'Bloodlands' Episode 1 Recap
Welcome to the first of four episode recaps for the new Acorn TV thriller, Bloodlands. We’re promised a twisty cat-and-mouse game that also ponders moral questions about the balance between justice for past crimes and protecting peace in the present. The first episode has quite a lot of exposition, but by the end, things begin to speed up so I advise patience with this one.
We first meet DCI Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) driving through Belfast with Irish rock band Inhaler playing on the radio. He’s attending his daughter Izzy’s (Lola Petticrew) birthday celebration. The doting father presents his only child with the gift of an owl pendant – one of a pair. Tom says his wife used to claim it helped her see in the dark. He wants Izzy to have his.
The next morning, Tom’s called to a suspected crime scene- a car with no number plates has been found in Strangford Lough. Turns out the car belongs to Pat Keenan (Peter Ballance) a current crime associate and a former IRA man. The police have received an anonymous call from his kidnapper invoking the loyalist paramilitary name, Major White. The forensics team find no trace of Pat, however, taped to his wing mirror is a postcard with a picture of a famous H & W shipbuilding crane nicknamed Goliath. Tom immediately gets the reference but declines to share it with his team for the present.
