The Returned – I’m still undecided whether I’m totally disappointed with this show or just mildly confused.

Not long ago, I had a mini gush over The Returned. I was enjoying the beautifully made supernatural French drama TV show thing. The show looks beautiful and has a suitably haunting soundtrack from Mogwai. There’s an actual central mystery to the show that’s hugely compelling. The characters are just as compelling as the central mystery with a mixture of characters who you want to punch in the face or hug. The end of every episode had me WTF-ing all over the place. And it was that that made me keep watching. Keep watching in the hope that some of these questions would be answered.

Now, there are spoilers ahead, so only read on if you’re fully prepared for them.

The finale aired on Channel 4 on Sunday. And guess what? I am disappointed! Sadly. I wish I wasn’t. And I waited this long to write anything about The Returned in the hope that my disappointment was just a knee jerk reaction. A few days on, I feel slightly cheated.

I’ll get over my biggest disappointment. The actual final act. My god was it bloody drawn out. It didn’t help that Channel 4 decided to put a freaking ad break when there’s only FIVE MINUTES OF THE SHOW LEFT. Why in the world would you do that to your viewers? Seriously. The final scene was painfully drawn out as it was. I appreciate that it was meant to be a slow build and you’re meant to be feeling the tension and drama of the situation. But it was just a painful sort of tension. For me. Made worse by the end. The town is flooded. The dead are gone.

Now what? What about Toni and Serge and their mother in the basement? Were they turning into zombies? Why were the dead back? How was that connected to the town flooding and the dam breaking? What was up with Pierre making Helping Hands into some sort of Fort Knox? Too many questions!

But you know what? Despite all my complaints on the end of the show, I’d still recommend people watch the show. It’s a solid TV show. And it’s getting the American remake, which will just be shockingly predictable and nowhere near as beautifully made as the original. Seriously, the cinematography in this show is stunning. And really, it was just the final episode that disappointed. Everything up until then was pretty good.