Line #16 Series/River


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s592_16.jpg]]
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3	''River'' (2015) is a six-part MiniSeries starring Creator/StellanSkarsgard and Creator/NicolaWalker.
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5	DI John River (Skarsgård) is a Swedish-born London detective who works with his colleague, DS Jackie 'Stevie' Stevenson, a chirpy Cockney with a penchant for karaoke and takeaway food. There's just one problem...three weeks ago, she was murdered and so the Stevie in his head is basically one giant hallucination. And she's not the only one in his mind...victims, suspects and some Victorian serial killer called Thomas Cream (Creator/EddieMarsan) also pop up at random.
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7	As he tries to solve Stevie's murder, he has to deal with all of these 'ghosts' as well...
8	----
9	!!This show contains examples of:
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11	* AfraidToHoldTheBaby: John River is afraid to hold his new partner, Ira's, baby out of fear that he'll drop it. This may be a CastingGag as Creator/StellanSkarsgard has eight children, but it also represents River's loneliness and isolation from others.
12	* AmbiguousSituation: It's not clear at first if the [[InsistentTerminology manifests]] are a purely visual metaphor for River's thoughts that effectively exist only for the audience or if they are hallucinations that River experiences on some sensory level. It's later clarified that they're the latter during one of his sessions with a police psychiatrist.
13	* CannotSpitItOut: [[spoiler: River was very much in love with Stevie, and was about to tell her but she died before he received the opportunity. He finally manages to in the last episode.]]
14	* DaChief: Chrissie Read, one of the closest things River has to a friend, and who is frustrated by the misogynist views that police only advance by having "balls."
15	* DeadAllAlong: In the final shot of the first scene it is revealed that Stevie is dead and is just a hallucination. We also see Erin hanging around in River's apartment whilst he gets up for work before we realise she is the missing girl whose body he is looking for.
16	* DeadpanSnarker: River, Stevie, Chrissie... quite a few.
17	* DefectiveDetective: Oh, boy. River is downright psychotic, actively confronts his hallucinations (what appears to bystanders as talking to or punching invisible people) and had a significant problem with addiction (to alcohol, most likely). Being stubborn and abrasive doesn't make him any more friendly.
18	* EnemyWithin: Thomas Cream insists he is this to River.
19	* FamilyVersusCareer: The reason why Stevie became estranged from her family; becoming a policewoman threatened their less than savoury activities.
20	* FauxAffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Michael.]] He behaves like a friend to River, always offering him help whilst looking like a pleasant old man. In reality, he is a criminal who [[spoiler: molested his fourteen-year old niece Stevie, before having their son kill her when she "betrayed" him.]]
21	* {{Foil}}: Ira, a calm, composed, friendly and diligent family man is this to River. It extends even to their appearance. Ira is of Middle Eastern descent (half Israeli, half Palestinian) while River looks like your average Scandinavian.
22	* GhostlyGoals: River's [[InsistentTerminology manifests]] tend to hang around until he has solved their case, before moving on. [[spoiler: Including Stevie.]]
23	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Thomas Cream.
24	* TheIrishMob: Stevie's family.
25	* LivingMemory: They clearly exist entirely in River's head. [[spoiler: It's also made clear that he's been having these visions since childhood]].
26	* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Frankie is suffering from this problem [[spoiler: on the night of Stevie's murder.]]
27	* MagicalRealism: It's never confirmed if River is really seeing ghosts or hallucinating.
28	* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Averted. We see a large hole appear in the back of Stevie's head when it becomes obvious she's dead. Also, the black-and-white CCTV clip of her being shot is shown a good couple of dozen times, never getting any less horrifying.
29	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
30	** DCI Read, who does her best to keep River on the case even though the Superintendent is trying to get him removed.
31	** Even the Superintendent is fairly reasonable, it's only sensible that a man potentially suffering from schizophrenia be removed from the police force.
32	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: At the focus group which he had no desire to attend, River finally lets loose about what he thinks about the group's delusion, and Rosa, the police psychologist who he dismisses as having a Messiah complex and makes a few cutting comments about her having no actual family to care about. This turns out to be HarsherInHindsight when Rosa reveals that she did in fact have a baby that died after only a few days.

Context Series / River