Bloodlands on BBC: Full series one recap ahead of series two

Bloodlands returns to BBC One this Sunday with series two – here’s a recap of everything from series one that you’ll need reminding of.

Bloodlands series one followed DCI Tom Brannick as he was forced to confront his past following the kidnapping of IRA man Patrick Keenan.

When Brannick recognised the legendary assassin Goliath – who vanished with his own wife 20 years ago – might be responsible, his whole life began to unravel.

Here’s what you need to know…

How did Bloodlands series one begin?

We met DCI Tom Brannick, played by James Nesbitt, who was a single father to daughter Izzy.

He had been with the Northern Irish police force since the 90s, working his way up the ranks.

But when a car was pulled out from Strangford Lough and the owner, Patrick Keenan had been kidnapped, Brannick faced a return to one of the toughest cases of his career.

Brannick suspected that this crime might be connected to the legendary assassin known as Goliath.

This was because of a calling card of a Harland and Wolff crane postcard being left at the scene.

And Brannick had a personal connection to the case!

Legend had it that Goliath was a serving police officer who vanished without a trace 20 years ago and among his original victims was Tom’s wife, Emma.

Episode one also revealed that Emma was an agent at the 14 Intelligence Company. This was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps, which conducted surveillance on paramilitaries.

Brannick and his partner, DS Niamh McGovern tried to trace parts of the Goliath case to help them solve the present-day kidnapping.

But they found gaps in the original Goliath investigation, suggesting a cover-up.

A different car was found registered in Keenan’s name at a hotel, and the force found him alive and tied up in the hotel room.

Goliath had left his calling card once again, with another postcard left next to the kidnapping victim. Tom’s suspicions were confirmed.

A tip from Adam Corry, the brother of one of Goliath’s suspected victims, David Corry, revealed that suspicious activity was reported on an island in 1998.

The first episode ended with three skeletons being discovered, and Brannick recognised a small owl pendant on one of them – it belonged to his missing wife.

Bloodlands series one recap: What else happened in series one?

Two questions faced Brannick and his policing team: who were the bodies and who kidnapped Patrick Keenan?

When Brannick showed him Goliath’s calling card – the H&W postcard – Keenan refused to give any clues on who had done this to him.

Just when we thought that Brannick’s wife Emma was definitely dead, the recovery revealed that none of the bodies were her.

Joe Harkin and David Corry, two of Goliath’s original suspected victims, were confirmed to be two of the bodies. David Corry was the one who had Emma’s necklace tied around him.

But the real shock came from Brannick taking Adam Corry to the remote island to visit where his brother’s body was found.

Adam was able to reveal that he knew why David Corry had on Emma’s owl pendant necklace, announcing that he and Emma were having an affair!

Not only that, but Brannick discovered that Adam had been meeting with someone who was trying to unmask Goliath.

But the biggest shock of the episode came when Adam finally put all the pieces together and he asked… “Tom Brannick… is it you? Are you Goliath?”

Is Tom Brannick Goliath?

So could it be? Could the protagonist of the whole show really be our baddie?

It seemed so, as when Adam threatened to record Brannick confessing to be Goliath, he shot him dead!

Not exactly the behaviour of an innocent man.

Could Adam’s theory be true? Did DCI Tom Brannick create a whole serial killer plot, all to kill his cheating wife and her lover?

Or did Brannick kill his wife and just make it look like a Goliath crime, with him unconnected from the rest of the murders?

Bloodlands series one recap: Who else could be Goliath?

The show did throw us off somewhat off the trail of Brannick being Goliath because of the admittedly very suspicious DCS Jackie Twomey, one of his colleagues.

Even Adam initially thought Jackie Twomey was Goliath, as he originally closed the unsolved case.

Whether Goliath is really Brannick or Twomey, the evidence did eventually pile up against the DCS.

Determined to prove Twomey was the real Goliath, Brannick and his team began investigating.

They found most of Twowey’s files were redacted by intelligence services, but had no idea why.

Brannick finally had the evidence he needed when he linked a historic PO Box number 2421 to Twomey.

This PO Box was linked to the murdered IRA man Joe Harkin. It was used by Twomey to “pass highly sensitive information using insecure means”.

Brannick got Tori – the daughter of Goliath victim, Simon Quinlan – to plant evidence in Twomey’s caravan.

She then tipped the police off, who found Goliath’s calling card – with Adam Corry’s fingerprint – planted by Tori.

Brannick arrested Twomey for the murder of Cory.

Did he have the right Goliath, or was he just covering up his own crimes?

How did Bloodlands series one end?

The last episode of Bloodlands series one saw everything come to head.

Twomey admitted to unofficially running Joe Harkin as an IRA source. He also admitted he knew Adam Corry back in the ’90s too.

But he maintained that he hasn’t seen Adam in years.

Brannick’s quick and smart partner, Niamh McGovern, began to see that things didn’t seem to be lining up in the case.

Niamh caught out Brannick in a small lie about meeting up with his daughter, and she admitted to Twomey that she thought Brannick had framed him.

But before Niamh could crack the case, Tori linked Izzy’s matching owl pendant to her mother’s – the one found on Goliath’s victims.

Brannick then made his confession to Tori and –  buckle up, as this is where it got really interesting.

He told her that, back in the day, David Corry had his wife and if he wanted to see her again, he would have “do certain things”.

He claimed that he killed Joe Harkin and Father Quinlan as they were waiting for a shipment of weapons on the remote island.

Brannick told Tori: “I told David Corry that I had done what he asked. He told me to go home.”

But he didn’t, he lay in wait on the island, watching David Corry and Emma arrive “acting like a couple”.

He admitted to shooting David Corry out of jealously.

But he claimed he never hurt Emma, admitting he doesn’t know where she is to this day…

How did Brannick not get discovered as Goliath?

Viewers thought it was all over when Brannick told Tori where to find the gun that linked him to all the murders.

But he double-crossed her, as he also told episode one’s kidnapping victim, Pat Keenan where to find the gun.

Keenan was Tori’s kidnapping victim, and to get revenge, Keenan shot her dead!

With Tori now dead, Brannick apparently needlessly shot Keenan dead too.

Seeing the situation, investigators assumed Keenan was Goliath, and Tori was taking revenge. Brannick convinces them that he agreed and was free to go.

So with series two ahead, will Niamh finally confront Brannick with her suspicions? And will we ever find out where Emma Brannick is?

We can’t wait to find out!

Bloodlands returns this Sunday, September 18 on BBC One. All episodes of series one are available on BBC iPlayer.