Was Zoe Jacobs murdered, or does she not want to be found? That’s the question as season two of the Australian crime show Black Snow opens – airing from Friday 4 April at 9pm for six weeks on BBC Two in the UK. Working the case are Detective James Cormack played by Travis Fimmel and Constable Samara Kahlil (Megan Smart). The backdrop this time is the incredible Glass House Mountain National Park in Queensland, about 60km north of Brisbane.
Five years have passed since Cormack helped crack the case of Isabel Baker, a cold case from further up the coast covered in season one. He’s returning to duty after a suspension for using excessive force and it’s compulsory for him to see a shrink. As Cormack points out, it’s highly unusual for someone to run away, disappear from mobile and ATM networks and have zero contact with friends and family. Most likely, Zoe – played by Jana McKinnon – is dead. But Samara Kahlil won’t have it. She was Zoe’s friend before the university student went missing in 2003. Now a cop, she’s the one who finds Zoe’s old backpack and she still thinks Zoe’s alive… somewhere.
That’s how Cormack and Kahlil end up working the investigation together. He’s the experienced Brisbane detective sent up to do what he’s best at, she’s the local police officer with in-depth knowledge of the victim, the family and the wider community.
It’s almost as though two factions are forming. Cormack discovers that Zoe’s parents are long divorced. Her disappearance took its toll. In his palatial Queensland home, the father, Leo Jacobs (Dan Spielman), is convinced she’s dead. Her mother, Nadja (Victoria Haralabidou), hopes that her daughter is still alive and has ended up destitute, living on a caravan park.
The programme plays out at an easy pace, switching between timelines with the investigation set in 2024 and the period before Zoe disappeared in 2003. We’re not talking about flashbacks here. For long spells, we’re back in 2003 with Nokia phones and Kings of Leon, gaining an in-depth insight into Zoe’s busy life as a political science student, young idealist and local radio DJ.
There’s plenty of drama in her life, plenty of trouble, and a little romance too. Her best friend Cody is struggling at home, living in poverty with his mother, sisters and abusive stepfather. Her parents are fighting non-stop. She’s met a hunky young man who’s showing an interest. But she’s desperate to get away, and plans to do so as soon as she turns 21 and inherits a large sum of money from her grandfather’s estate.
We meet a young woman full of dreams, full of potential and full of angst. She wants to go far, far away and make a difference in the world. But in a strange way, she could be make a difference by staying where she is. There are people in her life who certainly need help.
So as she turns 21, everyone celebrates in her family’s ample home, the night becomes a blur, and Zoe slips away into it with her backpack and her money, never to be seen again. Now, her backpack has been found – behind some shelving in the old radio station where she worked – sans phone and sans money. Cormack and Kahlil put the clues together. She spent money at a convenience store and at a petrol station. Her phone pinged in Brisbane a few hours later. But was it just her phone that made it to the city. Is her body in one of the million places to hide a corpse in the mountains, or was she on her way out of the country?
All the while, James Cormack is dealing with his own issues. The overarching storyline from season one continues. It’s the fallout of his father’s release from prison, for the murder of Cormack’s mother. Now, the old man visits Cormack at his unkempt flat in Brisbane, pleading with him to go and find his brother – another missing person for him to deal with. The old man claims his younger son is being hunted by the mob. As with Zoe’s case, Cormack thinks his brother is dead. Nobody disappears completely and makes no contact with their family like that.
Black Snow season two is a well-made and very watchable crime show. It’s tense without being frenetic. The themes are big but it never feels too dark. And the acting is great. You’ll get close to all the key characters without even realising it because you get to spend proper time with them before the timelines swap. As with season one, the victim is much more than just a body. Thanks to Jana McKinnon we really find out who Zoe is (or was) and what she was faced with. As you’re shown all these facets of her life, you’ll be looking for where the peril lurks.
Travis Fimmel’s performance as James Cormack brings the same level of humanity to the show. His acting style is as unusual as the amazing Glass House Mountain range. While for other cops a missing persons case is part of the routine, for him it’s a raison d’être. He’s quiet, serene, polite – even a little shy – as he meets the key players in Zoe’s life, 21 years after her disappearance. He feels the hurt all the more because he’s seen it in his own family. Sometimes this manifests in the quirky unpredictability of his character. But watch out – push him too far and his rage may come to the surface.
Black Snow season two is airing now on BBC Two on Friday nights until 9 May, and can be found on BBC iPlayer if you live in the UK. It’s coming to the US on 24 April via AMC+ and Sundance Now. There are six episodes, 52 minutes each.
