Flesh and Blood has teased viewers all week by revealing that one of the central characters has been attacked and left for dead, and in last night’s finale the villain and victim were finally revealed.
Fans quickly demanded a second series of the gripping ITV four-part drama after discovering that ‘creepy’ neighbour Mary, played by Imelda Staunton tried to suffocate Mark (Stephen Rea).
A surprising victim, Mark was billed as a potential criminal in the build-up to the finale, with the children of his new wife Vivien (Francesca Annis) painting him as the bad guy.
And tension between the adult siblings – Natalie (Lydia Leonard), Jake (Russell Tovey) and Helen (Claudie Blakley) – came to a head at Vivien’s 70th birthday gathering, when her son fought with Mark.
The other siblings joined the scrap and Mark was accidentally pushed from the balcony of his wife’s home, making it look like all of her children were at fault.
But the twist in the tale came when Mary tried to suffocate her neighbour’s husband, under the pretence of giving him mouth-to-mouth after the family had rushed off to call an ambulance.
Social media users were left stunned by the dramatic scenes – especially the last shot which showed Mark opening his eyes while in hospital despite his severe injuries – and called for a second series to be made.
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Flesh and Blood viewers were left craving more following the first series finale last night, which revealed ‘nosy’ neighbour Mary (pictured centre-left, alongside the other suspects) as the villain
A surprising victim, Mark (pictured) was billed as a potential criminal in the build-up to the finale, with new-wife Vivien’s (Francesca Annis) children painting him as the bad guy
Fans quickly demanded a second series of the gripping ITV four-part drama after discovering that despite being suffocated by Imelda Staunton’s ‘creepy’ character, Mark (played by Stephen Rea) was not dead
One impressed social media user wrote: ‘Excellent drama. Hoping for series two after that ending.’
Another said: ‘Second series of Flesh and Blood now please,’ while a third added: ‘Lots of loose ends, we need another series.’
‘I do hope we get a second series of Flesh and Blood. That was really great, quality drama, you can’t trust anyone, not even sweet old next door neighbours.’
The programme began on Monday night with a scene showing an unidentified injured body being removed from a home by police.
Told through both flashbacks and present day action, it set up all the characters as the potential attackers or victim.
Last night’s episode finally identified Mary as the culprit, who wanted to get rid of Mark so that she didn’t lose her place in her next door neighbour’s family.
Impressed social media users were left stunned by the dramatic scenes and called for a second series to be made
At a family gathering, vicious words are exchanged between Jake and Mark (pictured), causing Vivien to collapse on the floor from stress. She is quickly surrounded by her three children and her neighbour Mary, with Mark, who’s a retired surgeon pushed back
But determined to reach his wife, he punches Jake in the face to get to her, who then, along with his siblings (pictured), charges at Mark and shoves him off the balcony.
His head appears to smash on the rocks below, yet it isn’t this that deliver’s the final, near-fatal blow. Viewers watch as Mary finds an unconscious Mark (left) on the ground and as he tries to wake up, the neighbour (right) covers his nose and mouth to stop him from breathing
The incident occurred at Viven’s 70th birthday party, with tensions running high after her adult children discovered that her new husband Mark’s first wife took her own life.
Mark was accused of having a hand in it by one woman, but an inquest ruled he was innocent – yet the siblings were still convinced that he was trying to kill their mother, who had been complaining of feeling ill and faint.
Events spiralled out of control at the family gathering as vicious words were exchanged between Jake and Mark, causing Vivien to collapse on the floor from stress.
She was quickly surrounded by her three children and her neighbour Mary, with Mark, a retired surgeon, pushed back.
But determined to reach his wife, he punched Jake in the face to get to her, who then, along with his siblings, charged at Mark and shoved him off the balcony.
With plenty of crocodile tears to help her case, Mary (pictured) tells detectives that Mark slipped and lost his footing, and that she tried to give him mouth-to-mouth but couldn’t save him
The police appear to not fully believe the busybody neighbour, but decide to close the case after doctors say they can’t prove Mark (pictured) was pushed due to the amount of alcohol in his system
Many viewers had guessed Mary would be the villain from the start, and were keen to celebrate their detective skills on Twitter
His head appeared to smash on the rocks below, but that wasn’t the end for Mark.
Neighbour Mary told the children to help their mother and call an ambulance, while she rushed to help Mark alone, claiming to be ‘first aid trained’.
Mary found an unconscious Mark on the ground but as he started to come around, she covered his nose and mouth to stop him from breathing.
With plenty of crocodile tears to help her case, Mary told detectives that Mark slipped and lost his footing, and that she tried to give him mouth-to-mouth but couldn’t save him.
In the final scenes, the family gather together for a meal, with a grinning Mary sitting at the top of the table opposite an upset Vivien (pictured)
The series ends with a dramatic cliffhanger after Mark opens in his eyes while lying in his hospital bed (pictured)
The police appeared to not fully believe the busybody neighbour, but decide to close the case after doctors said they can’t prove he was pushed due to the amount of alcohol in his system.
In the final scenes, the family gathered together for a meal, with a grinning Mary sitting at the top of the table opposite an upset Vivien.
But the series ended with a dramatic cliffhanger after Mark opened in his eyes while lying in his hospital bed.
Many viewers had guessed Mary would be the villain from the start, and were keen to celebrate their detective skills on Twitter.
Reaction: However, Mary being the bad guy seemed unoriginal for some unimpressed fans
One person wrote: ‘Oh Mary, what have you done? Knew she had a hand in it!’, another said: ‘So it really was Mary… we were right! What a wonderful woman, take a bow.’
However, Mary being the bad guy seemed unoriginal for some unimpressed fans, with one person writing: ‘Really enjoyed #FleshandBlood but found the ending an anticlimax.’
A second added: ‘Another drama with a weird ending. I’m a bit sick of investing time expecting to see a well wrapped-up finale and then being left confused.’
Another viewer took to Twitter and said: ‘Disappointing ending. Big build up and predictable ending. Is that It?’