As Bloodlands begins, DCI Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) meets with his daughter Izzy (Lola Petticrew) who asks him to meet Larry (Asan N’Jie). Tom spends the night with his daughter telling her how much he likes Larry. Then, he gives her something that belonged to him and says her mom had one as well. She argues that he can’t give it to her, but he wants to and says her mom used to say it helped her see in the dark. In the morning, Tom receives a call and promises to get there in an hour. He briefly talks to Izzy before leaving. When he gets into his vehicle, he prepares his handgun and hits the road. He arrives at the scene and sees a vehicle being pulled from the water before DS Niamh McGovern (Charlene McKenna) confirms the car matches the make and model of Pat Keenan. It’ll take a bit longer to confirm the car is indeed Pat’s.

Divers found nothing so they turn their attention to the emergency phone call. Someone tells the dispatcher they have taken Pat Keenan and he refers to himself as Major White before hanging up. A search of the vehicle confirms that the vehicle belongs to Patrick Jarlath Keenan. A picture in plastic is found tapped to one of the side mirrors and it seems to hit home for Tom, but he won’t open up about it. He tells Niamh to gather everyone around and she begins telling them about 48-year-old Pat Keenan who was married with three kids. He ran a successful haulage business and has a past as a senior member of the IRA. His disappearance could be political or gang-related since he was known to have connections in organized crime. Tom warns them that the lines between gang-related activities and political paramilitaries are blurred at best. He says they need to tread carefully.

Niamh looks at the H&W photograph but Tom quickly removes the picture from the screen and tells her to hang tight on that. In private, Niamh approaches Tom and asks if there is something he is not telling her. He says yes but doesn’t expand on that. Moments later, DSC Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) gets a call from Tom Brannick and agrees to meet. Tom goes to the scene in the picture and meets with Twomey to tell him that the postcard was taped into the wing mirror of Pat’s car. He allows Jackie to listen to the 911 call and tells him that Major White is a form of a loyalist Parliamentary code. Jackie admits he is worried it might be Goliath before Tom confirms Niamh is the only other person to have seen the postcard. Tom says they have to look into it but Jackie says it is more complicated than that.

We learn that Twomey was on the Goliath case before but his senior shut him down. Tom believes they can move on it now that he is a senior, but he is told that he’ll start a war if he isn’t careful. Tom isn’t willing to leave it in the past despite Twomey saying nothing will ever bring her back and he should think about Izzy. Tom is encouraged to find Pat and not go down any other roads since he doesn’t know where they’ll lead. After that, Tom and Niamh talk to their colleague about Pat and the postcard of the cranes of Harland & Wolff. They’re told they should go see Pat’s wife Claire (Kathy Kiera Clarke) next although she hasn’t reported him missing yet. They argue she wouldn’t report it to them even if she wanted to report it. She’d likely go to her own people. Tom says they still need to find out what they can from her. They’re warned that a part of the community sees them as the enemy and the Keenans are at the heart of that.

They meet with Claire who says she saw Pat yesterday morning but there aren’t any witnesses to that. She says nobody has contacted her about Pat before she asks questions about his car and well-being. She wants to call someone else but Tom says she has a better chance with them than anyone else. Niamh warns her it is best to keep it quiet because someone could take the law into their own hands. Tom leaves claiming he is going to the bathroom but instead sneaks into Pat’s office. Claire tells Niamh that her husband went up yesterday morning for a conference and sent her a text saying he needed to stay in Belfast at the Europa. Claire denies that her husband could be the type to keep secrets. Pat’s workers notice Tom searching through his belongings. He finds a note about the meeting at the Lagan Conference Centre when one of the men storms through the door.

When Claire finds out, she kicks both of them out and Niamh says she would never tell if her husband was up to something. Tom reveals Pat had a hospital appointment at noon yesterday at The Royal so they decide to head there. Claire places a call to someone. Niamh inquires about Pat’s visit and says he was referred by his GP for blurred vision. While they wait for answers, Niamh gets a message from one of her friends in the local policing team explaining Keenan is considered a bit of a ladies’ man around there and he pays for it sometimes. Jackie Twomey uses his computer to search Tom’s investigation into Goliath but finds no active investigations so he calls and asks about the Pat investigation. Tom and Niamh get no helpful information because of patient doctor confidentiality. As they try to leave the hospital, they try to find out what causes blurred vision and they run into a teacher.

