There’s no question that the stakes are low in The Split: Barcelona. Its plot? A family of high-flying divorce lawyers go to a mansion set at the top of a rolling vineyard for a wedding and suffer a series of slight disappointments. But the return of The Split – and its smart, well heeled and sensible characters – is still an utterly enchanting piece of work.
After three acclaimed series created by Emmy-winning writer Abi Morgan, the Defoe family of divorce lawyers reunite for two episodes where Hannah (the resplendent Nicola Walker) and ex-husband Nathan’s (Stephen Mangan) daughter Liv (Elizabeth Roberts) is due to marry into a Spanish wine dynasty, with a new mother- and father-in-law who spend most of their dialogue describing the intensity of their three-decades-old love. But things are further complicated when Liv has to sign a prenup and it transpires that the family lawyer who devised it is Archie (the perma-smouldering Toby Stephens) – whom Hannah ghosted during a bout of acute commitment-phobia after six extremely hot dates.
It works entirely well as a standalone piece, which is easy enough to follow given the clear motives and context clues. But for fans of the previous series it’s a true Christmas treat – remaining as magnificently well written and subtly acted as the prior outings. Just a light glance of the back of the hands of Hannah and Archie is ludicrously sexy and the frisson between Stephens and Walker raises the temperature in the already warm Catalan countryside. While there are a few twists and turns that occur in the execution of the nuptials themselves, it’s largely a show that fortifies your faith in the bonds of family, with different generations treating each other to true warmth and imparting valuable wisdom about not wasting opportunities for second chances at love.
It’s also impeccably styled. The Barcelona it depicts seems like an easy place in which to fall in love, filled with light-dappled horizons, elegantly converted farmhouses and coves where turquoise seas gently lap at blindingly white sand. Each wedding guest is permanently tailored to the nines, clad in silky ensembles while sipping on crisp cava and nibbling perfectly aged chorizo.
If there’s a criticism to have of The Split, it’s that it’s too grownup, too chic, too sensible. As gorgeous and well performed as it is, its resistance to melodrama is occasionally grating. Even in the aftermath of the biggest dramatic climaxes, the characters are more than happy to gather around for a polite breakfast.
And as much as the show’s production is stunningly rendered, this does not extend to the most prominent black character – Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, playing the vicar Glen Peters, who is married to Hannah’s impossibly chic sister Rose (Fiona Button). He is often lit with little consideration and appears as barely more than a silhouette. Thankfully, Holdbrook-Smith’s skills as an actor mean he is able to have a compelling screen presence, and the complex relationship between him and Rose proves more compelling than the coupling of the bride and groom – given the blended family that they are tenuously holding together under the pressures of parenthood.
But the true heart, soul and riveting talent at the centre of The Split remains Walker. Whether she’s making tentative babysteps towards romance, gently teasing her ex-husband, comforting her devastated family members or engaging in some legal badassery, she is always an enthralling screen presence. Her Hannah Defoe is a protagonist for the ages, a tangle of contradictions including being a commitment-phobe who believes in love, a straight shooting professional who cannot keep a secret and the possessor of one of the sharpest bobs on television. Her performance combined with a rich ensemble of characters who are hopeless romantics, cynics, cheats, liars – and sometimes several of these things at once – mean that there is much for Hannah to deal with on her weekend in Catalonia. But there’s always a sense that this family, for all that they have to contend with – having been colleagues as well as kin over the past four series – will come together in any crisis, whether it’s a high-profile divorce case, a pregnancy scare or a painfully awkward pre-wedding brunch. Spending time with three generations of the Defoe clan remains a sharp, witty joy in its fourth outing.
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The Split aired on BBC One and is available on iPlayer