The first episode of Suspicion begins in Midtown New York City as Leo Newman (Gerran Howell) enters a motel and heads toward his room. We see several people wearing masks before the person in the Queen mask attacks and grabs him. Leo is choked unconscious and his body is stuffed in a suitcase. We see the camera footage of the kidnapping before the show’s intro begins. After the intro, we’re taken to New Cross, South East London where Monique Thompson (Lydia West) is awoken by her smartphone. She joins her sister Natalie (Georgina Campbell) in her mother’s room and warns her they’re not supposed to be in there. Monique has a schedule and Natalie needs to be in the shower right now. However, Natalie reminds her she isn’t the one who just rolled out of bed. They talk about their mother’s missing engagement ring before Mrs. Thompson (Clare Perkins) enters and tells Natalie to concentrate on her wedding.

Tara McAllister (Elizabeth Henstridge) steals someone’s parking place in Oxford. She gets out and tells Daisy (Anya McKenna-Bruce) to come out. Daisy has been using her phone to watch videos. She thought Tara would get her a phone in New York, but she didn’t. They chat about Daisy’s weekend at her father’s. Then, Daisy realizes she forgot her homework so Tara says she’ll email the teacher or something to sort it out. Daisy admits she missed her before going inside. Tara hears a helicopter overhead and looks up to see it. Aadesh Chopra (Kunal Nayyar) is shown running in Southall, Greater London. He makes it home where he briefly talks to Shiv Kapoor (Parth Thakerar). His sister Sonia (Mandip Gill) says their father is a bit behind so he was asking if Aadesh was going with him today. He doesn’t want to go since he isn’t a computer salesman. However, Sonia says his father wants him to look at the computer system.

He is waiting on a call although he can use his mobile phone for that. As others come out and ask if he is going in for a proper day’s work, it seems someone is watching them. At the Park Madison Hotel in New York City, Scott Anderson (Noah Emmerich) meets with a police officer before he is led inside. In the elevator, Scott says he knows Leo Newman was packed into a suitcase by a masked gang. The film was released on Go Leak and the NYPD flagged four British suspects. They’ll have a few hours to work before the film goes viral. Although they haven’t made any demands yet, Leo’s phone was found smashed in the stairwell. They’re waiting for more information on the Brits and can’t extradite until they have enough evidence. Before they get on the elevator for the Penthouse Suite, Scott says he’ll need an hour if he wants him to catch the next flight. Tara meets with a group and apologizes for being late while blaming it on jetlag.

Heather (Chelsea Edge) arrives late too, but she doesn’t apologize. Meanwhile, Natalie gets ready as her mother says Nora can’t be at the same table as Uncle Ray. Natalie tells her mother she isn’t comfortable with her paying for the whole reception. Mrs. Thompson insists it is fine since it is only a budget hotel in Peckham. She warns them there will be a fight if Nora’s son sees Ray. Monique promises to take care of it. She asks Natalie to phone the car company to confirm the times. When Natalie receives the phone, she finds out about the guy who was stuffed into the suitcase. When her mother’s phone rings, she quickly and rudely snatches it before anyone else can touch it. She suggests it might be Rose. Natalie watches the video of Leo being attacked. Tara talks to the group about how the impression of the universality of behavior can influence people and other things. She mentions Germany in the 1930s as Heather watches a parody video of Leo and laughs.

Tara stops to ask Heather if there is something about Nazism. Once Heather says no, Tara walks over and learns about the video. She recognizes it as the same video her 11-year-old was laughing at this morning. Tara says they’re social psychologists and wonders whether they would be interested in the video if nobody else was. Then, we see Sean Tilson (Elyes Gabel) on an airplane as he watches a man argue with a stewardess who won’t give him a whole bottle of wine. He gets up and crushes the man’s balls until he agrees to be nice. Aadesh works at the carpet store. He learns about the kidnapping video from Shiv and Ajay. They continue talking about the video while Aadesh complains about his dad not logging off at night. Kashco Carpets gets a call. Once Aadesh gets the phone, Sonia asks him why there isn’t any money in their account. She found a payment to a travel company for 400 pounds. Aadesh tells her she shouldn’t have done that since he is responsible for the finances.

