Granite Harbour – Fighting Crime Far from Jamaica
Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson) had a clear path to promotion if he stayed in his native Jamaica and followed in his father’s footsteps. Wanting to make it on his own, Lindo completed a tour with Jamaica’s Royal Military Police, and under a diversity program, comes to the UK . Upon arrival, he texts his father back in Jamaica: “Hey Daddy, Arrived in Aberdeen. Today Scotland, tomorrow…maybe New Scotland Yard?”
Granite Harbour, now streaming on BritBox, gets its name from the Rubislaw Quarry where an estimated six million tons of granite were once mined, giving Aberdeen the nickname, Granite City. The quarry was closed in 1971, filled with water, and closed to the public. Granite, however, has another meaning, defining a hard rock that can be polished and used as a foundation for buildings and monuments. That sums up Lindo who comes onto the Aberdeen team with a tough attitude, polishing his techniques as he learns, yet demonstrating that he is the rock solid member of an arrogant and, at times, inept group.
Romario Simpson as Davis Lindo
The first season introduces members of the Aberdeen police department: DCI Cora MacMillan (Dawn Steele); DS Lara Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson); DI Jay Mallick (Bhav Joshi); and DS Simone “Monty” Montrose. As the newest recruit, Lindo has a lot to prove and he’s thrown into the deep end of the pool right away. Out shopping for new clothes, he happens upon a rally where an energy company executive, Clellan Coburn (Ron Donachie), is announcing that his oil company will transition to green energy by merging with a Norwegian company. “It’s taken us a long time to get on the green train, but now that we have, we’re not getting off,” Coburn tells the crowd. While most there support the company’s new direction, others are worried about their jobs. The head of the green company, Karolina Andersen (Katia Winter), tries to reassure the opponents with the proclamation that Colburn Oil and Gas will transform into Coburn renewable Energy.
After the announcement, someone throws a bottle at Coburn and says, “I’ll kill you first, Coburn! That’s a promise.” Lindo also witnesses an argument between Coburn and his brother, Shay (Gary Lewis), who opposes the merger. When Coburn is found dead the next day, the protestor, as well as Shay, emerge as prime suspects who wanted the energy company executive dead. But as the team begins to examine the merger, others are added to the list.
Lara Bartlett Hannah Donaldson as DS Lara Bartlett
Although Lindo hopes to become a detective, he already is one. In the first season, he’s methodical as he looks at the evidence, digs deep into each suspect’s background, and doesn’t look for the quick fix just to make the team look good. His ten years in the Jamaican RMP prepared him well, better in fact, than the two team leaders, MacMillan and Mallick. And his time in Kabul taught him about leadership, guiding a team and, most importantly, listening to subordinates even when their assessment might differ from the obvious solution.
After Lindo’s performance in the first season, he should be on more solid ground as a team member. Yet MacMillan still is keeping him on a short leash. Adding to Lindo’s problems is a visit from his father, Grantly (Patrick Robinson), who was high up in the Jamaican police department and is pressuring his son to come back home and join the island’s force. Lindo wants to prove himself without interference from his father and having his father imply that Lindo’s time in Scotland is coming to an end adds to resentment from Bart, his partner.
Sam Garioch as Duncan McFadden and Lesley Hart as Grace McFadden
This time around the stakes are high as the team goes up against one of the city’s most notorious crime families headed by the daughter of the deceased kingpin. Grace McFadden (Lesley Hart) and MacMillan go way back as schoolmates but now are on opposite sides of the law. Publicly Grace says the family has gone legit, but Cora knows better. When one of Grace’s foot soldiers turns up dead from an overdose of ketamine, she denies that he worked for her. Since CK, a mixture of cocaine and ketamine, is now flooding the streets of Aberdeen, Cora suspects Grace’s organization is responsible for the traffic and the team has its eye on Grace’s nephew, Duncan.
Dawn Steele as DCI Cora MacMillan
Meanwhile, Bart and Lindo try to help a young, pregnant Iranian woman, Mariam (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh) who was being smuggled, along with her husband, into Scotland on a freighter. When her husband goes missing, she seeks help from Katie Forsyth (Kate Bracken), a former drug addict who now works with a local charity. Katie takes Mariam to the police to report her husband missing, but without any evidence, they can’t investigate. Lindo, however, believes her, his suspicions raised by interviews with the ship’s captain and crew who seem to be hiding something. MacMillan resists supporting Lindo until his digging turns up a link between the freighter and the CK drug traffic. Whoever is behind the drug gang wants Mariam silenced. When her location is leaked, Lindo knows someone on the team is responsible and takes it upon himself to find a safe house for her, refusing to tell MacMillan the location. Resolution of the crime will shake MacMillan’s team to its core and, once again, Lindo’s instincts prove to be spot on.
The standout in this series is Simpson, whose resume includes roles in Django and Star Wars: Andor. He’s particularly effective during interrogations when his ability to empathize with a suspect or a victim is on full display. As his partner, Donaldson holds her own. The weak link, unfortunately, is Dawn Steele, the experienced and talented Scottish actor who should have demanded a better story line for her character. MacMillan comes off as arrogant and inexperienced when a woman in her position would certainly have exhibited exceptional skills to lead a criminal investigation team. Maybe we will see a more effective team leader in season three.
Granite Harbour can be streamed on BritBox.
Photos courtesy of BritBox.
