The new series of Marcella started last night with a shock double bill containing everything from brutal murders and teenage drug-taking to voyeurism and series favourites getting shot.
The hit ITV detective drama has Anna Friel‘s titular character undercover in its third outing, as she assumes a new identity, Keira Devlin, and works to take down the notorious crime family the Maguires.
However, on Twitter, even long-time fans of the series seemed super confused, asking who was who and why certain characters were behaving the way they were.
Here are six burning questions after the first two episodes…
Did Marcella shoot Rav?
The programme opened with what appeared to be a flash forward of Marcella’s former colleague Rav (Ray Panthaki) shot in the stomach.
It then showed Marcella near the scene, carrying a gun.
Read more: Amanda Burton joins cast of Marcella on ITV1: Why did she leave Silent Witness?
Did she shoot him? We know she’s capable of killing, and even attacking friends (she knocked Rav out at the end of series two). But would she kill him?
Could it be that someone else pulled the trigger – and Marcella is on the scene to save him?
Or has she shot Rav in front of the Maguires to fully cement their trust? In the series three double bill, we saw her ruthlessly striking an innocent woman across the face with a pistol.
And she apparently ratted out her partner, the family’s accountant, for taking money from them – then they killed him.
Could Rav be a victim of her undercover efforts too?
Who is Matthew Gaskill and how does he know Marcella?
At one point, a stranger called Matthew Gaskill recognised Keira/Marcella and called her by her old name, leaving her shaken as it risked exposing her.
She later confronted him, grabbing him by the neck in his own home and warning him off.
Who is he, and how does he know her? Actor Glen Wallace, who played the character, wasn’t in either series one or two.
What did the music mean?
Somebody left Marcella a mysterious scrap of paper containing musical notes.
She got Stacey, the pregnant daughter of crime boss Katherine Maguire (Amanda Burton), to play the tune on the piano. And it left Marcella spooked as the soft notes of a lullaby filled the room – so much so that she stormed out.
What was the significance of the song? Did it remind Marcella of her baby daughter, Juliet, who she accidentally smothered?
And more importantly, who left it for her? She thought it was Matthew Gaskill, but when she confronted him he seemed genuinely clueless.
Are the senior Maguires onto Marcella being an undercover cop?
Under her new identity, Marcella is playing a former cop. Her knowledge of police investigations is something the Maguire family are keen to use to their advantage (for instance, Marcella helped get the son in law out of murder charges).
But Katherine’s behaviour towards her suggests she might know more than she’s letting on.
Similarly, Rory (Michael Colgan) – the recluse who runs the show from behind the scenes, who has been spying on Marcella and Katherine’s son Finn (Aaron McCusker) while they have sex – told Marcella that he has a photographic memory.
Everything he sees and hears, Rory explained, he remembers with perfect clarity. Has he seen Marcella’s face before?
Who was Frank speaking to?
At the end of the double bill, copper Frank Young – the one who recruited Marcella for undercover work at the end of series two – was briefing someone on where she’s at with the case.
Was he speaking to Rav, letting him in on the secret? It would be handy for Rav to know, as he’s currently investigating the family and will obviously recognise Marcella straight away if he sees her as Keira.
Or was Frank speaking to a mysterious boss – someone involved who is higher up that him? This could be closer to the truth, as Frank seemed to be making an argument for keeping Marcella on the case in spite of her rule breaking.
Will Rory help Marcella?
Rory obviously desires Marcella. Viewers saw him masturbating as he watched her have sex with Finn through a peep hole.
Read more: Where is Marcella’s scar from? Shock ending to series two explained
And he surprised the family by coming down to dinner while Marcella was present, despite the fact he’s a germophobe who rarely ventures out of his rooms.
He also gave Marcella a strange look at one point, as they all sat around the table. Will he end up helping her?
What did you think of the first two episodes? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.