Bloodlands: Huge episode three twist leaves viewers ‘baffled’ and ‘confused’

‘Think most of us can agree we are all confused,’ wrote one viewer

BBC One’s new primetime thriller Bloodlands broadcast its third and penultimate episode yesterday – but left some viewers scratching their heads.

The Northern Ireland-set crime drama, starring James Nesbitt, featured a game-changing twist at the end of episode two, as the identity of the dormant police assassin known as “Goliath” was thrown into question.

*Spoilers ahead for episodes one to three of Bloodlands*

Episode two ended with haunted police detective Tom Brannick (Nesbitt) showing his true colours, when he shot the grieving relative Adam Cory in the head.

Cory had asked Brannick whether he was in fact Goliath, attempting to secretly record a confession on tape. Brannick didn’t answer, instead pulling out his weapon and murdering his accuser.

Read more: Bloodlands episode three is daft, melodramatic and insular – review

While Brannick’s actions ought to place him at the top of a list of suspects for the renegade assassin, the answer seemed almost too easy. Sure enough, episode three continued to tease Goliath’s identity as a mystery, narrowing the nominal list of candidates down to three: Brannick, his boss Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) and “Dinger” (Michael Smiley).

However, viewers shared their confusion with the mystery on social media, with some people unsure whether or not Goliath’s identity had already been revealed.

“Think most of us can agree we are all confused,” wrote one viewer, who added: “Just like Line Of Duty all will be revealed in the end.”

“So is James Nesbitt Goliath? Confused,” wrote another.

“Does anyone have a clue who Goliath is?” asked another person. “I am so bloody confused.”

Bloodlands concludes on BBC One next Sunday (14 March) at 9pm.