Blitz

In an early burst of brute force, Detective Sergeant Tom Brant uses a hurley to subdue three would-be car thieves on the streets of South East London. The violent act sets the tone for a volatile officer whose impulses threaten his career. The scene establishes the rough, hands-on style that defines him.

Elizabeth Falls requests Brant's help to prepare for her sergeant’s exam, seeking guidance rather than brute force. Brant cautions patience and discipline, revealing Falls recently left rehab after undercover work with the drugs squad. The exchange hints at Falls' fragile recovery and Brant's protective but harsh approach.

A police psychologist flags a potential burn-out fault line for Brant, recounting a string of past incidents: bugging the Superintendent’s office, a billiards hall altercation, and an earlier assault on three youths. The assessment underscores the toll of the job on his impulse control. It foreshadows the volatility that could derail the investigation.

During Chief Inspector Roberts’s funeral, PC Sandra Bates is shot by an unseen killer, shattering the station’s mood. Port Nash is reassigned in Roberts’s absence, and a troubled boy seeks Falls’s help, prompting her to ask Brant for information about DI Stokes.

Barry Weiss reaches out to journalist Harold Dunlop, outlining a chilling challenge: he plans to kill eight cops to mark his trail. This taunting communication signals the start of his public game and targets the police publicly. The threat injects a new dimension of danger into the investigation.

In a brutal street ambush, Weiss shoots PC Theo Nelson from a car, throwing the station into chaos. The killing marks a dramatic escalation of Weiss’s crime spree and tightens the noose around Brant and his team. The event demonstrates the killer’s willingness to strike in public and escalate the stakes.

Informant Radnor, who once boasted about harming a police dog, points to Weiss as the killer’s target and hints at payoff incentives. Brant’s recurring blackouts become a liability, while Nash shares hard-won lessons from past violence. The combination deepens the investigators’ personal toll and complicates the case.

Weiss’s crime spree culminates in the brutal kill of Chief Inspector Roberts, followed by the theft of his police uniform and badge and the arson of Roberts’s flat. The killer adopts the alias 'Blitz' and uses the uniform to project authority and confuse investigators. The case now moves into a dangerous phase of misdirection and peril.

Weiss calls Harold Dunlop to report the murder, cementing his chosen alias 'Blitz' and drawing more public attention to his rampage. The media tie-in raises the stakes for the police as the killer toys with them. The investigation starts to chase a shadowy phantom wearing a badge.

Falls and Stokes share a drink, and a rift grows between Falls and Brant as Weiss’s presence casts a shadow over the team. Falls pleads to bury the boy’s name and risks her own loyalties in the process. The tension on the force mirrors the external threat and foreshadows a fracture in trust.

Weiss is released from surveillance and returns to Roberts’s funeral, then to Brant’s old domain. He dons the stolen uniform and badge and shadows Brant to a parking garage where evidence from an earlier scene is kept. The stage is set for a dramatic confrontation.

On the rooftop, Weiss aims at Brant, but Nash arrives at the right moment and Brant shoots Weiss in the head, ending the killer’s rampage. Brant implies there was no solid evidence tying Weiss to the killings, suggesting the real target was anyone in uniform. The finale closes with Brant and Nash walking away as two police dogs are unleashed on Dunlop, leaving a bleak note on justice.