Crime Drama Luther

 The T.V show Luther can have Propp's character theory applied to it, to an extent.  We can say that Luther is the hero as he is the protagonist and the one in charge of stopping the criminals. However, he is an anti hero as he has dark qualities such as extreme aggression and he is not afraid to break the rules.  DS Emma Lane can fit under the role of the helper, as she is the one who is aiding Luther in catching the criminal.  The villain in these particular episodes is Steven, as he is the one committing the murders which they have to stop. However, there are some character roles from the theory missing, such as the princess and the false hero.

Todrov's Equilibrium theory could be applied to these two episodes. It begins in a state of equilibrium, then there is a disequilibrium for John Luther in the form of Alice's murder. There is soon a realisation of this disequilibrium, when Luther finds out that Alice is died and that a serial killer is at loose. Next, there is an attempt to repair the problem, when he rejoins the police to try and catch the killer. When the killer is eventually apprehended, equilibrium is  restored.

There are two establishing shots of a city and of some cliffs. 

At the beginning, parts of the enigma code are shown. A woman has a pigeon fly into her house and die, which is a mystery and is not explained. A man then enters her house, who she assumes is her husband until he pulls out a knife and kills her. This is another enigma, as we don't know who he is or why he is doing it. The camera cuts as he runs at her, and then you hear her scream, which helps create the enigma of whether she died or not, until it is later revealed that she has.

There are elements of the symbolic code in the crime scenes, which show very plain white and grey background colours, contrasted by lots of deep red blood. The red blood symbolises the violent scenes that happened before. This code is also used in Luther's cell room, as the walls are peeling and old, which helps represent what the cell is used for, and also that he doesn't use it very often.

There is a tracking shot as Luther's boss walks down a corridor following bloody marks, which helps build tension up to when he opens the fridge and the bomb hidden in it explodes.

Some parts of the enigma code throughout is why Alice Morgan was killed and why Steven Rose is killing people.

When a Luther notices two men on a motorcycle are following, this is an examples of part of an action code, as this scene implies that there is going to be a fight or some sort chase scene involving Luther and the two men.  A few minutes later, a boy comes home from his job to check on his parents. He begins to call their names all around the house; this is an action code as this implies that something is happened to them, and that somebody else is in their house who he will find. The music, which is tense and sounds ominous, helps to create this code. Later, when Steven is shown with the people he kidnapped, the building he has taken them to is derelict. It is very grey and contains lots of broken furniture and things smashed all around. This is use of the semantic code, as the setting connotes death and decay. There is then a shot of Steven sharpening his blade, and crying and screaming in the background. This is use of the action code, as this implies that there is going to be a murder or an attempt at a murder.