Then there is the warm and gentle manner of Steve, who is played to perfection by Mark Lewis Jones, opposite the increasingly jealous and controlling Evan, played by Bradley Freegard. I have loved watching Demi Letherby and Lacey Jones grow in their roles as Alice and Megan respectively, each bringing a different temperament that perfectly matches the stubbornness and fragility of Faith herself. The quiet resolve grown in Tom by Aneirin Hughes is another that has been beautiful to watch, with the presence of strong women, such as Suzanne Packer’s Delyth, being key to this change. Catherine Ayers deserves special mention for her heartrending portrayal of Lisa’s alcoholism, the scene at her first AA meeting being one of many powerful moments in this final series. It is to Hall’s credit that he has managed to retain this as the central focus, the effect being, in this final series, a real depth to those supporting characters, whose arcs are as important to and invested in by the audience as Faith’s. Keeping Faith has always been, at its heart, a drama about family. What made the first series of Keeping Faith so hugely popular was not just the superb acting talent of Eve Myles but the strong cast of characters that surrounded her. However, they are by no means the sole contributors to its success. The introduction of Faith’s backstory has been a stroke of genius by the show’s creator, Matthew Hall, and these two acting heavyweights have helped to make it so. Their sparring matches have been so emotionally explosive that they have enthralled and exhilarated in equal measure. Together, the two of them have simply sparkled onscreen. And in this, her final swansong, Imrie has matched her star quality as Faith’s cold, manipulative and deliciously deceitful mother, Rose. Throughout that time, Myles has more than embodied the character. It’s why we’ll miss her as Faith, the gutsy, emotional, steely and vulnerable lawyer who has been through the ringer, so to speak, over three series of the hit Welsh drama. There is no CGI or special effects rather, just Eve Myles doing what Eve Myles does best. In an age of cinematic telly, or literary telly, Keeping Faith is telly-telly, and it is all the better for it.There is a moment in the final series of Keeping Faith when Eve Myles becomes Celia Imrie. This is not drama with a particularly light touch, but that really doesn’t matter, given that it rips along at an irresistible pace. Her woman-scorned determination is what will save her, in the short run, but there’s also a worry, now, that it could eventually bring her down. When she tells Evan, “I’ll sort it”, there is no doubting she means what she says. When it comes to family, though, Faith is in charge. When Madlen is charged with the crime, Faith does the reasonable thing and shouts “You bastards! What is wrong with you people?” at the detective who just charged her client. “Let this be the first,” she says, gamely, which is exactly the phrase you’d never want to hear from a pilot, a surgeon, or a lawyer defending you in a murder trial. Naturally, Faith steps up to offer help, even though Tom points out she’s never actually handled a murder case. Keeping Faith is about to go Full Broadchurch with a murder case, when local farmer Will Vaughan is found dead, having been shot in the chest, and his wife Madlen is suspected of the crime, because her fingerprints are all over the gun. As soon as that blue trench makes an appearance, it’s clear she means business. Given that Evan’s whereabouts have been accounted for, and he’s currently halfway through a four-year prison sentence, there needs to be a new mystery for Faith to get stuck into. Newcomers should be able to jump in cold (there’s a scene that essentially recaps the first series’ many dodgy dealings, though it comes near the end), but it helps if you have some idea why Faith is in debt, why everyone is so keen to buy an energy company at a knockdown price, and what has driven Alys to her “halfway to goth” experimentations in eyeliner and dark lipstick. But it is also very good at building intrigue, and laying breadcrumbs, and it packs an awful lot in to an hour. Her don’t-mess attitude – and the fact that she isn’t squeaky clean herself – is the main driving force behind the show. Myles does a knockout job as Faith, who spends much of her time glowering in the rearview mirror of her car, or behind the reflection of something else in one of many arty, blurry shots or moody montages. Photograph: Rory Taylor/BBC/Vox Pictures Ltd we finally get to the truth about Evan, thanks to Faith and a sinister bottle of wine.
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