The first episode of The Accident provides yet more proof as to why Jack Thorne is one of our most in-demand screenwriters.
With shades of real-life disasters including Grenfell and Aberfan, the opening instalment of Thorne’s new Channel 4 series lays the foundations for difficult questions about blame and responsibility.
The Accident takes viewers to the fictional Welsh town of Glyngolau, where a new power plant looks set to provide much-needed regeneration. But when a group of teenagers breaks into the construction site, a gas explosion occurs, tearing the building down and killing almost everyone inside.
Here are just some of the storylines playing on our mind after a gripping - and undeniably harrowing - opening episode.
What caused the explosion?
An obvious question, yes, but one that looks set to define the series. Thorne has previously said that his three Channel 4 dramas - National Treasure, Kiri and now The Accident - all hinge around questions of culpability. As the policewoman tells a shell-shocked Polly as she waits to learn whether her daughter is among those killed in the blast, “an explosion has to be triggered by something, could be a mechanical fault, could be a deliberate act.”
So was the catastrophe the result of a structural flaw in the plant (which Polly claims was built to be “cheap as chips” when she confronts construction boss Harriet Paulsen)? Were the teenagers themselves at fault and if so, did they really mean to destroy the site?
Why was Martin at the site of the accident?
Martin (Shaun Parkes) saved Leona’s life by dragging her away from the centre of the explosion, making her the only one of her friends to survive the blast. When Polly meets him in the hospital to thank him, he reveals that he was “on a walk” at the time of the explosion, but his excuse doesn’t feel very convincing - and the meaningful glance he gives as Polly walks away certainly gives the impression that he isn’t telling the whole truth.
What is going on between Harriet Paulsen and her assistant Tim?
Harriet (played by Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen) seems to be the public face of Kallbridge Developments, the company organising the construction project. While she has the unenviable task of attempting to do some damage control in Glyngolau - becoming the focus of the locals’ anger in the process - her assistant Tim (Nabhaan Rizwan) stays behind at the company’s shiny HQ.
There’s clearly something going on between the two, but it seems a little more complex than the average workplace romance. When Tim drops an “I love you” in the middle of a tense business call, Harriet simply hangs up. It seems like there’s a strange power dynamic at play between the two of them, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few episodes.
Will Polly open up about her husband’s abusive behaviour?
At the start of this opening episode, Polly and her husband Iwan, an apparently genial local councillor (the first time we see him, he’s dressed up as a banana, for goodness sake) seem to have a happy, if not perfect marriage.
Iwan’s wise-cracking, fun-running public persona, though, hides a darker side. In a genuinely shocking scene, he attacks Polly when she questions why he is more concerned with the charity donations taken earlier in the day than with their daughter’s recovery - and, in yet another wrenching twist, her response suggests that this is far from a one-off.
We later see Polly applying make-up to her bruise before she visits Leona in hospital. Perhaps the investigation into the explosion will also shine a light onto Iwan’s behaviour.
Who is Adrian Scarborough’s character and why is he lurking in the shadows?
Oh! It’s Pete from Gavin and Stacey! Scarborough, who plays Philip Walters, appears towards the end of episode one during the town’s evening vigil for the victims of the tragedy. Standing alone in the shadows, he is clearly a stranger to this tight-knit community where everyone seems to know everyone - so why has he arrived on the scene so soon after the accident?
The Accident continues on October 31 at 9pm on Channel 4.
