S02E08: The Finale

We approach this final Life On Mars episode armed with plenty of assumptions about Sam Tyler’s condition and a certain sense of expectancy about the outcome. Surely he’ll either emerge from his coma for a tearful reunion with his girlfriend Maya? Failing that, perhaps the hospital will pull the plug on his life support system and consequently the fictitious coppers running around in his head. However, some cleverly interwoven plot twists subvert everything and leave us stunned. Every time you feel you’re safe in the knowledge that you know what’s going on in Sam’s world, the comfort rug is gleefully yanked from beneath your feet.

On a technical level, the sense of viewer disorientation is maximised by the expressionistic direction of certain key scenes. For example, Sam’s encounters with Frank Morgan inside the police station are swamped in murky, dark lighting with the image framed at a tilted angle to unnerve us. It also serves to mirror Sam’s own mental disintegration, expertly handled by John Simm, as he becomes governed by self doubt in the face of various shock revelations.

The fact that one has so much emotional investment in his plight is testament to two seasons worth of fantastic writing and performances. We feel a real sense of elation when Sam finally tangles tongues with the sweet Annie, after all hope seemed lost when she rebuked his offer of a one nighter.

For a show that has so consistently made us laugh and smile it was only fitting that it ended on an upbeat note. There may have been a distinct lack of top class Gene Hunt one-liners, but the usual humour seeps through the foreboding content of the episode. Hunt’s decision to use toy soldiers and a children’s railway set to plan out a highly dangerous operation is a great visual gag, whilst Sam’s decision to quote the policing mantra of Robocop is inspired.

However, when Sam leapt off the building towards the conclusion, it distinctly felt like a downbeat tearjerker of an ending had arrived. What an ingenious and ironic ending it would have been too. Having battled so hard to make it back to the real world, Sam ends his existence as he misses the feelings of the unreal. What happened next is tantamount to offering a nice, warm blanket after dousing us with a bucket of ice water.

Quite wisely, the series offers us an ambiguous conclusion rather than definitively making any pronouncements as to the true nature of Sam’s condition. The important thing is that the characters will live on in our hearts, our minds and countless online discussion threads…