Some viewers struggled with the time jumps in Jenna Coleman's new BBC drama The Cry
"Jenna has time travelled more than she ever did in Doctor Who"
Aiming to fill the Bodyguard-shaped hole in viewers’ lives, new BBC1 drama The Cry – which sees Victoria’s Jenna Coleman as a mother searching for her missing son – left BBC1 audiences feeling a little baffled after its first episode.
And for one reason in particular: the show’s continuous time-hopping. Taking direction from the story’s original book of the same name penned by Helen Fitzgerald, the first instalment jumped between past, present and future.
The interwoven chronology meant in the same episode viewers saw Coleman’s character Joanna begin an extramarital affair with partner Alistair (Ewen Leslie), struggle with postpartum depression and grapple with the disappearance of her son Noah – but not in the correct order.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW6ySmuxrJo
For many, The Cry’s flashbacks were perplexing…
https://twitter.com/paulieblogger/status/1046495624907173888
https://twitter.com/sianeliza_/status/1046494781076131841
https://twitter.com/GibbyBlogger/status/1046496124222279680
https://twitter.com/Jordan91Dixon/status/1046494860893724677
https://twitter.com/ComedianNotso/status/1046494991156154370
https://twitter.com/retlivdead/status/1046494867843674113
However, others found the drama easy to follow...
https://twitter.com/SamEades/status/1046674856400564225
https://twitter.com/rollyjogerjones/status/1046666735233970176
And some were solely focused on Coleman’s “gripping” performance as a mother in crisis...
https://twitter.com/ShellyKaynyc/status/1046639597629902848
https://twitter.com/MachineGun1967/status/1046637770213662720
https://twitter.com/NickyCampbellTV/status/1046507299093848064
https://twitter.com/tobyregblow/status/1046547280189435904
...While others were occupied hating Coleman’s unhelpful partner Alistair – especially when he popped in earplugs and put on his eyeshades as Joanna tried to comfort their crying child on the couple's 30-hour flight to Australia.
https://twitter.com/rmoomin84/status/1046497494417518594
https://twitter.com/BeautySwot/status/1046513949414502409
https://twitter.com/Blackhalo72/status/1046525811099127809
In fact, many were seriously stressed out by the plane scene, particularly when a stewardess and fellow passengers demanded Joanna shut “it” up.
https://twitter.com/rozlaws/status/1046497997306114052
https://twitter.com/steviecook_89/status/1046507981616091136
https://twitter.com/jodiiewhittaker/status/1046498275120091138
Whether you found the series opener too stressful or not, viewers can expect another three episodes of The Cry where hopefully we’ll find out what actually happened to Noah and Joanna. Or just be left seriously confused.
This article was originally published on 1 October 2018