Review of the BBC's The Ink Black Heart, Episode 2: The One with all the Creeps

Episode 2 opens with Robin as Jessica, on her tour of Highgate Cemetery.  She gets much more direct evidence that Anomie is the killer than in the book when she calls Murphy to find out where Josh and Edie were found, and discovers it is exactly the same spot in the game where Anomie took her for his "confession." This call also sets the scene for Murphy's initial attempt to ask her out, and her botched response to it. That bit of awkwardness is very true to the way it unfolds in the book. 

After my visit to Highgate in summer 2023, the tour scenes were among my favorite in the series so far. We don't have the obnoxious selfie-snapping fans of the book, but a fellow tourist  does tell Robin she quit Drek's Game because the creator was a "total control freak." Creepy Pez Pierce shows up, suggests drawing Robin nude in the cemetery (of course) then takes a major deviation from the book by first referring to Anomie as "she," then telling Robin that he suspects Kea Niven; the book Pez suspects Wally. He also gives more credence to Kea's plagiarism claims, telling Robin that Kea and Edie were "working on the exact same idea" for a cartoon, but only Edie's was successful. Kea as a would-be animator also apparently writing about a disembodied heart is a far cry from the delusional spoonie who thought she could patent the ideas that ghosts are pale and magpies can talk, and that Edie somehow magically divined and copied the shadow of a picture she had never seen. While this serves to make Kea a more credible suspect, I prefer the more misguided book version of the character, where there was no hint that Edie was any sort of plagiarist. 

Review of the BBC's The Ink Black Heart, Episode 1

Thanks to a friend who shared a recording with me, I could take an in-depth look at this installment.  Like the previous five books, The Ink Black Heart was adapted for TV by JKR's company, Bronte Film and TV. Although the mammoth book has to be pared down to fit into four hours of TV programming, overall, I think this is a pretty good adaptation, at least judging from the first episode.  Perhaps my favorite part are the Easter eggs for the book fans. 

The Ink Black Heart picks up right where Troubled Blood left off, with Strike attempting to make up for his thoughtlessness on Robin's birthday with a make-up evening:  pony (not donkey) balloon, perfume and dinner out. A few differences from the book: this is apparently relatively shortly after the botched birthday, not a full year later. They are explicitly having dinner at an unnamed but smart restaurant, not drinks at the Ritz.  

Easter Egg #1:  Robin is wearing a round pendant, which recalls the opal her parents gave her for her 30th in the book. 

Easter Egg #2: The first line we hear from Robin in the restaurant is the surprising "How do you know about sheep diseases?" Though we are not told the nature of her father's profession, sheep definitely were the topic of conversation before Strike begins the story of Charlotte's stepmother. And only we readers know the reason for that!

I thought the missed kiss was extraordinarily well done. I actually liked the fact that neither seemed as intoxicated as they were in the book, and the surprise on Robin's face and the shock and disappointment on Strike's were obvious. A nice touch is the harried Strike running full-face into the pony balloon and having to bat it away as he hustles Robin into the cab. 

Strike looks equally shell-shocked the next day, tailing Legs and Groomer to the museum, and you can tell his mind is on something other than the job at hand. Part of the reason may be the painting at which he is staring. 

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott: What's your favorite head-cannon?

 Some of the most frequent questions Serious Strikers ask among themselves are "Which characters would from previous books would you like to see back?" and "What do you think ever happened to [insert a favorite character here]?"  As we eagerly anticipate The Hallmarked Man (see countdown on blog header), I thought it would be fun to share our favorite pet theories, or "head-cannon."  Not full fan-fiction, please, though feel free to link to any you might have written elsewhere.

Here's mine.  I would love to see a follow-up with Leonora and Orlando Quine, and I really want them to have a happy ending.  My idea is that Michael Fancourt had a bit of an Ebeneezer Scrooge moment during the Liz Tassel interrogation, as evidenced by his calling Strike a "cold-hearted bastard" for not running after Liz and trying to prevent her killing herself. (Talk about pot, kettle, black!)  In any case, once Liz is safely locked away and Quine's original Bombyx mori published with Fancourt's introduction, I am guessing he agrees to cooperate with the sale of the Talgarth Row house, giving Leonora a second windfall of cash on top of the book royalties. Not only that, but Fancourt chooses to put his half of the proceeds into a trust fund for Orlando, to assure she will have proper care for life, even after her mother is gone. Even if he still hasn't forgiven Quine for keeping quiet about and profiting from the parody, he figures Joe North* would want their old friend's daughter cared for. 

