Jason Watkins starred as Simon, a man pushed to his limits and forced to face the consequences, in episode 1 of new Channel 5 thriller Coma.
At first, Simon came across as a rather boring, happily married, dad of one. He found himself powerless when he witnessed local thugs wreaking havoc. He was unable to step up when he saw a gang of boys tormenting an older man. His daughter later injured herself on a broken glass left by hooligans taking over the childrens’ play area.
It’s something we can all relate to. However, after being made redundant, Simon felt more powerless than ever. When the leader of the gang, Jordan, began to torment Simon at home, even threatening his young daughter, the devoted dad snapped.
After Jordan taunted him by calling him a “paedo”, and even insinuated he was attracted to his own daughter, Simon punched Jordan… The teenager dropped to the floor, banging his head on the concrete, and bleeding out.
In a panic, Jason Watkins‘ character Simon attempted to resuscitate him – but the boy was left in a bad way… Leaving Simon with the moral dilemma – come clean about his involvement or lie through his teeth. He choose the latter.
Here are all the burning questions we have after watching Coma episode 1 on Channel 5.
Is it okay to be rooting for Simon?
A split second decision changed Simon’s life in the Channel 5 thriller. After punching Jordan (played by rising star Joe Barber), he became the perpetrator of a serious assault. And, if Jordan dies, Simon would be a murderer.
Of course, we all know that Jordan provoked him. It’s almost impossible to lay the blame at Simon’s feet. Especially when he was just trying to protect his family.
But we also know that Jordan is a product of his criminal father. We learnt that the 17-year-old has “been having mug shots” since he was young.
Therein lies the moral dilemma for us viewers, too. Is it okay to be on Simon’s side? Of course he shouldn’t have lied. But once he started, it was impossible to come clean.
Vigilante justice can never be condoned. But, at the same time, we find ourselves 100% on Simon’s side.
Coma episode 1 Channel 5: What does Harry really know?
The brilliant David Bradley stars as Simon’s quiet, grumpy neighbour Harry. He kept himself to himself, until Simon lashed out at him for being unfriendly.
In the next scene, we saw Harry calling Haverbridge Police. He claimed to have seen the assault. So is he going to throw Simon under the bus? We’ve already seen him being forgetful about what day it is, so can his account he trusted?
Coma episode 1 Channel 5: Will Jordan die?
At the end of Coma episode 1 on Channel 5, Jordan seemed to go into cardiac arrest. With his life support beeping wildly with warning messages, his parents looked on in horror.
But will he die? Or will be awake in time to point the finger of blame at Simon?
Will Simon get found out? Is his life in danger?
Jordan’s dad Paul, played by Jonas Armstrong, is a dangerous gangster. He’s not the sort of person you want to cross. At the moment, he sees Simon as the “local hero” who saved his son’s life.
But he’s also putting pressure on Simon to ‘remember’ who he saw running away. Of course, we know that he saw NO ONE running away, as he himself is the assailant!
Mild-mannered Simon’s life could well be at risk if Paul ever finds out the truth… Even if the police discover the truth before Paul does, we don’t hold much hope that Simon will get jail time before Paul’s thug friends get to him.
Read more: Viewers ‘heartbroken’ by Jason Watkins’ devastating story about daughter Maudie’s death
Coma continues on Tuesday, March 18, 2024 at 9pm on Channel 5 & My5.
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