He says he just had to move some money around and everything is fine, but Sonia doesn’t believe that. She wants to know why he won’t let his phone out of his sight and what he paid the travel company for. Aadesh says they’ll talk about it when he gets home tonight since he is trying to fix her dad’s computer. Leo’s mother, Katherine Newman (Uma Thurman), is introduced to Special Agent Scott Anderson. Katherine reveals she has a call with the White House in one hour, but Scott is the most important person she’ll speak to all day. She knows he is going to London to find out who these people are and bring her son home. Scott suspects they’ve already talked to her about potential enemies. She calls it the skeleton test when they ask their clients who they would least like to see talking about them on television. He asks if there are any Brits on her list before she asks him if he knows what strategic communication is.

She explains it means they’ll construct a version of reality that is usually at odds with someone else’s. A lot of people hate her so there are plenty of possible enemies. Scott asks about Leo studying at Oxford. Katherine says the police decided to release a different picture and she is going to trust them on that, but the picture she shows Scott on her phone is her favorite. After class, Tara confronts Heather to ask why she was late. Heather promises it isn’t personal because she is late for everything. She usually makes more of an effort for Tara though. When asked where she is from, she admits she is from a crap hole in South Manchester. Tara says there are 30 of them for every one of her and those people think they belong here just because they’re alive. They think someone from South Manchester has no business being here and Heather is proving them right so far. Tara tells her to piss off back where she belongs if she is too scared to prove them wrong because she is a liability to the people who staked everything on this.

Natalie and her family begin drinking to celebrate her wedding. When Natalie goes outside to toss the garbage out, a vehicle pulls away and that surprises her. Back inside, they toast to friends and absent friends including her father. Natalie’s mother pulls her aside to give her the engagement ring she had reset and resized in Hatton Garden. She doesn’t feel comfortable taking it since her mother has paid for so much already. She also wants to know where her mother got the money from. Mrs. Thompson wants her to have everything she would if her father was around so she pleads with her to let this happen. Another class begins for Tara as she encourages everyone to pay full attention this afternoon. Once she begins talking about motivation, someone gets out of their vehicle outside. Tara goes on about impulses and needs they’re trying to satisfy. A man interrupts, asks Tara her name, and says he is with the Thames Valley Police. She asks if this is about Daisy. The officer says no, but they need her to come down to the station with them.

The students watch as Tara is asked about her laptop and led outside. Meanwhile, Natalie and Monique try to figure out where their mother got the money from. Although Mon doesn’t know, she knows their mother likes giving them stuff. She shows Natalie the bracelet her mother gave her on the day she left for America. Natalie mentions the call their mother got earlier from Aunt Rose. She doesn’t believe it and suspects something is up, but Monique wants her to get changed and quit worrying about it. While Monique showers, Natalie checks her mother’s phone. She finds a text message saying they need the full amount and interest. Natalie responds to the text by telling them to come to Selby Road in 10 minutes and urges them not to send any more texts.

She goes to the meeting spot and gets into the blue car that she thought was suspicious earlier. The man doesn’t know her, but she tells him to drive anyway. She learns that her mother owes 2k. Soon, the driver realizes they’re being followed. Since he is on parole, he isn’t going to stop and see if it is the police. Natalie doesn’t want to get arrested today either because it is her wedding day. Meanwhile, Aadesh listens to a radio report about the video with a newspaper in front of him saying Newman is going to be named ambassador. Sonia arrives and begins asking him questions about going to America. Aadesh says she knows he has been pitching to a few blue-chip clients about cybersecurity. When one of them bit, he told them he worked in New York sometimes. As a result, they invited him to meet them in New York. He knew she’d try to talk him out of it by saying they can’t afford it, but they’ll never be able to afford it if they keep operating like this. He thinks they need to be more ambitious since the clients they have here operate on limited budgets.