Fast forward to 2015, The Ink Black Heart and another character who deserves a happy ending: Zoe. I am going to imagine that, after the events of the book, Robin follows up with Zoe and introduces her to Ilsa, who not only advises Zoe when she has to testify at Gus's trial, but also helps her understand how serious Tim Ashcroft's crime was, and helps Robin encourage Zoe to file charges. 

Although Zoe has been invited to move into North Grove, Robin and Ilsa have their doubts that that environment is good for her, especially given the presence of Pez, Nils and Bram. In an instance of wonderful timing, Leonora (who has remodeled her house so it is as clean and cozy as Edna's) calls Ilsa to ask some legal advice about Orlando's trust.  By 2015, Edna is getting on in years and no longer able to babysit Orlando as often as she used to. Leonora has also realized that Orlando will likely outlive both her and Edna, and, in the absence of other family, sees the need for someone trustworthy to eventually take over as her legal guardian and advocate. She decides to remodel Owen's old study into a bed and bath suite, and hire a live-in aide to assist with Orlando's care. Ilsa and Robin recommend Zoe. 

While Leonora has her initial doubts, she is quickly won over. Zoe finds caring for Orlando much more rewarding than babysitting at North Grove, and the two are able to spend many happy hours together drawing. Zoe moves in, and is able to help with Orlando, while at the same time starting an apprenticeship at a reputable tattoo parlor. Under Zoe's tutelage, Orlando eventually produces professional-level drawings, and is able to supplement the family's income by drawing people's pets. 

Leonora's blunt manner ("You could pass for 13 now. I don't reckon anyone was going to think you were old enough five years ago. Nice thing to do to a child, I think not!") and the example she sets of devoted motherhood turns out to be exactly what Zoe needs after her deprived childhood. She gains new confidence and testifies against Ashcroft, who is jailed for his crimes. Zoe finds a new family in the Quines, and becomes like a second daughter to Leonora. She chooses to stay on with them even after she becomes a successful tattoo artist and could afford her own place. She eventually moves out after marrying a fellow artist, and has a daughter, Leonora Robin, who she calls "Nora." Leonora wills Zoe her house and designates her as trustee, so when Leonora passes away at a ripe old age, Zoe's family moves back in and continues to care for Orlando, with the help of well-trained aides supplied by the trust fund. So, in my fairy tale, they all live happily ever after. 

So, does anyone else have any head-cannon to share?  Please place in the comments, or, if that isn't working for you, try the Substack version of this post. 

*I'll expand on another Silkworm-IBH connection that was noted years ago on Hogwartsprofessor. The Silkworm features a large house that Joe North wished to set up as a haven for artists. IBH features North Grove, another large house set up as a place for artists. Strike comes close to vomiting on the upper floor of the Silkworm house, when he finds Quine's body; Robin comes close to vomiting on the upper floor of North Grove, when she sees Bram's dead rat. 

New Year, New Blog, New Ornaments and New Strike Book Date

 Happy New Year, or, should I say, Happy MLK Day, which is coming up tomorrow.  This is just a quick catch-up note to report a few pieces of news, and share some plans for future blogging.

First, I am happy to report that another essay collection to which I have contributed, The Phoenix or the Flame, will be published on February 24th.  The latest about the volume can be found here.  On related note, the presentation on my chapter that I gave at the Harry Potter Academic Conference has just been released on Youtube.  

Thirty-five other talks from the conference are available on the YouTube channel here. 

In Cormoran Strike News, we have a publication date for The Hallmarked Man:  September 9 2025.  I am still debating what to do in the build up to the release. I don't have the time or energy to do a complete series re-read, but I am considering posts about the books I think are most likely to make thematic coonnections to THM:  Namely, the even-numbered texts (The Silkworm, Lethal White and The Ink Black Heart) along with the 5th book, Troubled Blood.  I'll do some calendar work and make a decision. 

Second, I am happy to report that Santa answered my request for two new Strike themed ornaments, bringing my grand total to six. I got a beautiful glass Land Rover, and a wooden disc with a White Horse of Uffington, painted, alas, not carved by Billy Knight. Still, I am happy to finally have a representative from my favorite book of the series. 

 

Finally, I am happy to announce the creation of a new blog, The Farting Sofa Faculty Archive. I created this as a repository for all of my old posts from Hogwartsprofessor.com.  I am in the process of copying them over, a task which, with ten years; worth of posts on Potter, Strike, The Hunger Games, Divergent and other works, will take a while. Once that is complete, I will ask the owners of the Hogpro site to remove my posts. Please be patient if certain links go inactive; I will get things fixed eventually. 

2025 promises to be a good year, with, in addition to Strike Book 8, we will get the BBC's The Ink Black Heart series coming to US television and a new Hunger Games prequel telling the full story of Haymitch's victory in the Quarter Quell.  I look forward to enjoying and discussing all of these works with other enthusiasts!