victims are cut , dismembered , decapitated . Instruments of death are usually knives or other sharp instruments ” ( Creed 107 ). While Alice never goes so far as to dismember somebody , her actions reveal that she is fully capable of assuming the role of castrating female . To begin , she has murdered her father before the series begins . Again , in a scene from the series ’ first episode , Luther steals from Alice ’ s flat the urn that holds the ashes of her parents . To recover the urn , which also contains a piece of the gun she used to kill her parents , Alice pursues Luther onto a bridge spanning the Thames , kitchen-knife in hand . Perhaps , the most notable example occurs in the last episode from series three . Here , Alice saves herself , and possibly Luther , from being executed by Tom Marwood , a vigilante-killer consumed by rage over his wife ’ s rape and murder . The loss has spurred Marwood to execute other males who prey mainly on women and children and , finally , to punish those females , Alice and Mary , who have befriended his nemesis John Luther . Thus , in a scene from the fourth episode of season three , the viewer finds Marwood , armed with a shortbarrel shotgun , standing on a roof top behind Alice and Mary . His monstrous side emerges as he demands that Luther select which woman to execute , and Luther chooses Alice . Before Marwood has the chance to pull the trigger , Mary turns , grabs his weapon , and points it away from Alice . In a split second , Alice turns and drives a nail ( the archetypal sharp object ) into Marwood ’ s neck , completely disempowering / emasculating the killer .
At this point , the viewer must bear in mind that , when she disables Marwood , Luther probably still fears Alice Morgan . And there may be much to fear , for in episode two of series four , the sociopathic clairvoyant Meghan Cantor warns Luther that if Alice hadn ’ t killed Luther , Luther would have killed Alice . If this is so , then Luther ’ s giving up of Alice is motivated by his desire to be rid of a woman intent on making him her own and to exorcise from himself the monstrous , demonic darkness that has consumed Alice and that , throughout the series , has threatened to consume Luther . In fact , Luther ’ s failure to rid himself of his own terrifying darkness results in the deepening of his relationship with Alice , and in the first episode of season four , the viewer finds that Luther has taken a leave of absence from the force and taken up residence in a cottage on the coast to wait for the return of Alice Morgan , who has gone abroad to “ hock ” some stolen diamonds for a bundle of money that will allow her to retire with Luther in Brazil . When Luther learns that Alice has been murdered , his monstrous , demonic rage returns as he threatens to “ come for ”— to kill — Meghan Cantor , who has apparently played a part in Alice ’ s murder .
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