The first season of ‘Rig 45’ resulted in the capture of serial killer, Petra (Lisa Henni). She was driven to her killing spree following the death of her brother, Fredrik, who she believed was murdered because of what he found out about the rig’s owners, Benthos Oil.
If you want to avoid all spoilers for ‘Rig 45: Murder At Sea’, stop reading this article now.
Season 2 starts with a body on the beach in Scotland, whom the police believe to be the missing Fredrik. His death is clearly suspicious – despite being fish food for some time, he has a smack to the head that would certainly have killed him. Police Scotland’s Emma (Natalie Gumede) and Trevor (Ciarán McMenamin) are sent to investigate and decide to interview Petra, who is currently serving 20 years for her crimes.
For reasons best glossed over, they decide to take Petra with them back to the soon to be dismantled oil rig – the site of her murders – in the hope of finding evidence to back up her and their belief that Fredrik was killed because of what he’d uncovered. This – surprise, surprise – turns out to be a very silly idea indeed.
Shortly after the two police officers search the rig in the hope of finding a hard drive that they believe Fredrik hid, another murder occurs – and radio connections to the outside world are lost.
The spooky, remote location is a fabulous setting for a crime murder mystery. For a start, you have a limited cast of suspects. Secondly, the rig’s vast and bewildering maze-like structure is perfect for hiding, stalking, voyeurism and many other interesting hobbies. It’s like a North Sea version of a murder mystery country house, cut off from the outside world and full of hidden tunnels and secret passages.
There are more holes in this plot than a sailor’s sock. For a start, the likelihood of just two police officers being allowed to take a convicted serial killer onto a remote oil rig where she killed numerous people is ridiculous. It would never happen. And having got on the rig and discovered the hard-drive they were looking for, they then allow a Benthos Oil employee to open the drive and research its contents for them, enabling said employee to delete key data. Finally, leaving Petra locked in an office on the rig where all the keys for the entire structure are stored is quite possibly the most preposterous decision of them all.
With the possible exception of Emma, none of the characters are particularly engaging or likeable; and the script (which unlike virtually all Walter Presents shows is almost entirely in English – no subtitles required) lacks conviction.
The main draw here is the location. The sinister and isolated oil rig makes for a fabulous venue for this drama to play out. For the reasons listed above, this show is a long way from perfect, but perhaps the locale is enough to make this worth sticking with. Time will tell.
Walter Presents: ‘Rig 45: Murder at Sea’ Season 2 will air on More4 at 9pm on Friday 18th August. The full box set is available for six weeks on Channel 4 streaming.
