ITV viewers have been left feeling at best a little disappointed and a worst furious about wasting three hours of their lives following the concluding part of Trauma.
The three-part drama – centred on a grieving father hell-bent on truth (and revenge) after his son died on the operating table – came to an end last night.
And, while the episode was undeniably tense and gripping, critical acclaim was in short supply.
The finale saw a showdown at the home of surgeon Dr Jon Allerton, after Dan Bowker – the father of stabbed teen Alex – charmed his way in.
First viewers were left wondering whether Bowker had stabbed Allerton’s affable teen daughter after he produced a knife and announced he just wanted what was “fair”.
Then they watched on the edge of their seats as Allerton’s wife – a psychiatrist – offered Bowker, who had previously passed himself off as a patient, a consultation in her kitchen.
Meanwhile, Bowker had messaged Allerton to warn him to get home – or his wife would day.
What followed was an excruciatingly tense exchange as Bowker finally got Allerton to admit that he had made an error while operating on Alex – elicited by holding a knife to Alana’s throat.
The concluding part was branded by many as implausible by many viewers, who had already ‘let go’ the scene where Bowker had burst into the operating theatre and watched as his son’s life ebbed away.
They had been similarly dismissive of Bowker gaining entry to a mortality and morbidity meeting in a conference room at the hospital.
And of hard-up Bowker securing treatment with a psychiatrist so quickly.
They felt writer Mike Bartlett had lost the plot by suggesting a bright girl such as Alana and then her doctor mother Lisa letting a stranger into their home.
All in all, it proved a disappointing and frustrating denouement, as Bowker was admitted to hospital after taking a pasting from Allerton, post-confession.
The surgeon visited him and explained that his psychologist had told him he should apologise – and then he was visited by Alex’s ghost.
So, was Bowker right in his pursuit because he got to the truth, and was Allerton not a good man?
That conclusion wasn’t force fed, but one that many unhappy viewers felt was dished up.
There was praise from some viewers…
Did you enjoy the Trauma finale? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know!