Tom tells the woman that his daughter is third-year medicine and says Izzy will be the one chewing her ear off. Then, he uses the opportunity to ask her about Pat’s blurred vision. She admits ladies’ men aren’t her expertise but she wonders if Pat might’ve had syphilis or he might’ve been taking too much Viagra. As they drive down the road, they see vandals throw Molotov cocktails at a police cruiser cause it to catch fire. They assist the officers but the men responsible get away. Tom tells Niamh to get Birdy (Chris Walley) to set up a room so they can get started. He seems to believe it was payback for visiting Mrs. Keenan because she has convinced herself that they have no interest in finding her husband and she convinced the attackers too. Once things calm down, Tom joins the others in the operation room and they talk about the Major White code. He thinks a kid was likely given 20 bucks to make the call.

They checked the couple’s joint account and learned Pat never booked the hotel room in Belfast. Most of Pat’s contacts from the IRA have moved into “legit” businesses. Tom tells everyone about Pat’s illicit sex life. The others are sent out before Niamh wonders if it is all related to Pat’s personal life but Tom doesn’t believe so. She asks about the postcard but Tom claims it is nothing for her to worry about. She says she is going to ask McCallister (Flora Montgomery) off of the investigation unless he tells her. Tom relents and says in the early part of 1998 before the Peace Agreement a handful of them were made aware of a possible assassin who seemed to have access to police intelligence. He was never identified but they thought it could’ve been an inside man. They called him Goliath after the crane. He goes on to say that the victims from 98 were made to look like they had done a runner. They all had credible reasons to leave such as fear, debt, and reputation.

Everyone choose to accept those version of events. Goliath had four targets and they were targeted assassinations. They kept quiet about it to prevent shattering the Peace Agreement and starting an all-out war. Twomey watches a newspaper about Pat’s disappearance and listens to Aiden O’Neill talk about the bombing of the Dunfolan Police Station. He says he believes like Claire that police are failing their community once again. Twomey calls and asks for the ACC District Policing Command. Meanwhile, Tom tells Niamh about Goliath’s other victims, David Corry, Joe Harkin, and Father Simon Quinlan. Two were with the IRA and the other was a Protestant paramilitary godfather. When she asks about the fourth target, Tom reveals Goliath murdered his wife. Her disappearance isn’t official so her case isn’t in the files.

Tom explains his wife was military intelligence so the nature of her job made her a target. Although they claimed she went underground after blowing her cover, she was actually kidnapped like Keenan. They decide to look through the old files because Tom remembers seeing a list of names that Joe Harkin allegedly owed money to and Keenan’s name was on the list. Goliath’s might be on there as well. When they open the evidence box, they’re surprised to find it empty. Niamh and Tom go to McCallister to tell her that something is wrong. Tom is worried that someone from within the force wants to stop them from finding Goliath and he doesn’t want to let up. She tells them to keep going, find Pat, and unlock Goliath. She gives them permission to pull people from other jobs if necessary.

Next, Tom tells Niamh about David Corry’s brother Adam who never believed the official story and suggests he might be able to fill them in. As they arrive, Tom confirms Adam was never paramilitary and didn’t prefer violence. He has dedicated 22 years of his life trying to find his brother. Adam Corry (Ian McElhinney) opens the door and lets them in moments later. He gives Niamh permission to record the conversation before learning they’re following a new line of inquiry. He knows his brother didn’t run and says people believed it because of the ceasefire. Adam claims the peace brought them nothing but questions before Tom asks for information. They’re surprised when Adam takes them to another room and shows them his massive collection of evidence. Tom wants to learn more about Joe Harkin. Adam goes on to say the peace deal was struck on the 10th of April. On the 11th, a woman reported suspicious activity on an island in the lough but said it happened at the end of February around the time Joe disappeared.

