The series premiere of “Passenger’ begins with a long haul driver, Kane Jackson (Nico Mirallegro) making a quick stop in what appears to be the desolate and barren town of Chadder Vale, a place where everyone matters. His stop appears to be tied to a buzzing and flickering red light attached to his dash. After ensuring the door is secure, a nearby snapping twig in the forest prompts his retreat to the truck.

Elsewhere, Mehmet Shah (Shervin Alenabi) and Katie Wells (Rowan Robinson) are enjoying a drink at the local pub when Lilly Wells (Matilda Freeman) shows up. A bit of teasing indicates they are sisters, Lilly is too young to be in the pub, and she may fancy Mehmet, who may or may not like her back. Mehmet causes a bit of a stir with the bartender, Mike Barton (Neil Sandland), when he accidentally knocks over several drinks making his way to a table with his drink.

Things only get worse for Mehmet when Katie’s jealous boyfriend, John Trowbridge (Jack James Ryan) shows up. Although it isn’t shown, a beaten and battered Mehmet alludes to John being rather violent. A quick flashback to Kane shows him arriving at a warehouse.

Katie listens to a Melissa Dean (Nadia Albina) true crime podcast while Mehmet sleeps the night away in the backseat. Out of nowhere, Katie appears to hit something on the road. Although the car isn’t inoperable, she decides to investigate whatever she might have hit. This turns out to be a bad idea because the footage gives the impression that she is attacked by someone or something. At nearly the same time across town, Kane puts on a gas mask before reluctantly opening the back of his semi. The contents are fully revealed but what he sees appears to shake him to the bone.

Riya Ajunwa (Wunmi Mosaku) passes by many boarded-up businesses on her way downtown to the local boxing gym. Once there, her conversation with Tony Corrigan (Sean Gilder) reveals that she’s scheduled to fight Jakub Makowski (Hubert Hanowicz) as the main event. Although the fight is not shown, Jakub’s battered face and Riya’s good-natured teasing indicate she won.

A very short scene at what appears to be the local fracking plant introduces Jim Bracknell (David Threlfall). He leaves a voice message with Riya for help with the protestors.

Riya joins Ali Day (Ella Bruccoleri) and Nish Chowdry (Arian Nik) at the police station where they discuss everything from climate control to Riya’s 40th birthday. This segues into a quick recap of the local crime until Chief Constable Linda Markel (Jo Hartley) arrives. The Constable’s arrival leads to Riya expressing her displeasure about being overlooked for big cases, despite her 10 years with the Met. Linda appears content with the quiet life but leaves Riya plenty to think about when she mentions the early release of Eddie Wells (Barry Sloane). Although she can’t cite the reason for the early release, she suggests Riya inform Jim.

Lilly wakes her mother, Joanne Wells (Natalie Gavin) by pouring a glass of cold water over her head. Joanne takes the act much better than most would and even encourages her to go wake her sister, Katie using the same tactics. This leads to Lilly revealing that Katie isn’t home. The footage then flashes to Katie’s car, still parked in the same location from the previous night.

Jim incorrectly assumes Riya is responding to his earlier complaint about the protestors when Riya shows up at the plant. Jim is quick to name Mehmet as the ringleader while he also reveals Riya’s 40th birthday present, a South American orb known as the Furacao or ‘Scarer Of Evil.’ According to him, it is most commonly used to ward off evil spirits. When Riya finds time to cut into his spirited discussion about the orb, she unveils Eddie’s early release. He doesn’t take the news well at all.

When the first call of the day comes into the police station, Nish attempts to turn it into a humorous game of ‘guess the crime.’ Ali goes with complaints about frackers while Linda figures it is pothole related. Whatever he hears on the other end leaves him speechless.

Although separately, Riya and Ali arrive at Katie’s abandoned vehicle at the same time. Their attention is immediately drawn to a buck that looks as if it has been violently and carelessly hacked to death. Ali begins spinning outlandish theories whereas Riya processes the scene like a professional. After mentioning notifying Terry Jackson (Debbie Rush), Riya’s observation leads to the discovery of an oily black substance on the deer’s coat. According to Riya, the lack of damage on the front bumper indicates that something fell on the vehicle as opposed to Katie merely hitting something in the road. There is also blood in the back seat and door handle.

