The twisted series following the traumas of Gemma, a GP with an adulterous husband, is back, and it’s darker and more intense than ever.
Two years after her personal hell, this series follows Gemma after the unexpected return of her ex-husband, Simon, with a new and perfect house, wife and daughter. Disturbed by the events of the first series, and the endless harassment from Simon, Gemma goes to extreme lengths in an attempt to wreck his swanky new lifestyle, neglecting her new partner and troubled teenage son in the process.
With each episode, the plot and tension between the pair thickens, eventually ending in an incredibly dark climax. It could be said that certain aspects of the story, particularly amongst the chaos at the end, are fairly extreme, which detracts from the reality of the series and the complexity of the issue of infidelity. However, the catastrophic plot twists are definitely entertaining, showing the disastrous effects of Gemma’s misdirected attention and consumption with the feud.
It has to be said that not one of the characters are particularly likeable. Gemma’s creepy, stalkerish behaviour and malicious attempts to end her husband’s happiness, alongside her disinterest in her doting new partner, don’t present her in the most positive light. Despite this, Suranne Jones’s take on the role, teamed with Simon’s disturbing intimidation, makes it strangely difficult to hate Gemma. It remains unclear whether she is a psychopath who is determined for Simon to lose everything and live a life of misery, or just the desperately damaged victim of the betrayal of those around her, wanting to bring on to Simon a fraction of the pain he caused. Her actions in the final episode suggest that her love and compassion for Simon remains, posing the question of whether her intentions were as dark as they seemed.
It’s graphic, shocking, and at times a bit outlandish. But the cliffhangers make binge-watching the whole series inevitable, and the intense development of the plot allows us to reflect on ourselves and how far we would be prepared to go for revenge.
Image credit: RTE