Set to retire, Detective William Somerset studies a crime scene for clues. He asks questions, which seem to irritate the other detectives. This reveals Somerset has an eye for detail. Unknowingly, he is given a partner when Mills is assigned to Somerset's final case.When the audience gets an inside look at Somerset's life, his personality is revealed through small details around his house. He appears logical, organized, and untrusting. When he first meets Detective Mills, he initially resents him for having certain characteristics.When Somerset is invited to Mill's house for dinner, we are introduced to Mill's wife, Tracy. Somerset has chosen to not have a family simply because of the location he lives in and his resentment of it. Ironically, the resentment prevents him from losing anything.Through many years spent working on unsolved cases, Somerset has become jaded and pessimistic. His hopelessness attitude can be found in dialogue when he compares finding evidence for a murder case to finding diamonds on a deserted island. It's useless to have when faced against all other odds.Somerset can be constrasted with Mills in the fact he appreciates literature. When needing information, he initially turns to library archives and documentations to seek out information. It's a method for evidence that Mills never considered.Somerset has a lot of hate and apathy towards the world he lives in. Somerset once tells Mills that he needs to divorse from emotion, reinforcing Somerset's logical approach. A common theme in the film is having typically negative emotions proving to be a safeguard for failure. In contrast to Mill's emotional reactions, the lack of emotion in Somerset shields him from falling short. Show less «