Passenger viewers complain they still have 'no idea' what ITV show is about
ITV's new drama Passenger has left viewers scratching their heads over the plot, as several felt they still didn't know what the story was about even after four episodes.
The six-part series stars Wunmi Mosaku as Detective Inspector Riya Ajunwa, who is on hand to uncover the mystery of a missing person's case that isn't what it seems. Katie Wells (Rowan Robinson) was the young woman who went missing and then reappeared 24 hours later, but Riya is convinced that something is amiss and decides to find out what it is.
Read more: ITV’s Passenger hopes to be Stranger Things for the North of England
Full of strange happenings and surprise reveals, the series has kept viewers on their toes over the course of its four episodes — but some feel more "baffled" than shocked by the series so far.
Taking to social media, several people asked their fellow viewers if they understood what was happening on the show. One person wrote: "On episode 4 of #Passenger on #ITV. Still no idea what this is about. Sci-fi? Crime? Comedy? It can’t make up its mind. Any ideas?"
Another viewer said passionately: "DOES ANYONE HAVE THE FIRST CLUE WHAT THIS SERIES #PASSENGER ON #ITV IS ALL ABOUT? I AM BAFFLED !"
One person felt similarly, as they added: "Okay...admittedly I'm at the arse end of a particularly bruising run-in with Covid, so my brain may not be fizzing at full capacity, but I am so confused by #passenger! Does anybody know what's going on?"
While another person went on: "Surely I’m not the only one feeling confused each time after watching an episode of #Passenger? What am I missing?"
On episode 4 of #Passenger on #ITV. Still no idea what this is about. Sci-fi? Crime? Comedy? It can’t make up its mind. Any ideas?
— Jenny Child (@JennyChild1) April 1, 2024
DOES ANYONE HAVE THE FIRST CLUE WHAT THIS SERIES #PASSENGER ON #ITV IS ALL ABOUT? I AM BAFFLED ! 🙄😳🤔
— Cecilia Bartholemew (@CeciliaBTory) April 1, 2024
Other viewers shared similar sentiments about the show, with one person saying: "Haven’t the foggiest idea of what’s going on #Passenger", and another writing: "No disrespect to the actors involved whatsoever but this is painfully slow and not making any sense."
Read more: What we know about ITV’s new crime drama Passenger
Katie's disappearance in the show comes after she drives her car into the forest, only for her boyfriend —who had been unconscious in the back seat— to wake up in bed covered in blood. The disappearance also seems linked to a missing Swedish tourist who came to see place called the Tree of Good Hope.
The show is written by Broadchurch actor Andrew Buchan, who told Yahoo UK that he wanted the show to share similarities with shows like Stranger Things, Twin Peaks, Fargo, The Outsider, True Detective and The OA.
He explained: "Those shows that lure you into a false sense of the familiar and then hit you with something otherworldly. Those are the shows that entice me.”
Buchan also said of the series: "I grew up in the Northwest in Bolton. And there's a shorthand to the way people act and speak up there and there's a real magic and warmth to the place.
“What I realised was that they seem to have this uncanny ability, in the face of darkness, to flatten it with humour or sarcasm. And it always intrigued me and fascinated me. And so I wanted to create a fictional Northern universe and puncture it with something otherworldly to see how much humour I could detonate.”
Passenger continues on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday, 7 April and the finale will air on Monday, 8 April. All the episodes are available on ITVX now.
Watch the trailer for Passenger: