Wire In the Blood is my favorite T.V crime drama. I've watched the entire series several times. It's the perfect blend of American gore and attention to physical details and British seriousness and clever, intelligent writing of the script.
I started to notice some strange details about the main character, Dr. Tony Hill. The more times I watched the series, the more suspect Tony Hill's character seems. I re-watched the entire series after developing my theory and I found some disturbing Easter eggs.My theory is that Dr. Hill is a serial killer. Does this seem like a far fetched theory to you? Let's take a look at the evidence.
The most obvious piece of evidence for Dr. Tony Hill being a serial killer is that he falls in love with his patients, which are all serial killers or otherwise violent criminals. In Season 1 Episode 1 we are revealed to Maggie, who is a female serial killer in a mental ward [assumingly for the criminally insane]. Tony Hill appears to be in love with Maggie, holding her hands and letting her caress his face.
Maggie specifically asks Tony "you really can only maintain relationships with patients, can't you?" Tony Hill rationalizes his whole relationship with Maggie by saying it is so she will trust him [therefore admitting where she buried the bodies].
His excuse for loving Maggie quickly flys out the window when Dr. Tony Hill falls in love with another serial killer. This time he falls in love with a post op trans woman who almost tortures him to death. Tony Hill even comes to her after the big arrest and tells her that "he is in love with another woman."
At the time, these "relationships" are sort of shrugged off as Dr. Tony Hill being eccentric, tied to his work and sort of a 40 year old virgin type. There is a more sinister vibe though if you pay attention. When asked by D.I Jordan [police] if he is fascinated by Maggie. Tony answers yes. Then she asks if that is dangerous. He says yes. Tony Hill literally admits his relationships with his patients are dangerous.
The biggest piece of evidence to me is how Dr. Tony Hill lies about his middle name to hide his criminal record from Kevin [his police friend]. This scene also shows how Tony is a charmer who manipulates people. Tony Hill asks Kevin to use the computer to look up someones record: Kevin uses Tony as an example and asks for his middle name and he says "Valentine." Dr. Tony Hill is clearly lying about his middle name to hide his record. Kevin pauses and then says "Valentine huh?!
Here's the thing: this whole series is about Freudian Criminal psychology: If someone is an arson in this series, they will talk about how they peed their pants as a kid etc. The fact that Dr. Tony Hill hides his criminal record from Kevin is EXTREMELY suspect and I definitely believe it's an Easter egg.
In Season 4 Episode 2 [Torment] Dr. Tony Hill changes the room number of a murder scene from 966 to 666. Perhaps a reference to his more sinister nature? Could it also be a reference to The Burbs, where the Klopeks house is 669 and the door slamming flips the numbers around to 666 [indicating that the killer lives there]. Seems like a pretty "damning" Easter egg either way.
Another piece of damning evidence against Dr. Tony Hill is the incident with his young blonde college student. She comes in drunk and throw herself at Tony. The scene below is after she stumbles. You can see that Tony is holding her wrists. This might be on accident, but the whole scene is very weird: It happens quickly, but you can see Tony ends up with scars on his face. Tony is charged of rape, but he didn't actually rape her [she was blacked out and had sex BEFORE that. This is proven from DNA].
Even though Tony isn't a rapist, the scene with his student is suspect on several levels. His testimony seems a bit off from the actual scene for one thing. Also you can tell he wanted to kiss her. She is a student and while she is an adult, it's not considered moral for therapists. You also have to ask yourself if a drunk young woman threw themselves at you, how would that lead to violence? Couldn't you just say no and kick them out?
As if there wasn't enough evidence already that Dr. Tony Hill was a serial killer, he gives a very bazaar speech at the end of an episode about a man who kills old people in a hospital by injecting air into their tubes while he posed as a flower person.
Dr. Tony Hill: Was your father a priest?
Killer: An evangelist. We used to travel the country.
Dr. Tony Hill: Healing people.
