against Steve (Philip Barantini). Pursuing that route, though, will mean coming clean about beating Steve during the call in the penultimate episodes. Rachel added Steve's girlfriend Lorna (Izuka Hoyle) in her apartment to her list of infringements in the finale. She did it to prevent Lorna from running back to Steve and getting hurt, but it was still a screwed-up thing to do.

Moreover, if Lorna does report her, it will not make Rachel look fit for duty. Filing the official report is what Rachel needs to do to start healing, but will she be able to keep her job on the force once they find out how many laws she's broken?

So we leave Season 2 with the careers of our two main coppers in question. Jodie and Franny are still at large, and Debs is still willing to throw anyone and everyone down the river to save her own neck. Marco is leaving town to live with his sister and be a proper father to baby Adele, but Casey stays behind to do God knows what. She can't work for Jodie or Franny now that the truth is out, but we are sure she will find other ways to get into trouble and somehow rope Chris into it.  

The season ended with Chris showing up at his father's (Bernard Hill) doorstep, extending an olive branch so the two could start mending their relationship. Unfortunately, that can't continue in Season 3 due to Hill's tragic passing after filming for this season was completed. We sincerely hope there is a new season because both Chris and Rachel's stories deserve a more cemented ending. The show loves to live in the gray area, so some ambiguity is expected, but it feels like Chris and Rachel's journeys are only halfway through. We'd like to see if they make it all the way through the mess they've found themselves in.

The Responder Season 1 and 2 are now streaming on BritBox. Season 3 has not yet been commissioned.