State of Play

• Episode 1 is relatively slow to get going and not all that impressive on its own. It sort of comes off as putting a lot of cliched story lines in motion when in reality those same story lines are going to grow and intertwine in surprising and novel ways in the hours to come; however that's not apparent in this episode. It does have a suspenseful scene toward the end that excites though.
• Episode 2 is where the series starts to shine, and it only keep ramping up from there. The reporters' investigation is the focus here, and the boyish young freelance reporter who is introduced is welcome comic relief. I was also entertained by the rather drawn out scenes of sexual tension in the middle, I think they played that quite well. Additionally, the series shows it can pull off the cops versus reporters dynamic without falling into the pitfall of making one side or the other unbearable to the audience. The police chief comes off brusque but has just enough charisma to keep us from hating him. He can fulfill the role of obstacle and pseudo-antagonist for our crusading reporters while remaining a sleeper-good guy that the writers can tap in to escalate the action later.
• Episodes 3 & 4 slow things down again, and honestly feel a bit like padding to me. There are some interesting plot threads here, but I really just found myself yearning for a sooner end.
• With episodes 5 & 6 the series is on the upswing again. The show is able to appropriately milk all the tension that's been building up, leading to two very satisfying climaxes (the reveal of the pregnancy and the final revelation plot twist). I would also pick out as my favorite moment of the whole series to be the somewhat kitschy scene where Collins tells off a senior member of his party.

3/4