Starting with the good things, and the most obvious pro, John Thaw gives yet another solid performance in the title role of James Kavanagh. The scenery was lovely, helped by the beautiful production values. The direction was decent and it was lovely to see Julia Piper(pregnant here) played with real allure by Anna Chancellor again. Also the music is deftly beautiful.
However, there are elements that make In God we Trust one of my least favourite episodes. One is that the script is quite weak, not abysmal but compared to the intelligence and sophistication of an episode like Memento Mori for example it is weak. Consequently with the exception of Chancellor and Lisa Harrow as Lizzie, nobody here stands out in the supporting cast and that is a shame really it is. Secondly, the courtroom scenes and appeals scenes are some of the weakest scenes in any of the Kavanagh episodes. Not because anybody acted badly, but the writing is altogether unexceptional, so the scenes were rather lifeless. Thirdly, while Thaw and Harrow acted beautifully here, the ending is rather abrupt and downbeat.
Overall, not bad but unexceptional. 7/10 Bethany Cox