The meeting went well and the client agreed to pay his travel expenses, but they want to talk more so he can’t leave his phone. Aadesh apologizes and explains he just wants more for them and their future baby. He promises he is not lying. Natalie gets out of the blue car and begins walking back home. Monique tries to call her since they have to be at the church in an hour. Natalie visits her fiancé Joe Gibson (Ben Bailey Smith) and talks to him from a different room to avoid bad luck. She makes up an excuse to grab something from one of the closets. She opens a clear bag that is full of money before pulling a cellphone out of it. She uses the phone and drops it, but pretends it was nothing. Natalie gets a text message saying it’ll be five minutes before mum calls the feds. Nat tells Joe she loves him before leaving. Sean’s airplane prepares to land in Belfast. When Natalie makes it home, she finds a fancy car outside. After a brief argument, she goes upstairs to get changed.

Sean learns there will be a short delay because they changed gates. He looks through the window as several police cars approach. Although the toilets are suspected to stay locked, he convinces the stewardess to let him use them anyway. He goes to the bathroom and begins changing his appearance. He removes his mustache, puts on a wig, and wears a hat. He also has several passports and glasses. He returns to the seating section of the plane and helps a woman with her belongings and kid. Aadesh listens to a news report about the kidnapping video while his family prepares for dinner. His family laughs at the idea of Aadesh getting an important business call and making a million dollars. After a knock at the door, a member of the Metropolitan Police enters asking for Aadesh. Sean begins leaving the plane with the others. Natalie arrives at the church with her family. As she walks down the aisle, she is stopped by a woman with a badge who says Natalie has to come with them.

She is taken outside, handcuffed, and placed in the back of a police car. Sean prepares to pass through customs with the woman and child. Back on the airplane, a team of heavily armed officers prepares to storm the bathroom and arrest him. While Sean gives the receptionist his passport, the police order him to come out of the bathroom. He is asked to take his glasses off after telling the man they’re not married. Soon, he is allowed to pass through. He rushes out of the airport. Natalie cries in the back of the police car which arrives at the Bishop’s Gate Police Station in London. Sean walks into the parking garage where he attacks a man on a motorcycle and takes the bike. Around this time, Aadesh, Tara, and the others give their fingerprints and saliva samples.

Seconds later, Vanessa Okoye (Angel Coulby) approaches Natalie and introduces herself as a senior investigating officer from the Anti Kidnap and Extortion Unit at the National Crime Agency. Vanessa says she has been arrested on conspiracy to kidnap Leo Newman from the Park Madison Hotel in New York. She repeats this to the other suspects too. Then, Sean reads his text messages. He is told to disappear although he can’t do that because he doesn’t have enough money. He sends a message asking Natalie where she is. We’re taken to the National Crime Agency where Scott watches the video and asks someone if they’re ready to rock and roll. We see a video of the suspects in cells before Vanessa confirms she is ready.

 

Suspicion Review

Suspicion is based on False Flag which is an Israeli television series. While False Flag focuses on five Israeli citizens who are accused of kidnapping the Iranian minister of defense, Suspicion follows five Brits accused of kidnapping an American media mogul’s son. The American media mogul, Katherine Newman, is played by Uma Thurman and it seems she is going to become an ambassador as well. While it is an interesting premise, I am not sure it is going to translate well to the United States and the United Kingdom.

The original just makes more sense while the remake may not hold water. I also worry about the crowded cast. With so many people doing so many different things, it is going to be hard to care about any of them. While the cast is competent enough to pull it off, the characters have already done some unrealistic, silly things. It was odd for Natalie to jump into a vehicle with a stranger and tell him to floor it. The Sean Tilson character is over-the-top and cringey too.

While it might not pass the sniff test, the first episode wasn’t too bad and there is still time for this to transform into a thrilling drama. Only time will tell if Suspicion is a hit. The first episode was okay so it scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Suspicion will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.