He believes the bodies could be out there on the island. Although she reported it to Tom’s lot, he knows nothing about it. They return to the police station and find Jackie’s car there and their boss leaving with a box. They go inside and learn that Jackie is now in charge because it was a delicate situation that was mishandled. McCallister is being blamed. Tom believes he knows why Jackie is there before accusing him of trying to come down there to stop him from investigating Goliath, but Jackie denies it. He argues he is there to bring peace and he wants Tom to make peace with Pat’s wife. Jackie is worried she’ll put the word out against the entire operation. Before Tom leaves, he tells Jackie he came to him because he needed an old friend’s support and Jackie says he has it. He returns to Niamh and finds out she has obtained the missing statement Adam was talking about. Constable Scott found it in the files for April of 98.

The witness was Muriel Busby of Deacon’s Farm. She was out tending to the cows one night and saw activity on an island and thought it looked like digging. She identified the location as being between a bothy and a tree. Niamh says they have to go out there and check it out but Tom is worried he can’t do it. Tom goes home and looks at an island through his window. He thinks about his wife and better times together. In the morning, the couple visits the farm in hopes of tracking down Mrs. Busby only to learn that she died 12 or 13 years ago. The new owner agrees to let them look around. During their search of the property, they find the island that matches the woman’s description. They agree to schedule a search of the island in the morning. We jump ahead and a group approaches the island to search for the bodies of the victims. While they scour the land, Birdy tells Jackie that TSG Op is offering to send more boats but Jackie doesn’t know about it.

He goes out to the island and complains that Tom didn’t listen to his orders. Jackie knows about the island because one of his boys took the statement. Niamh tries to explain everything to Jackie while Tom grabs the shovel and begins digging. Tom admits there was a part of him that didn’t want to see the bodies before Jackie promises there is nothing else. Jackie believes they need to shut it down because the island is a waste of time and resources. Then, he orders everyone off of the island. Niahm looks at the statement and walks around the rock formation. She finds another tree and realizes the burial ground might be there. They can see the cowshed on the other side so it matches the woman’s statement. She tells Birdy to ask the officers if they can borrow their GPR. She says they owe it to the boss and the families. Meanwhile, Izzy is introduced to her professor Tori Matthews.

Tom is there when Izzy and Larry get out of class. He admits things have been difficult at work and he just needs a break before she reveals she is wearing his necklace. He admits he thought he might be reunited with his wife one day, but he doesn’t think that is going to happen. Instead, he believed they need to move on. He gets a call from Birdy who tells him something about Keenan. Then, we join a car pursuit of a vehicle with Keenan’s plates. Niamh has officers searching the other side of the island while the pursuit of the red vehicle continues. When the red vehicle stops, a man named Ben McFarland is arrested and he claims he owns the hotel nearby. He claims he didn’t know that the license plates were changed. Then, Tom heads inside to a room where Pat is allegedly saying and learns that the door has been booby trapped.

Tom says the number plate was bait. Officers find something that is shaped like a body under the ground. A bomb disposal officer begins working to disarm the bomb at the motel. Niamh watches as the ground is dug up and something is found below her. Meanwhile, the bomb officer says something is wrong because the trigger and detonator are not connected. She opens the door and confirms that the device is a hoax before Tom steps inside and approached Pat. He looks on the ground and finds the same postcard. A skull is found on the island so Niamh calls Tom to tell him about it. Tom and Jackie take a boat out to the island before arriving and looking at the skeletal remains. There appear to be three bodies in the hole and one is wearing a necklace just like the one Tom gave his daughter.

 

Bloodlands Review

Overall, I thought the first episode of Bloodlands was pretty good. It was a bit drawn out at times and could’ve gotten to the point quicker, but I developed a relationship with the characters and felt their struggles quickly. Parts of the episode were riveting including the car pursuit and digging on the island.

However, I do have a few bones to pick with it. The first has to be the most obvious and it is the fact that tracking down Pat turned out to be so easy. They found a car with his number plate, it stopped, a man was taken into custody, Tom walked inside the motel, and there he was. Did I miss something or was it just rushed that badly?

That was weird unless I missed something along the way. Second, some of the camera work is a bit wonky and overused. The quick zooms on the character’s faces and the ending drone shot that spun like a top were out of place. Still, I am a big fan of James Nesbitt and Charlene McKenna and think they made a dynamic duo here.

I enjoyed the opening episode and will stick with it but I hope it gets better from here on out. The opening episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Future recaps of Bloodlands will be available here soon enough.