Shetland fans have been left BEREFT as DI Jimmy Perez bowed out of the TV show forever in the series 7 finale.
It probably won’t feel real until series 8 starts without him.
We knew the character would not be coming back, after actor Douglas Henshall announced his sad decision to leave the show.
But, until tonight (Wednesday September 14 2022), viewers did not know how the popular detective would leave.
Would he die, retire, or run off into the sunset with love interest Meg?
All was revealed in the Shetland series 7 finale.
***Warning: spoilers from Shetland series 7 finale ahead***
What happened in the Shetland series 7 finale?
Series 7 has revolved around the disappearance and subsequent death of vulnerable young man Connor Cairns.
DI Jimmy Perez investigated who murdered the local man, as well as his girlfriend Bryd Fleming, and outsider Williams Rodgers.
Slowly, Perez and sidekick Tosh discovered the deaths all seemed to be connected to an eco-terrorism unit.
In the Shetland series 7 finale, the team raced to identify the killer and prevent disaster striking the town as another bomb threatened to go off.
Jimmy Perez and Tosh got their quota of steps in as they raced around Lerwick town centre trying to stop the bomb going off – and warning their loved ones as they went.
The killer – or killers in this case – were eventually revealed.
Meanwhile, Jimmy made the life-changing decision to quit his job.
Who killed Connor and Bryd?
Jamie Narey was the militant activist at the centre of the murders and bombings.
His family had been affected by the Braer disaster in Shetland of 1993.
He was also seeking revenge after the death of his girlfriend Catrina – an oil activist who was killed in South Sudan.
Her death radicalised Jamie.
In tense scenes on a clifftop, Jamie told Perez: “Every cause needs a martyr.”
Jamie – the published of Connor’s comic Wolver – had enlisted Connor and Bryd into his eco-terrorism unit.
However, when he became intent on violence, Connor tried to leave his group and paid with his life.
After killing Connor, Jamie murdered Bryd too to stop her from going to the police.
But he didn’t kill William Rodgers…
Who killed William Rodgers?
As many of you suspected in the previous episode, Lloyd’s wife Alison was guilty of killing William Rodgers.
Viewers learnt that Lloyd Anderson was actually a man called Walter Edwards in the penultimate episode of Shetland.
He was on the FBI’s most wanted list for killing a policeman in America – a crime he claimed he didn’t commit.
So when William Rodgers, a face from his past who knew his real identity, arrived in Shetland, Alison knew it wasn’t good.
When confronted with William, she left threatened and feared for her partner who she desperately wanted to protect.
She became enraged and hit William over the head with a hammer, killing him instantly.
So William’s death was NOT connected to the murders of Connor and Bryd, even though he knew them from the eco-terrorism cell.
Perez arrested Alison, and freed Lloyd against his boss Rhona‘s orders.
Why did DI Jimmy Perez quit Lerwick Police?
As the investigation drew to a close, Perez faced a life-changing decision.
Shetland fans have seen the detective become bogged down in the job in recent weeks.
Don’t forget, series 7 started with the widower fighting for his reputation.
The new season saw Perez at a tribunal after being arrested at the end of season 6 following the death of Donna Killick.
She had written a letter claiming the detective was planning to cover up her murder which was in fact a suicide.
While he walked away with his job intact, the experience left a bad taste in his mouth.
Love interest Meg saw that Perez was always putting his job first, at the expense of his personal life.
Perez simply looked wearier than usual.
Towards the end of the series, Perez (Douglas Henshall) became convinced that Lloyd had NOT committed any crime in the States.
He decided he would not be complicit in sending him back to the US, where he might face the death penalty.
Against orders, Perez let Lloyd go free – knowing this would spell the end of his job.
Basically, Perez did the right thing by saving an innocent man, even though it meant losing his job.
Boss Rhona told Perez: “If Lloyd has gone, it’s the end of your career.”
To which Perez replied: “I know, I think it’s worth it.
“Rhona, I’m done.
“If the last thing I do is help an innocent man, then I am good with that.”
On hearing the news, Tosh tells Perez: “I’m not sure I can do this without you.”
And she spoke for all of us…
Did Jimmy Perez and Meg get together in the Shetland series 7 finale?
Readers, he married her.
Okay, well he didn’t, but Perez and Meg DID finally get together in tearjerking scenes in the Shetland series 7 finale.
He’d been attracted to her from the first minute he set eyes on her, he said.
In heartfelt scenes, he told the nurse he never thought he’d feel the same way again after the death of his wife.
She in turn told him she felt the same way…
SOB!
Telling her he’d left his job, he said: “I quit.
“I didn’t want to hide in that police station anymore.”
Perez got his happy ending, which he deserved.
And we’ll have to wait and see who will replace him.
But it’ll be a tough act to follow!
Read more: What is Douglas Henshall doing next after leaving Shetland?
Shetland series 7 is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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