‘London Kills’ Recap: ‘Cyber Bully’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 302 of ‘London Kills’. To revisit the season three premiere, click here.
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We are taught from a very early age, that words and the actions of bullies, are worthless. For they represent nothing more than misdirected anger and jealousy from an individual that can only find joy or fulfillment in picking on us, and it makes absolute sense why our parents would take the time to teach us that lesson. So that we don’t fall into a bully’s trap and let them get the better of us and while that is sound and wonderful advice… unfortunately… it tends to not stick once we encounter bullies. Because words can and do hurt and actions can rattle us and well, that does beg quite the question when all is said and done.

In that, since children struggle to heed that advice/lesson and stumble mentally and emotionally or worse when bullying begins… how then do we put a stop to bullying? Sadly, there are no easy answers for that… but that isn’t stopping creative minds from attempting to find the solution and oddly enough, the next episode of London Kills on Acorn TV… took the time to offer up its own ideas on a potential fix. An exploration that ‘Cyber Bully’ accomplished by unfortunately… having the team investigate a series of deaths related to outright bullying. For the end of a young man named Louis, revealed all kinds of unfortunate secrets about his life and his supposed best mate.

Such as the fact that Louis was madly in love with a girl named Tara from his school, and their love was unfortunately doomed from the start. For Louis’ best bud, despised Tara and was eager to pick on her often at school and well… when the chance arose to embarrass her online through Louis’ accounts, he took it and she in turn took her life out of embarrassment. For what was posted was private and sadly… that led to Louis’ death when Tara’s mother partook in revenge. A reality that eventually shattered the bully and therein lie the lesson. In that, it’s not enough to teach the bullied to ignore what their antagonist is saying, but we also need to speak with the bully, and teach them the meaning of their words and the damage they cause and the impact of their actions so they can understand the hurt they bring forth... and stop.

Which is a solution that some might deem as too simple or impossible, but it is hands down, a better answer than the inaction happening now with bullying and this episode deserves a round of applause for offering something… and for still finding a way to advance the Grace Harper case. Because after getting his family secured and away from the house, Rob returned to work and quickly found himself in an awkward situation. Because it was finally revealed to him that the Chief Superintendent was the man responsible for getting that crooked cop to Rob’s home. Leaving this intrepid detective beside himself and ready… to join David and Vivienne in the fight to bring down corruption. 

If anything, this was just… a delightfully surprising tale. Simply because that wonderful commentary on bullying wasn’t expected in the slightest. But it was there, and it was welcome and definitely added gravity and power to the case, since there were some powerful real-world echoes to be found within it. Plus, it was amazing to see this episode raise the stakes by way of the whole mess with the chief. Because now our heroes are treading in dangerous waters and they will have to mind every p and q if they expect to trap this clever, clever man and well… in the end, all of these elements compel us to continue the journey. So, we can see what other intelligent cases await us, and how the team is going to handle the monster in their midst. Until next time.

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