Rachel Bellwoar reviews the second series of Striking Out…
At the end of Striking Out series one, Tara (Amy Huberman) was evicted from the coffee house where she’d set-up shop. In series two she’s picking up her files off the street, where a tarp has been laid to keep them dry. Tara suspects her old law firm, Dunbars, is responsible and tells her ex-fiancé, Eric Dunbar (Rory Keenan), to look into it. This happens a lot this season, as they seem to have reached a friendship stage in their broken relationship.
That’s all well and good but this schtick gets old. Tara tells Eric to do some digging. Eric, for whatever reason, agrees. He finds out something fishy, yet the next time Tara tells him to do some digging, he makes the same protests. He’s welcome to stand by his father (Paul Antony-Barber) if he wants, but he shouldn’t be assisting Tara, and she, in turn, shouldn’t be relying on him as a source. He comes through every time, so her confidence is well-rewarded, but it feels more like a passive routine, then a decision on his part to help.
Since Tara has to cut ties with the coffee shop anyway, the show has her cut ties with her season one love interest, Pete (Brahm Gallagher). Tara doesn’t need a boyfriend, but what makes it unceremonious is he’s immediately replaced with another guy she shouldn’t be with more.
It doesn’t take long for Tara to get back on her feet this second time. Her new office space is more suitable and comes with the enviable cast addition of Maria Doyle Kennedy as the solicitor, George, who helps Ray get out of prison. One of the detriments to this season is Tara’s original team members are less entwined in each other’s lives. They interact but it’s more like they catch up over wine or tea than work together.
Vincent (Neil Morrissey) is busy with his inquiry, the kind of convoluted case that would take a whole season of The Wire to make sense of but only gets a portion of Striking Out. Episode two makes a genuine effort to lay out the players, and the reward for keeping track of the particulars is knowing Eric’s dad will likely be implicated.
It would’ve required a change in structure, but series two might’ve done better to make the inquiry the entire focus. They were a highlight of the first season but this year the show doesn’t feel as invested in the case-of-the-week stories. Huberman continues to be a breath of fresh air, as her character, Tara works hard without burning the midnight oil, like lawyers are often depicted on TV. Some of the best storylines have to do with ethical questions around the job. In episode 2, Tara sympathizes with the defendant but has to serve her client. In episode four, you can’t always plan on ethical dilemmas and sharing an office space causes Tara to accidentally read something off George’s desk that pertains to her case.
Right when it’s ending, the season seems to gain momentum. Hopefully if there’s a series three they can pick up where they left off, and not have to spend all season building it up again. Bonus features include a lighthearted interview with Morrissey and Huberman and some short, behind the scenes clips strung together (including one on the design work for the show). Striking Out series two never quite finds its way, but if the show lets its other supporting players (besides Eric) get more involved, the magic could be found again.
Striking Out is streaming on Acorn TV and now available on DVD in the US.
Rachel Bellwoar
