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Louise Marsh hand washing? SPOILERS for "Protection"

posted 10 years ago by !!!deleted!!! (41638798)
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In the opening scene, Louise Marsh is washing her hands in the sink with blood on them.

The voiceover talks about saving people--her mantra.

Whose blood is she washing from her hands?

Is this just a fantasy in her head? After all, we find out she's a bit unbalanced where these things are concerned and eventually tries to take her life once several of her "protections" cause major problems.

Was the blood on the hands scene only there to mislead us to make us think she was visiting retribution on alleged abusers by killing them? Did she have problems that caused delusions?

Huh?

If she really did do something nasty, then her question to Nikki at the end is chilling when Nikki takes her under her wing and supports her, "Do you ever make a mistake?" There must be a reason the writers put that question into Louise's mouth. Isn't there?

Meaning...you've not figured out the murderer Nikki, and now you are supporting and befriending a killer like me?

Did Louis come upon the abuser and his victim in the playground and wield the screw driver? (In spite of Nikki's analysis that it was the little girl?)

Anywho, I'm a bit confused here. Thoughts?

If Louise WAS the killer and Nikki missed it, then that makes the episode even more uber creepy than it already was.

[–] lilactime2014 10 years ago

Hi PE.
Yup, pretty much with you on that one and as soon as we had finished watching part II, me and Mrs. Lilac both pretty much said at the same time "what was the hand washing all about then?".

Our take was that it was more symbolic than real, she was trying to wash the stains of her mistakes, her ineffectuality, her inability to feel that she makes a difference. There was obviously some lower level of mental instability there.

To be honest, Louise was one of the best and most memorable characters in the whole canon of SW. Right up there with Richard in "The Meaning of Death". I don't think she was a killer I just think she became victim of what happens to a lot of Police, Social Workers, Doctors and Nurses. This was most evident in "The Lost Child" when the copper on the, I don't know what to call it, "Anti-Paedo-team" for want of a better term. He had been do the job for so long that he saw EVERY man as a potential paedophile if not an actual one. I think Louise saw every couple and particularly every man as a potential child abuser and every home as a risk to a Baby or child. In every case she was over zealous, ignoring advice and facts that did not suit her warped narrative, such as only listening to the senior Doctor who was saying what she wanted to hear whilst ignoring the clued up junior doctor who had proof she was wrong.

Overall a great episode.... now bring on the Russians.

'tler

[–] !!!deleted!!! (41638798) 10 years ago

Da! The Russkies enter stage right. Huzzah.

Thanks for the response. She was a memorable character, especially if she wasn't guilty of anything but caring too much, and it eventually did her in.

Did you catch though the theme of the show and why they chose it? Topical indeed!

With the issue of allegedly overzealous social workers and forced adoptions in the news almost every day, the whole social work system is under the microscope and it was as though they created Louise Marsh as the kind of poster child for a broken system.

Especially when she took the word of the mucky muck doc who was had the initials after his name and was invested himself in the committee, over the young junior doc who just wanted to do hands on good medical work in the hospital.

Loads of contemporary social comment throughout "Protection!" Most especially of course the mismanaged care system.

SW never shies away from the current issues. Remember when they had to postpone the airing of the episodes about child prostitution grooming by Asian men--because it coincided with the trial and sentencing of the Rochdale creeps?