A quick scene with Joanne trying to reach Katie on her cell phone suggests that she might not have made the call to the station. Riya appears to be canvassing the nearby woods when the footage returns to the crime scene. The snapping of a twig evokes several memories that are eventually interrupted by the arrival of Terry.

After Mehmet wakes to discover his pillows covered in blood, he joins his mother, Inaya Shah (Anna Tymoshenko), at what appears to be a small café of sorts. Riya soon shows up to lecture him about the protest at the fracking site. She claims he is free to voice his opinions but when he throws bottles and hangs mannequins, it becomes reckless assault. Much to his surprise, his hovering mother alibis him. Riya appears to believe it and makes a point of telling him he’s a good kid and not to squander his opportunities.

Outside, a call from Ali reveals Joanne as the owner of the abandoned car. Neither of them appears enthused about notifying the family. When the task ultimately falls to Riya, it is revealed that Riya was the lead investigator on Eddie’s case.

Derek Jackson (Daniel Ryan) arrives at his bustling bread factory to discover that he’s been nominated for Lancashire Businessman of the Year. The excitement later fades into frustration when Kane joins him and drops hints about not wanting to be a driver anymore.

Now more panicked than ever, Joanne visits Vicky Trowbridge (Gemma Wardle) where she asks to speak with John. This leads her to the local soccer field where he questions John. He doesn’t reveal anything useful but claims he knows where Katie is and he’ll get it sorted. The next scene shows him outside of Mehmet’s bedroom window, demanding to know where Katie is. Right before John arrived, Inaya was in the process of questioning him herself about the same thing. Once again, she lies for Mehmet, claiming he isn’t home.

Later that evening, Riya returns home to find Sue Goodheart (Clare Burt) amidst what appears to be a complete emotional and mental breakdown. Despite very little being explained, their conversation suggests that Sue’s condition has something to do with her son, Nick Goodheart, who she apparently hasn’t spoken to in 4 years. That’s as far as their conversation gets thanks to the sudden arrival of Jakub.

Bill appears to be amidst a breakdown himself, when his perimeter alarm at the fracking site sends him outside with a shotgun that he unloads into the air. Before that, he was shown giving himself a shot in his stomach, indicating that might be suffering from some ailment.

While Riya celebrates her 40th birthday at the pub, Joanne and her sewing club, Bev Broadbent (Sophie Ellicott), and Dina Dawson (Shelley Williams) bond over a bottle of wine and similar tales of woes. Joanne appears to be in good spirits as he complains about Katie’s rash behavior with the car. She soon becomes panicked when Lilly shows up to inform her about Riya’s visit and the car being towed.

Riya is right in the middle of opening her gifts when she receives the panicked call from Joanne about Katie’s disappearance. Although they take different approaches, the next few scenes show Joanne and Riya enlisting the help of associates to find Katie. When Riya returns to canvass the original crime scene, she receives a call from Joann, claiming that Katie has returned home. Before Riya can return to share the news with Ali and Nish, eerie and distant sounds reveal more about the memories that she experienced earlier.

 

Passenger Review

Given that most series premiers are a bit of a formality, it can be hard to fully grasp the characters’ complexities and family dynamics. I must admit that I feel as if there are a lot of possibilities here. Despite the True Detective/Fortitude/Fargo vibes I’m already getting, I feel that Passenger does bring something a bit different to the table. It may just be me, but I found the first episode thoroughly suspenseful.

That said, the entire episode felt like nothing more than a ping-ponging conversation. Despite the movements of the characters, the 3-minute ping-ponging made me feel like I was watching paint dry at times. Yes, there was some intrigue and suspense, but things felt incredibly drawn out. My biggest complaint would be the way the fight scenes were handled.

I don’t know if it was because they were trying to avoid the cost of stunt doubles and special effects or if they were afraid of offending people. In addition, the mere thought of Riya stepping into a boxing gym is a huge turn-off. I’d give the episode a 5 out of 10 on the fact that I’m intrigued enough to want to watch the second episode.

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