The Dark on ITV: Who is the 'wicked' serial killer? All the theories after episode 1 as Executive Producer teases a big 'surprise'
A male serial killer is preying on teenage boys in the Scottish highlands
The Dark on ITV has lived up to its name after episode 1, delivering a chilling crime drama with a terrifying serial killer at its cold, black heart.
The first instalment of the Scottish thriller introduced detective Monica Kennedy, and her sidekick Connor Crawford. They were called to investigate when the body of a male teenager was found “eerily staged” in the idyllic Scottish wilderness – naked, and with his hands tied together as if in prayer.
Monica’s gut feeling was that the dead man was the victim of a serial killer, who planned to kill again. And, the closing scenes of episode 1, proved her right.
The death of Jason Morgan was “just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community”.
Here’s everything we know about the serial killer in ITV crime drama The Dark after watching episode 1.
***Warning: spoilers from ITV’s The Dark episode 1 ahead***
What do we know about the serial killer after The Dark episode 1 on ITV1?
The serial killer’s first murder (that we know of) was Jason Morgan, a local teenager. His body was displayed naked, 80 metres from the roadside, and care had been taken to stage his hands as if praying.
DI Monica Kennedy – who already knew the victim – knew instantly that the killer was strong, and most definitely male. He was able to carry the dead body without dragging it on the floor. We also know that the culprit wanted the body found.
After watching episode 1, we know the killer preys on vulnerable young men. Jason lived with his devout parents Barclay and Bethany, who already had heartache in their past. Jason’s older brother Nichol had gone missing five years previously, and he was never found. Although gossip suggested his stepfather was involved in his disappearance, others believed he’d run away.
Monica worked on the case at the time. The boys were both under the care of a social worker, although the reason why hasn’t yet been explained.
In the present day, Jason told his parents he’d been staying the night at his friend Angus’ house. But he left there at 10pm, and turned up dead hours later.
At the end of The Dark episode 1 on ITV, we saw the killer target his next victim. Another vulnerable teenager, with an over-protective dad, and an absent mum. In the closing scenes, young Rob Wright has been drugged with a drink left in his room. Unable to move, he watched in horror as the killer climbed in through his window. All while Rob’s father slept next door.
Prime suspects so far
With her experience of dealing with the darkest of humanity, Monica Kennedy quickly becomes entangled in a heightened game of cat and mouse with a cunning killer. Only she can stop this monster before he claims any more victims. But what clues do we have about his identity so far?
Jason’s mum Bethany immediately suspected social worked Michael Bach of harming her son. She accused him “grooming” her son Nichol before he disappeared. She said: “He groomed Nichol. He filled his head with poison, and made him abandon me. Now he’s gone and murdered my baby.”
Bethany, whether through grief or mental health, is clearly unhinged. So we can’t trust her judgement. Her husband Barclay is a walking red flag, too. Telling your wife, the mother of the deceased, that Jason was dead via text? Extremely disturbing behaviour.
Of course, there’s also hunter Don Cameron, who just seems generally shady. And his son… Both seem to live outside of the margins of society.
Our prime suspect so far has to be the missing Nichol, though – or have some connection to him. Assuming he’s not dead, we have to ask why he ran away, and what his relationship was like with his family.
We know the killer likes to mess with people’s heads. After all, we can only assume that the person texting Rob was the killer pretending to be his mum.
The closing scene of The Dark episode 1 left us with the chilling warning: “There truly is a wicked monster out there.” But who could it be?
‘There are some really good red herrings in this series’
Talking about the identity of the serial killer in The Dark, Laura Donnelly revealed she was the only cast member who knew. In fact, many of the actors didn’t know until the very end of the shoot…
Laura revealed: “I knew who the killer was right from my first meeting with [executive producer] Ben Stephenson. He let me know straight away. Lots of the cast didn’t though. And there was one person that we all really wanted to make sure didn’t know, right until the very end and we managed to succeed.”
Emun Elliott, who plays Barclay Adams, teased that The Dark will keep viewers guessing. He said: “I’m hoping people will be really thrilled and hooked by the series. It should be a good bit of escapism and a great thriller. None of the cast actually knew who the killer was while we were shooting the first three episodes. We weren’t told.
“I was convinced it was one particular character the whole way through. The actor kept telling me it wasn’t them, but I still didn’t believe them until I finally got the script and saw that I was wrong! There are some really good red herrings in this series.”
‘We really liked the idea of pursuing surprising killers’
Executive Producer Ben Stephenson told us: “We really liked the idea of pursuing surprising killers, who were operating in surprising ways and not falling into tropes, all set in an exciting location. With a detective who genuinely had a surprising back story.
“We told Laura [the identity of the killer], but most of the cast didn’t know. I think they all thought they were the killer! That’s how it used to be on EastEnders, when we filmed those big whodunnits, nobody would know. It was partly so the reveal didn’t leak to the press, but it was also fun to do it that way!”