Killer: He laid his hands on them, God did the healing.
Dr. Tony Hill: Did he lay hands on you?
Killer: Said I was sinful. Damned. Would never succeed at anything.
Dr. Tony Hill: You proved him wrong.
Why would Dr. Hill tell a murderer he proved his parents wrong? He is not trying to trick him into a confession [unless I am missing something about the scene]. He was also caught red handed. If you do not believe my theory about Dr. Tony Hill, what is the conventional explanation for this scene?
I could take this theory another step and make the claim that Dr. Tony Hill is some type of Nazi Scientist type who creates manchurian candidate type killers. Dr. Tony Hill specifically mentions Soviet era experiments of breaking the mind down for reprogramming. He actually specifically mentions the word "reprogramming" and the phrase "post-hypnotic suggestion."
In season 4 episode 4 Dr. Tony Hill comes under fire over his "first confession". At the end of his confession he literally whispers into the ear of the "killer". Who whispers into someones ear during a taped interview? The whole interview is very suspect:
Dr. Tony Hill:
"C'mon Jason you've got to trust me! I know what it's like. I saw Tracy on T.V. Cutesy little video her parents showed on T.V. {Mocking tone} "ohh bring our little girl back." She's not a little girl she's a tease! She knows what she's got and she knows we want it. But me and you, we don't get close. So we've got to plan: We've got to be clever. And that's what me and you have got over on them. We can imagine and then we can prepare! Women they're attracted by power. That's what you have got. You have got POWER! We can only think about it, but we wouldn't dare. But you dared Jason. You dared eat the peach. Women they secretly fantasize about it. You ... you just reasserted the natural order of things.
Then he whispers into the suspects ear.
Dr. Tony Hill is very upset over the case with his faulty testimony being re-opened. You could argue that this is circumstantial evidence, although you do have to ask yourself why an innocent person would care about a case being re-opened, especially considering he knows the cops working on the case and won't be framed or anything.
[DNA will prove you innocent. Will it? You see I don't know who I am. I have no bloody idea].
Before you say my Manchurian candidate theory is wacky ... keep in mind that this episode literally mentions the Stanford Suggestibility Scale.
Season 5 Episode 2 hits the nail in the coffin for Dr. tony Hill being a master of post hypnotic suggestion. In the beginning of the episode, Tony proves his mental prowess by tricking a student into not being able to leave his chair.
At the end of the episode, Tony is going after a master Santeria practitioner. [Santaria is a form of Witchcraft]. Dr. Tony Hill remains convinced though the episdoe that Witchcraft is really just a form of Psychology: That the killer is using similar techniques as the student he tricked into not being able to leave his chair.
Dr. Hill's old college best friend gives a chilling warning to the DI:
It's not the casework he's obsessed in, it's you. He talks endlessly about your qualities ... about the cases you have worked on together. He's infatuated. I've seen this before when he was younger and it's never ended very well. Sorry maybe you already knew this?
This character ends up being a liar and a drunk, but something is interesting about how he says "maybe you already knew this". A reference to Dr. Tony Hills criminal record?
There is also a scene where Dr. Tony Hill is attacked by someone in his home and he sprays the attacker with a spray bottle. Later Tony says something like: It took a whole bottle of ammonia to stop him!" Anyone who has seen Boondock Saints knows what Ammonia is used for ... Very sketchy.
Sure, you could argue it is part of his eccentric way of solving crime [taking home pictures and such to recreate crimes]. Still, ammonia is not part of the crime he was currently solving.
The final piece of evidence I will share is the "everybody has secrets" scene:
The police captain was targeted by a nail bomb. Dr. Tony Hill accuses the captain of not reporting a crime because he [and the local judge] are a Freemason. At the end of the scene; The captain says "Everyone has secrets" but if you pay attention, he looks right at Dr. Tony Hill when he says it! What's the conventional explanation of this, ye of little faith who doubt this theory?