'The Tower' Returns for Season 3 with a New Case on "Gallowstree Lane"

The titular building of The Tower still looms over everything as the series returns for its third installment, entitled “Gallowstree Lane,” after the Kate London best-selling series of the same name it is adapted from. Despite now having moved on from that initial tragic incident on a high rise, in which both civilians and police died, life in the shadow of the giant block of flats is still the starting point for the key players and the issues of race, poverty, and crime that dominate the series. As the new mystery begins, two young men are mugged at knifepoint on the titular street, with one stabbed, Spencer Cardoso (Max Fincham). His panicked friend calls 999 using the phone of off-duty medic Owen Pierce (Chord Melodic).

The victim bleeds out before DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan) and DC Elaine Lucas (Ella Smith) arrive, and his companion has disappeared with the phone, leaving Owen with a life he failed to save. He takes it out on the cops, shouting, “When are you going to stop this?” meaning putting an end to the casual gang violence that plagues the neighborhood. The technique – a stab wound to the femoral artery in passing, without breaking stride – is a gang favorite. Lucas identifies the victim, whose fingerprints are on file for cannabis possession. She is livid; she has sons at a local school, and she’s determined they will never be involved in gang violence.

DC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif) wakes as the sound of police sirens disturbs her baby son, Josh. She’s finding life as a single working mother exhausting, despite the father being in his life, Inspector Kieran Shaw (Emmett J. Scanlan), very much married with a wife who knows about the child, visiting every two weeks. However, one more kid takes a backseat to his primary focus: Kieran directs the underground Operation Perseus to bring drug lord Shakiel Oliver (Daniel Adegboyega) to justice.

In the office, Sarah is frustrated with her lack of leads and confused by the lack of a reaction on social media to the murder. (Gangs like to boast.) She suggests to DCI Jim Fedden (Stuart McQuarrie) that they have a press conference to ask the community for help. She ignores a snipe from DCI Tim Bailie (Karl Davies), who admits she's right and alerts the Press Office, suggesting she have an Operation Neighborhood representative who works with the community involved. Kieran grumps Sarah’s case could undo years of work; Operation Perseus is currently closing in on its target, and he's worried Shakiel could slip away. 

Colleagues DC Ash Curren (David O’Reilly) and Acting Sergeant Arif Johar (Michael Karim) are already in when Lizzie arrives; the latter is her current love interest. He is also a member of the task force Operation Neighborhood; the two are working on identifying suspects from a recent gang fight, like Ryan Kennedy (Lamar Waves), who turns out to be Spencer's buddy. Tracking him down, Lizzie takes him into the parking lot with a cigarette as bait, removes his handcuffs, and they bond. “He’s no gangster,” she tells Ash but is alarmed to see him climb in a fancy white car, leaving his mum at the bus stop. She records the license plate.

Ryan turns out to have been befriended by DC Steve Bradshaw (Jimmy Akingbola), who is working undercover. The kid talks a little about the knifing, claiming Lexie Moss, a drug addict and prostitute, is to blame. He’s still upset, and Steve offers comfort and pays him £10 for the stolen phone he's nabbed. The hidden camera in his apartment records it all.

When Lizzie returns to the office, Ash says she’s being temporarily transferred to another office; it could be her big break. She reports to a squalid basement, the nerve center of Operation Perseus, and has to sign the Official Secrets Act specific to the operation before DS Marc Angel (Robbie Gee) instructs her on video transcriptions, handing her a drive that contains Steve’s meeting with Ryan. Just as she starts to work, Kieran arrives, and Lizzie realizes in horror he arranged the new post without asking her first. She’s offended that he thought he knew what would be best for her. 

It’s Steve’s birthday, and, in the back of a van, he and Kieran celebrate with a video of his kids singing “Happy Birthday” and sharing a cupcake (with a candle!). It’s a sweet moment as Kieran tells Steve with great pride about his baby boy. They are parked at the docks, tracking Shakiel’s latest gun shipment. Steve reports the drug lord is jumpy as hell, with everything at stake, and nervous that his cover will not hold. But when Kieran offers to release Steve from his undercover role, he refuses, not after two years and getting so close.

Sarah’s press conference is underway, with, as expected, a fair amount of criticism from the audience. They complain the cops are never there when they’re needed, and drug deals take place openly on the streets. Others accuse the police of racism. After the event, Tim Bailey pronounces the press conference “an embarrassment.” However, Ari’s been chatting with Loretta Kennedy (Emmanuella Cole), Ryan’s mum, who mentioned he was out late the night of the murder and best friends with Spencer.

Steve finds Shakiel's lackey, Ujal Jarral (Omar Malik), waiting to escort him to the boss, who is not happy, questioning Steve's cover story. Although he doesn’t name it, he's learned about Operation Perseus and thinks it’s time to escalate activity. Meanwhile, with Steve awol, Ryan has bought a knife, intent upon revenge for his dead friend.

Sarah learns about Lizzie's near arrest of Ryan’s arrest and stops by to connect their cases. Lizzie reports they didn't have anything to hold him, and he didn’t act as though his best friend had just been killed. But Lizzie can't say anything else due to the Operation, and then Josh wakes up, distracting Sarah. Sarah admits she's desperate as she packs up, and Lizzie quietly slips her the white car's license plate. She calls Kieran but has to leave a message with his wife, Mary (Laurie Delaney), who is furious to learn Lizzie is working for him. Kieran claims it’s so she can have flexible hours to look after the baby, but Mary reminds him he promised not to work with Lizzie again and tosses him out.

(Yes, you had to watch for forty-two minutes to see Kieran in his skivvies. I hope you found it worth the wait.) 

Sarah returns home to her partner Julie Woodson (Camilla Beeput) and catches the end of the press conference coverage. One participant asks, “Which of our kids is going to be next?” The answer is Lexie Moss (Allie Aylott), who Ryan blamed for Spencer’s murder and lives in their building. Shakiel is her pimp, and his gang sends her out to work the streets. A car approaches, and she steps out to meet it, but instead of slowing, the car accelerates and runs her down.

The Tower Season 3: Gallowstree Road continues with new episodes every Thursday on BritBox through mid-October 2024.