He's abetted - and in the last episode rescued from the machinations of an arrogant prosecutor (Nicholas Farrell, best known to Americans from Chariots of Fire) - by his young partner DS Siobhan Clarke (Claire Price). Their relationship remains a tricky one throughout the series: at any given point, he can be her mentor and guide into the convincingly grubby world of Edinburgh policing or a liability on Siobhan's own career. Observing it all from above is DCS Templar, who sees herself in Rebus' young partner and hovers over each case with a mixture of protectionism and jealousy.
As mysteries, the offerings in Set Three are fairly straightforward and not too difficult to parse out ahead of time. When we see the poster for a Shakespeare play in the background of one character's questioning, for instance, it clearly cues us to the real motives behind what appears to be a drug-related murder. But Stott's lived-in take on the alienated police detective keeps you watching even when you think you've figured all the facts behind the case. You believe his irritation and his anguish: there's a moment in "Resurrection" where the character's role undercover puts him in a moral bind that is particularly devastating.
Reportedly, the actor has announced his retirement from the character that he has so made his own. Perhaps this is apt, given the book Rebus' own forced departure from police work, though this fan would like to at least see the character's swan song adapted to the TV screen. It's the least they could do for the old bastard.
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