Part 2 of 'What Remains' found relationships at 8 Coulthard Street just as intriguing as the tragic fate of the occupant of Flat 5.
Writer Tony Basgallop confidently juggles the intertwining strands of this onion-layered tale. As well as the central murder enquiry, the everyday despairs and delights of strangers living in close proximity continue to evolve - Elaine and Peggy's breakup becoming messy and mutually recriminatory, Kieron (Stephen Mackintosh)'s son and girlfriend coming to a deal of silence, possibly more, after their bashful surprise encounter, haunted Michael (Russell Tovey) finding an unexpected ally in his pursuit of his former teacher tormentor.
Peggy and Elaine (Victoria Hamilton and Indira Varma) know more than they're letting on about Melissa
Any of these strands would be interesting enough on their own, but the real sadness at the centre of it all remains the small hole left by dead Melissa - "one of those invisible people" as described by her dismissive neighbour, the same one willing to exploit her in a horribly self-conscious photo session.
Only Detective Inspector Len Harper is interested in the fate of tragic Melissa
Only the tireless Detective Inspector Harper (an increasingly energetic David Threlfall) keeps a solitary vigil, both over Melissa's real story, and his barely-alive hospitalised friend, Gerry. He alone notices the forced nature of Melissa's smile in those so-wrong photographs. And, in a heartbreaking counterpoint, he sets about trying to make a friend of his own neighbour - harder than it looks, and proof that urban loneliness is by no means restricted to Coulthard Street.