Red Eye series 1 recap: Was Dr Matthew Nolan guilty of murder? Or was it a conspiracy?
Richard Armitage starred in the hit thrillerRed Eye series 1 was ITV’s biggest drama of 2024, winning over 29 million streams on ITVX – and with series 2 landing here’s an essential recap.
The tense thriller followed Richard Armitage’s Dr Matthew Nolan, a medic accused of murder in Beijing and forced to fly back to China to face charges. But was Matthew guilty? Or had he been framed?
DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi) was told to accompany Matthew on the red eye flight. A synopsis for the series said: “Whilst escorting a doctor being renditioned, an incident on-board leads DC Hana Li to uncover a wider conspiracy.”
The six-part drama had a great cast including Richard Armitage, Jing Lusi, Lesley Sharp and Jemma Moore.
So as Red Eye series 2, becomes our new obsession – alongside Netflix’s Run Away – here’s a handy recap of series 1. Strap yourself in and get ready for take off…
***Warning: spoilers from Red Eye series 1 ahead***
Red Eye series 1 recap: What was the plot?
At the heart of the plot was Dr Matthew Nolan, who we saw at the start of the series drunk and disoriented before crashing his car on the streets of Beijing. The injured medic boarded a plane to London. But when he landed he was detained. Matthew was accused of murdering the woman found in his crashed car. Matthew insisted he was alone in the vehicle.
DC Hana Li was annoyed to be assigned the job of taking Matthew back to China. Matthew’s colleagues from the conference he attended were also asked to return to China to give witness statements.
Meanwhile, Matthew briefly managed to escape at the airport and videos of him publicly declaring his innocence went viral. Hana’s reporter sister Jess Li (Jemma Moore) saw the video and leapt at the chance of telling a huge story.
We soon learnt Matthew’s case had political implications as the head of MI5, Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp), took a keen interest.
On the flight back to China, Matthew pleaded his innocence to Hana. At first she didn’t believe him. However, when people started to die in suspicious circumstances onboard Hana wondered if she’d stumbled into an international conspiracy.
Who was Dr Matthew Nolan?
Richard Armitage’s Dr Matthew Nolan was a top medic who attended a medical conference in China. In the drama’s opening scenes, we saw mysterious Matthew fleeing a nightclub. He jumped into his car and a man started punching the window.
Matthew had blood on his hand. He was struggling to stay conscious. Matthew then crashed his car and badly injured fled the scene.
But the series posed the questions did Matthew flee China in fear of his life? Or did Matthew leave because he was guilty of murder?
Red Eye series 1 recap: who was Matthew accused of murdering?
Matthew was accused of killing a Chinese woman named Shen Zhao (Elaine Tan), who was found dead in his car. Shen turned out to be the daughter of a Chinese General.
We discovered that one of Matthew’s colleagues, Dr Chris Peele (Rick Warden), introduced him to Shen during his final night in Beijing.
We saw Matthew get in his car and Shen joining him. So that confirmed it was possible Shen had died in the crash. In episode 3, the pair went to a nightclub and she offered to buy him a drink.
They headed to the dance floor but it was then clear that she had drugged Matthew. “Please know that I had no choice,” she said.
Shen also stabbed Matthew in the nightclub. She did this to implant a nano-SIM in his body.
What was on the SIM card?
In a nutshell, the SIM card contained evidence that the Americans had tried to wreck a nuclear deal between the UK and China.
The two countries had agreed China would build a nuclear reactor in Britain. But parts of the CIA didn’t want this to happen. So CIA agent Mike Maxwell (Mido Hamada) made it look like the Chinese had planted code within the control system for the planned nuclear reactor. It was designed to appear that the Chinese could take control of the nuclear reactor and cause a meltdown. Maxwell then planned to expose this to the British and thus wreck the deal.
However, the SIM contained the original code the Chinese wrote and the doctored code Maxwell’s hacker had created. So, it showed what Maxwell had done. It was all very complicated but basically the Americans were the baddies!
Red Eye series 1 ending explained: who killed Shen Zhao?
In the final episode, we learnt that CIA operative Mike Maxwell and assassin Jones murdered Shen. Maxwell also orchestrated the murders of Matthew’s colleagues on the plane to stop the SIM ending up in the hands of China. Plus he was behind the death of British spy George Chapman. So, it was an international conspiracy but masterminded by the Americans not the Chinese.
On the night of Shen’s death, after Matthew had fled the nightclub, Maxwell and Jones confronted her. They said they just wanted what the programmer gave her. But Shen told them she’d given the SIM to MI5. She wanted the British to know that it was the Americans, not the Chinese. So, Maxwell and Jones killed Shen.
They then planted the body in Matthew’s crashed car and bribed the police. Maxwell tried to find Matthew at his hotel but he’d already flown back to the UK. But Maxwell knew he didn’t have to do anything as the Chinese would ask for Matthew to be detained.
Back in England, MI5 boss Delaney didn’t know who she could trust at MI5 headquarters. So she made a terrible move and took Hana and Matthew to the US embassy where baddie Maxwell was! Delaney had been sleeping with Maxwell, which clouded her judgement.
However, Delaney spotted something was wrong when Maxwell asked her for the nano-SIM. How did Maxwell know about that?
Maxwell then told his colleagues to drug Matthew, Hana and Jess so he could get the SIM. But the trio with Delaney’s help managed to take two CIA agents by surprise and they all escaped.
Did Matthew die in Red Eye series 1?
Maxwell chased Matthew and Hana across London. When he found them, he fired his gun at Hana but Matthew leapt in front of her and took the bullet.
But the pair had managed to lure Maxwell into the gardens of the Chinese embassy. Maxwell was now technically on Chinese territory and Chinese troops surrounded him. Maxwell was arrested presumably to face justice in China.
However, Delaney lied to the Chinese about the SIM, saying it had been destroyed. Delaney felt that telling the Chinese about the American conspiracy could have led to war.
Matthew did survive after his surgery for the gunshot wound. Delaney told Hana’s journalist sister Jess that she couldn’t print the story about the American conspiracy. However, Jess was allowed to tell the truth about Operation Blindside, where civilians were used without their knowledge to smuggle dangerous items to the UK.
Red Eye series 1 reviews
Red Eye got positive reviews, although no one could have predicted quite what a big hit it would become. The Times thought it was silly but a great watch. The reviewer commented: “This flight from hell is entertaining, tense and obviously daft.”
The Guardian also gave it a good review although the reviewer didn’t think it was a match for another plane thriller, Hijack, which starred Idris Elba. “Instead of Idris Elba cranking it up to 11, we have the serviceable Richard Armitage downing G & Ts while handcuffed to his plane seat.”
Digital Spy also enjoyed Red Eye, especially the performance of Jing Lusi as Hana. The Independent though was less impressed, dismissing Red Eye as being “ludicrous”.
Red Eye was nominated in the best drama category at the National Television Awards. But it lost out to another ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Red Eye really is good fun and well worth a watch ahead of series 2, which is part of ITV’s festive line-up.
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