The Ex-Wife landed on Channel 5 last night after first airing on Paramount+, and episode 1 started with a bang. And we mean that quite literally.
The opening moments of the glossy psychological thriller saw Céline Buckens’ character Tasha looking pretty rough (no offence, love). Gone was the glamorous, sexy new mum we saw moments later.
Tasha was driving a car even though we later learnt that she doesn’t have a licence. She pulled up beside another car with her husband’s ex-wife Jen in the passenger seat, who looked pretty shocked to see her. Within seconds, there appeared to be a shocking car crash, and we saw Jen unconscious with blood trickling down her head.
Tasha’s voice acted as narrator, saying: “Love can justify almost anything – if you believe in it hard enough. It can make us all do terrible things.”
Viewers are then transported to three months earlier, when Tasha and her husband Jack (Tom Mison) seemed to be living the perfect life. Almost too perfect we would say…
Here are all the questions we have after watching the thrilling episode 1 of The Ex-Wife (Sunday, October 16, 2023).
***Warning: spoilers from episode 1 of The Ex-Wife ahead***
What’s the plot of The Ex-Wife?
Newly-married Tasha (Showtrial actress Céline Buckens) is seen living the dream as episode 1 of The Ex-Wife began. She has a beautiful London home, a loving and successful husband in Jack, and a gorgeous little girl, Emily. Everything would be perfect if only her husband’s ex-wife Jen would leave them alone.
Jen calls constantly and has close ties to Jack’s family which is making life incredibly uncomfortable for Tasha. After a series of increasingly intrusive encounters, Tasha begins to think Jen might be trying to manipulate her way back into Jack’s life – but is Tasha just being paranoid?
When one day Tasha finds Jack and Emily gone without trace, Tasha’s worst fears are realised and she discovers that the dream she is living may be about to turn into a nightmare…
Desperate to get her daughter back, Tasha will do anything to get to the truth, even if that means accepting an offer of help from Jen. But can she trust her? And do either of them really know the man they married?
Questions we have after watching The Ex-Wife – what is Jen’s problem?
Let’s put aside the implausibility of their super glamorous life… He put the baby to sleep, while she served dinner on a candlelit dining table? Sound like anyone you know with a newborn? Nope, us neither.
Flashbacks showed us how they first met. Jack was still married to Jen, when he accidentally knocked Tasha off her bike, and their eyes met over a fleshy wound and some road gravel. We learnt that Jen couldn’t have a baby, and their marriage was suffering because of it. They agreed to a trial separation, which soon became permanent when Tasha became pregnant with Jack’s child.
Jack and Tasha are now married, and have a baby together. But Jen hasn’t got the message, and is still very much in Jack’s life. In the opening scenes of the series, Jack received a three-year driving ban which gave Jen the opportunity to drive Jack and Tasha to his niece’s Christening. Tasha tolerated it, even though every one still treated Jen like Jack’s wife.
However, she finally reached breaking point, and gave Jack an ultimatum… But Jen doesn’t abide by her ex’s request to stay away. In fact, she lets herself in to her former house, drinks Jack’s wine, and listens to her favourite music track. WTF?
Why is the ex-wife hanging around?
Not being funny, but why on earth would Jen want to still be in her ex-husband’s life? He had an affair while they were still married, and then he got his lover pregnant. That’s got to hurt. Especially as Jen and Jack had struggled to conceive.
Jack’s family are treating Tasha like she’s public enemy number one, but really it’s Jack who’s behaved badly. Tasha just fell in love, and then fell pregnant.
So why on earth isn’t Jen raging? Instead of being understandably furious, she’s being all sweetness and light… That. Is. Just. Weird.
Meanwhile, Tasha’s ex Sam – played by Rizzle Kicks singer Jordan Stephens – is also on the scene, and appears to be Tasha’s only friend. But he seems to be hiding something, too. And how did Jen know Sam’s name?
The Ex-Wife episode 1: What did Sam take from Emily’s nursery?
During Jack’s work trip to New York, Tasha met up with Sam. When they got in the car, Tasha realised she’d left Emily’s favourite toy rabbit back in the house.
Sam offered to run back in and get it, while Tasha strapped Emily in the car. He found the toy, but seemed to find something else too. Just out of shot of the camera, Sam appeared to stuff something in his pocket. But what was it? And why?
And does he know Jack’s ex-wife Jen?
The Ex-Wife episode 1: Is Jack a villain?
There is the saying that a leopard never changes its spots – and if Jack can cheat on one wife, he sure as hell can cheat on another. And he’s away with work a LOT.
Another big problem with Jack is that he never seems to defend his new wife Tasha. Allowing his family to treat Tasha like dirt? Not cool.
Meanwhile, Jen alluded to Jack’s “temper”, and also told Tasha: “I can’t do this anymore. Tell Jack I can’t do it anymore.”
What does she mean? And what is the real relationship between Jen and Jack? At the end of episode 1 of The Ex-Wife, a suspicious Tasha followed Jack’s movements. He’d told her he was working late, but was actually with his ex-wife Jen. The pair appeared to be very cosy. What the hell?
The Ex-Wife episode 1: Does Tasha run Jen off the road?
The opening moments of the series showed Tasha pulling up beside a 4×4 and looking into the passenger seat where Jen stared down at her.
Seconds later, the car appeared to be forced off the road, with glass smashed around it, and Jen unconscious in the seat. However, we also saw Emily’s toy bunny in the back seat covered with blood and glass.
Did Tasha cause the crash? And why was she chasing Jen? The last we saw of Tasha was her standing in the middle of the road unharmed, as emergency services attempted to save Jen…
All will be revealed in episode 2 on Sunday, October 22 2023, at 9pm.
All four episodes of The Ex-Wife are currently available to watch on My5.
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