One of the most captivating crime dramas on British television is Luther, starring Idris Elba. The show started its run way back in 2010 and went through several ups and downs to air its 5th season in 2019. This is a show that plunged us into the stark, gloomy streets of London and made us check the back of our car seats or expect insane prowlers to jump on us from behind the bushes every time we walked past them.
DCI John Luther is an endless enigma. And throughout the series, he has been surrounded by some very interesting characters. Let us look at some of the details about the main characters on the show that might have gone unnoticed.
Alice Morgan Represents A Rare Breed Of Female Villains
Alice Morgan is one of the best characters on television as a whole. She is a psychopathic killer who had been a child prodigy and is one of the few people Luther trusts and possibly loves. That is until she completely spirals out of control.
As we get wrapped up in this strange character and the even stranger relationship that Luther seems to have with her, we often forget that Alice is one of a handful of psychos on television who is a female. There are female villains, for instance, the ruthless Claire Underwood in House of Cards or the devious Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. However, femme fatales are still a rare breed on primetime television and the mysterious Alice Morgan definitely qualifies as one.
Justin Ripley Has a Death Wish
Justin Ripley has been a fan favorite on the show. Ripley represented all that was loyal and innocent, hopeful and puppy-eyed about this otherwise dark and twisted world of Luther. However, trusted lieutenant as he is, Ripley also has a death wish.
He sought out John Luther who is known not just for his brilliance but also for his escapades with the law itself. He also got himself involved with the rather dangerous business of DSU George Stark who was obsessed with catching Luther, a suspected dirty cop. Ripley also accosted the vigilante killer Marwood all alone which finally led to his brutal murder. Ripley is clearly drawn to danger and seems a bit too eager to put his neck on the line.
Zoe Is The Light To Luther’s Darkness
Zoe Luther is John Luther’s wife, appearing in the first season, by the end of which she is killed by the dirty cop, DCI Reed. Zoe is seen caught in a dilemma. She clearly still loves Luther but she is also drawn to Mark North with whom she has an affair and who makes time for her, unlike John.
What escapes us as we watch Zoe sandwiched between the two men she loves and then dying unceremoniously, is that she represents the light. She brings hope to Luther’s despair and symbolizes life in the world of Luther which is all about darkness and death. She was what gave Luther a steady life and a breath of fresh air until it was too late.
Rose Teller Is Luther’s M
DSU Rose Teller is Luther’s boss in season 1. And as we see her resigned to her fate of dealing with Luther’s troubled genius, we can draw clear parallels between M–the Head of MI6–and Teller–superior to John Luther which is a Bondesque character in itself.
Like M, who is well aware of James Bond playing hard and fast with orders at times, Teller, too, is not oblivious to Luther’s tendency to breach the same law that he seeks to protect. Yet, like M, who cannot help but acknowledge Bond as one of her best agents, if not the best, Teller, too, turns a blind eye to Luther’s possible transgressions.
Martin Schenk Is A Ruthless Copper
Those familiar with the show know that DSU Martin Schenk replaces Rose Teller as the perpetually tormented superior to John Luther from season 2 onwards. He is willing to take risks as he relies on Luther even though he is aware of the latter’s troubled past and present.
But beneath his sensitive and tolerant facade is a ruthless cop who brings down his wrath on the prisoners when it comes to it. Despite his lenient attitude towards Luther, Schenk is a formidable man with a steely mind and a sharp intuition. It is this remarkable intuition that finally starts a breathtaking cat and mouse game between the two in season 5.
Erin Gray Has A God-complex
DCI Erin Gray is one of those people who think that they are entrusted with the responsibility of rooting out any corruption that might exist within the police force. She is also vengeful and determined and her ambition to come out as the cop who helped filter out dirty cops gives rise to much of the events in the 3rd season.
Gray believes that Luther is dirty and gets involved with the obsessive George Stark. She seems to think that she can bury Luther and possibly other dirty cops like him and fight the system. While Gray has the law on her side, her bitterness and over-confidence finally lead to her downfall.
Benny Is Not Just A Computer Nerd
Benny Silver is the tech genius the police rely on. He also becomes Luther’s comrade in the course of the series, getting embroiled in the murky affair with George Cornelius in season 5 and losing his life to protect Alice and Mark North.
But Benny is not just a computer geek. He is a geek all around! It was his love for comic books and computer games that very possibly drove him to his current job and he ended up hacking his way through impossible codes and passwords. Benny is one of the few men who has complete faith in Luther and is ready to have his back until the end, quite literally.
George Cornelius Is An Ethical Criminal
George Cornelius reminds one of the time when dons and gangsters followed a code. He is a Godfatherly character, an old school criminal. If you hurt him, he will hurt you back, otherwise, he will let you be. However, he is ruthless when it comes to his family being hurt, which is what makes him go after Alice Morgan who first kidnapped and then killed his son.
Cornelius is a gentleman gangster so to speak, who co-exists with the police and likes to conduct his affairs without anybody meddling with them. The escalation of matters in the 5th season is not what he necessarily desires but it is way beyond his control anyway.
John Luther Is A Fan Of Popular Culture
Despite the gloomy setting of the show, the horrific crimes, and Luther’s trademark dull grey trench coat, the lead protagonist is actually a fan of popular culture. There are more than a few references to David Bowie, especially in the first two seasons, before things take a desperate turn for the murky.
Luther is a fan of Bowie and uses Bowie’s cut-up technique to make sense of patterns in a serial killing case in season 1, episode 4. Later on, in season 2, Jenny Jones gifts him a framed photograph of David Bowie. Not just Bowie, Luther is also familiar with children’s television such as Basil Brush’s Boom Boom.
John Luther Is Very Well-Read
We know that John has some of the best instincts when it comes to catching bizarre criminals. He is brilliant at manipulating his suspects psychologically but what we might fail to notice at times is that he is also a very well-read man.
In the very first episode of the first season, Luther and Alice discuss Occam’s Razor. This was one of the several instances where Luther demonstrates almost an academic bent of mind in the course of his investigations. He met his wife Zoe at the university; the latter, we know, is a humanitarian lawyer who must have found Luther’s depth of mind and single-minded devotion to his work stimulating. Unlike the popular representation of cops as the tough, brawny guys, Luther is a highly educated man.
