Bloodlands viewers ‘speechless’ after game-changing twist in episode two

One viewer described the reveal as ‘one of the best executed plot twists I’ve ever seen’

Viewers were stunned by a huge twist in the closing moments of the second episode of BBC One’s latest crime drama, Bloodlands.

The series sees James Nesbitt star as Tom Brannick, a Northern Irish police detective on the hunt for an assassin known as Goliath who may have murdered his wife many years earlier.

Executive produced by Line of Duty’s Jed Mercurio, Bloodlands is only halfway through its four-episode run, but has already offered up one of the seismic plot twists for which Mercurio is known.

Spoilers for episode two of Bloodlands follow...

At the end of last night’s (28 February) episode, Brannick meets again with Adam Cory (Ian McElhinney), the brother of one of Goliath’s victims.

James Nesbitt in Bloodlands (BBC / HTM Televison /Steffan Hill )

After going out to the island where the bodies were found with Cory, Brannick is asked a number of increasingly aggressive questions.

Read more: Bloodlands episode two groans under the weight of its own plot –review

Cory states that his brother had been having an affair with Brannick’s wife Emma, and asks if he had gotten Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) to murder him as revenge.

“Are you Goliath?” he then asks, trying to capture a confession from Brannick on a tape recorder. Nesbitt’s character then pulls out a gun and shoots Cory dead. It’s not clear whether Brannick is in fact Goliath or not, but the reveal completely changes what we thought we knew about the character.

Fans voiced their shock at the sudden twist on social media.

“That’s one of the best executed plot twists I’ve ever seen in any tv show or movie,” wrote one viewer on Twitter.

“Bloody hell! I’m a bit speechless after that twist at the very end of #Bloodlands,” wrote another.

“When a plot twist makes you swear out loud at the tv you know it’s good,” another tweet read.

Bloodlands continues at 9pm on Sunday on BBC One.