The Drowning ending frustrated viewers last night, with some branding it “utter garbage” and claiming they had wasted their time with it.
The Channel 5 identity thriller starred former EastEnders actress Jill Halfpenny and saw her character, Jodie, seeking answers about her missing son, Tom.
Tom vanished 10 years before the events of the series and his family thought he had drowned in a lake. But when Jodie saw a teenager called Daniel (Cody Molko) who looked just like him, she became convinced he was her son.
Warning! Spoilers for episode four ahead.
What was the ending of The Drowning?
Last night (February 4), after a police DNA test showed Daniel was Jodie’s missing son, Tom, it transpired that Jodie’s brother, Jason (Jonas Armstrong), had pulled strings to have the results faked.
Viewers learned that Daniel wasn’t actually Tom, and Jason was the one responsible for the boy’s death. He had taken his eyes off him during the family outing at the lake, but decided to not to tell anyone to save his legal career.
Read more: After the finale of The Drowning on C5, what are the next top TV dramas coming up in 2021?
In a rage after admitting the truth, Jason pursued Daniel and Jodie at the lake, swimming after them when they fled in a rowing boat before drowning.
Unfortunately, the show left some glaring plot holes and unanswered questions.
How didn’t anyone notice Jason’s wet clothes?
When Tom drowned, Jason rushed out into the water. Realising he was dead, he pushed the boy’s body further out.
Two good lead actors. It started well, but unfortunately became rather far fetched and disappointing.
He stood in the water well past his waist. When he returned to the family, pretending nothing had happened, why didn’t they notice he was soaking wet?
How did Jodie avoid jail over the faked passport?
Before the police DNA results came through, Jodie got caught trying to get Daniel across the border using a fake passport.
Her lawyer brother warned she faced years behind bars for that alone. Why didn’t she face charges for the forged document, after police released her from prison?
How could they explain all the family having different accents?
Jodie and the other members of her family – brother Jason and mum Lynn (Deborah Findlay) – all spoke with different accents.
How could the show account for them all sounding nothing alike?
Why bother rowing Daniel into the middle of the lake?
Once Jodie was out of prison and everything looked like it was going her way, Jason took Daniel to the lake.
He rowed him out into the middle of the water and sounded as though he was going to murder the teenager by drowning him – to stop any further DNA tests that might prove he’s not actually Tom.
Yet, when Jodie arrived, Jason was back in the cabin near the lake, Daniel locked in a shed. Why did Jason bother rowing him out into the middle of the lake?
Why would Mark accept defeat when he knew Daniel was his son?
Mark (Rupert Penry-Jones), Daniel’s father, knew the teenager was his son, not Jodie’s. And yet once the police DNA test claimed Daniel was Tom, Mark seemed to just accept defeat.
Read more: Who is actor Jonas Armstrong – Jason in The Drowning – married to?
Surely he could have easily proved he had always had Daniel, with photos from when the lad was a baby, or by getting friends of the family, school staff or neighbours to back him up.
What did viewers think?
A number of Twitter branded the show “garbage” or lamented giving it their time.
Others called it “disappointing”. However, some viewers praised the lead actors.
Utter garbage. Laughable in places #thedrowning
— Chris Hill (@therealcjhill) February 4, 2021
#TheDrowning I was hooked on the first 3 episodes then I watched the 4th and now I feel like I wasted my time watching this show they completely stuffed up the entire series with this final how disappointing
— Jade13 (@Jademharvey13) February 5, 2021
Well that last episode was a bit of a let down ☹️ it was rather good until then. So really I’ve just wasted four hours 😂🤔 #TheDrowning
— Lyns #HouseMD #GG2D #BatesMotel (@Livelylivy) February 4, 2021
#TheDrowning Utter unbelievable rubbish. The plot/script had more holes than a sieve, with pointless characters and dead ends. Best pointless bit, rowing to middle of lake then locking kid in the shed 😂😂😂😂
— Billy Bullsh1t (@alfiebulldog55) February 4, 2021
Good actors, poor script, although had potential at one point……Too many holes in that boat ! #TheDrowning
— 🏴COL🏴KERR🏴 (@bandit12blue) February 5, 2021
Two good lead actors. It started well, but unfortunately became rather far fetched and disappointing
#TheDrowning— Lynn (@LynnClark1) February 4, 2021
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