The Capture’s third season brought us a terrifying world where deepfake technology reigns supreme.
Starring Holliday Grainger and Paapa Essiedu, the six-parter came to a conclusion on Sunday evening and has been applauded by fans of the show – despite ending with questions unanswered.
The BBC conspiracy thriller’s third outing revolved around the shocking death of Home Secretary Isaac Turner, played by Essiedu, who was shot while presenting on stage.
The finale focused on a parliamentary inquiry that put the corrections programme used by the intelligence services under the microscope.
From there, Grainger’s detective inspector Rachel Carey had few allies left, amid media manipulation and the proliferation of alarming deep-fakes.
Reacting to the finale on social media, Maggie Scarborough described the episode as ‘brilliant’ in a tweet, saying she ‘did not want it to finish’.
A fellow fan agreed underneath, commenting: ‘True brilliance wrapped in 6 and a bit hours!!! On the level of Line of Duty.’
Similarly gushing, Yas Bryant described it as the best finale yet and said they hope a season four comes post haste.
‘Unbelievable,’ wrote Callum Graant. ‘The Capture once again delivered. Whoever [is] the mastermind behind this, thank you! Amazing!’
The episode has certainly left the door open to a fourth season, since it ended on a cliffhanger that prompted viewers to question whether a major character might still be alive.
** Spoilers follow **
Among those brutally executed in the gasp-inducing season finale is DSU Gemma Garland, who is killed at the hearing.
Or is she? Because when an exhausted Carey takes a selfie with her sister Abigail, Garland appears in the background, despite being dead.
Metro’s take on The Capture season 3 finale
Adam Miller shares his five-star review here…
The Capture has been bold enough to make real sacrifices, with the deaths of Frank Napier and Garland lending genuine jeopardy to its characters – something many police dramas are reluctant to embrace.
It’s been a long time since a finale has genuinely shocked me. Television has become safe, yet audiences crave that gut punch – and The Capture understands that better than most.
It’s no easy feat to wrap up such a complex concept with plausibility, heart, and even moments of humour, but The Capture executes all three perfectly.
I hope there’s more to come, because The Capture is the BBC at its very best – and deserves to be recognised as the triumph it truly is.
Yet on a second look, Garland disappears – begging the question of whether Carey hallucinated her being there or there was some sort of technological chicanery.
The trippy moment didn’t quite land with everyone, particularly given that it posed questions we may never get an answer to if this is the final season.
Phil asked on X: ‘What on earth was that ending meant to mean? Are they hacking her brain now?’
Jacqui Archer said they were ‘none the wiser’ about the meaning of it all, while another viewer described it as a ‘headache’.
Rob Hill had a more scathing take, writing: ‘Ahh that’s a shame. The Capture tried so hard to be clever that it was chronically dumb by the end.’
What do we know about The Capture season 4?
Well, no season four has been confirmed yet. But creator Ben Chanan has spoken about whether this is the final instalment in an answer that was, like the finale, open-ended.
He told Radio Times: ‘I’d think to myself, as I was writing it, “This is going to be the last series.” Now, is that true? I don’t know.
‘Never say never, right? But I think it’s really healthy to just write each series as if it’s going to be the last, that you’re not just hanging on to people for the sake of it.’
The Capture is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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