TV

Marcella viewers turned off by gruesome murder of pet by a child

What is happening with the young son?

ITV cop drama Marcella continues to confuse the heck out of viewers and, going by Twitter, it almost seems that ‘WTF?’ may have been the desired audience reaction from programme makers.

Now, that could be a part of a dramatic device designed to illustrate the lead character’s fraying mental state and blackouts.

Or it could be a way in dramatising a harrowing story involving the torture and murder of children.

Whatever it is, it can all be a bit much for 9pm on a Monday evening.

And during last night’s episode, loads of viewers hit upon another major plot stumbling block: why hasn’t the mother of the boy with glasses swiped in the first episode reported him missing?

A valid point, you’ll surely agree.

Maybe she has reported him, and a potential scene involving his mother going through a mountain of admin relating to a missing person – accompanied with plenty of wailing and trauma, this is Marcella after all – sounded dull? Police procedural dramas are a lot more dramatic without the procedure.

Or maybe she just doesn’t care about him? Not to have any reference to the mum and her concern seems a bit of an oversight… but only time will tell whether this omission was meant to help stoke a bigger twist down the line or just lazy TV.

Read more: Anna Friel fires back as Marcella viewers complain about her accent… and THAT walk!

Elsewhere in the episode, Marcella’s own son was playing up and causing a bit of a stir, to put it mildly.

Indeed, his “gruesome” mouse-crushing activities before the credits rolled were too much for many viewers:

Others were a little more light-hearted about the sight and sound of a pet being crushed:

But the outburst also had some viewers wondering whether her son may be responsible for other violence already committed… what about the mysterious details surrounding Marcella’s own daughter?

Does his lack of mercy towards the mouse suggest her son could be involved there?

And does that help explain her blackouts and trauma?


Read more: Anna Friel addresses viewers’ big question about that Marcella coat!

Marcella continues next Monday on ITV at 9pm.

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer

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