Sherwood returned to the BBC over the Bank Holiday Weekend with fans treated to not one but two brilliant episodes.
During an edge-of-the-seat 120 minutes we were reintroduced to Ian St Clair (David Morrissey), Julie Jackson (Lesley Manville), Ann Branson (Monica Dolan) and Daphne Sparrow (Lorraine Ashbourne).
This time around the series – which kicked off during the miners’ strike in the 1980s and was loosely based on real-life events – is entirely fictional.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t every inch as good. Warning, spoilers ahead…
Season 2 of BBC series Sherwood gets off to a cracking start
This time around the Nottingham-based drama Sherwood is set in the present day and sees the old rivalries revisited after Nicky Branson is shot dead.
He was killed by Ryan Bottomley in an attack witnessed by Ronan Sparrow and his sister Rachel (Daphne Sparrow’s long-lost daughter).
When the Bransons find out who killed their son, and who witnessed it, they pay a visit to the Sparrows and insist they help ID the Bottomley family.
In an eye-for-an-eye shooting, they plan to kill either Pam Bottomley, her brother Denis (David Harewood) or her adopted daughter Stephie, who has Down syndrome, in a revenge attack.
However, with one Branson shooter inside (Roy) and one outside (cousin Kyre), both Pam and Denis are killed, leaving Stephie witnessing the murders – and then going on to kill Kyre with a pair of garden shears before locking him in the back of a van.
Phew!
Naturally the episodes left us with a lot of questions, especially as there’s a dodgy copper in the mix who must’ve tipped off the Bransons to the location of the Bottomleys’ safe house.
So, ahead of episode three on Sunday (September 1), here’s what we need to know…
Why was no one guarding the Bottomleys’ safe house?
Surely the whole point of a safe house is that it’s actually safe, right? Well poor old Pam, Denis and Stephie were pretty much taken to Skegness and left to their own devices.
They were out on the beach metal detecting, took a trip to the amusem*nts and went out for fish and chips. All while they were meant to be hiding from a revenge attack from the Bransons.
Why weren’t there police officers guarding the address? Why weren’t they told to stay inside? Viewers reacting on Twitter were left wondering exactly the same thing…
“Why were there no police guarding them considering they knew who the parents of the dead son were, especially after having to move them because their house was shot up?” asked one.
“For a family’s that supposed to be in hiding, the Bottomleys are being very careful, are they?!” said another.
What good is the bent copper if he can’t ID the Bottomleys?
After finding a mobile phone in her pocket (left there by Daphne Sparrow in an attempt to tip her off), Pam called police officer Harry.
Harry doesn’t pick up the phone, though. Instead, Marcus – who we assume to be a bent copper – answers. He then tells her that he’ll pass the message onto Harry and agrees that finding a mobile in her pocket is a bit weird.
He also tells her he’ll send a police presence (finally!) to keep watch. Except of course he doesn’t. Instead, Roy Branson receives a phone call telling him that he needs to find the phone at the safe house.
But one thing has left viewers confused – just what good is a bent copper if he can’t ID the Bottomleys? Instead, that, erm, honour was given to Rachel…
“Loving #Sherwood, but puzzled over why would the murdering Bransons would need help identifying the Bottomleys if they had someone on the inside providing an address,” said one fan of the show.
Why did Rachel get involved so easily?
On the subject of Rachel, why did she agree so easily to help her birth mum Daphne?
She was very reluctant to get to know her brother Ronan, and even legged it from the murder scene. Yet after two minutes with Daphne she agreed to help ID the Bottomleys to save younger brother Ronan the job.
Rachel didn’t grow up with the crime family, she surely has no loyalties to them, she didn’t appear to have been threatened, so why did she agree to do it?
Viewers spotted it too. “Sorry to be picky but also, why did the girl tamely agree to becoming an accessory to murder?” asked one.
Sherwood on BBC One: Will Stephie confess?
Viewers were unaware that Stephie had seen the murders take place. She was on the beach at the front of the house with the metal detector at the time.
However, she was soon hunting down cousin Kyre as he packed away his weapons in the back of a van.
Brandishing the garden shears Denis had showed her how to use earlier, she stabbed him in the back. And, after he fell into the van, she shut the doors, leaving him there to die.
A clip on This Morning today (August 27) showed the Bransons being told his body had been found. So, will Stephie confess?
The final scenes of episode two saw her crying and being comforted by a police officer as DCS Summers arrived at the (un)-safe house. Will she tell him what she’s done?
Just what is DCS Harry Summers’ backstory?
On the subject of Harry (Michael Bologun), what on earth has happened to him to give him such violent night terrors and troubling flashbacks.
He’s been to a support group (with the Bottomleys, surely a conflict of interest there?) and admitted to Ian St Clair that he didn’t actually witness the incident that’s troubling him.
There’s been a lot of alluding to his past, but just what has happened to him?
“I want to know his backstory,” demanded one viewer. “There’s something terrible there. He’s a haunted man.”
Sherwood on BBC One: What will the double revenge killing and Kyra’s death mean for the gang rivalries?
The Bransons were only meant to kill one person in revenge for Nicky’s death. Instead, two Bottomleys perished. Then a Bottomley killed a Branson. And a Sparrow attempted to tip off the Bottomleys.
What happens next? Will Stephie be killed for Kyre? Are there more Bottomleys? When will the Bransons realise the Sparrows dropped the phone?
One thing’s for sure, expect a lot more blood to be spilled!
Sherwood returns for episodes three and four on Sunday (September 1) and Monday (September 2) at 9pm on BBC One.
Read more: Sherwood star David Morrissey ‘dating woman half his age’ after split from famous wife
So what do you think? Tell us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.
