User Reviews

The prologue goes back to the summer, 1994. Off the coast of County Waterford, a boat has turned over. A man arrives in another boat to save the woman and some children but only three are saved.

Redwater is the spin off from Eastenders focusing on Kat and Alfie Moon. Kat is looking for the son who was taken away from her by the sisters in the convent when she had him, aged 14. At the moment Kat and Alfie are just visiting rather than actively looking for a long lost son. This does not stop Kat eyeing up every man in his thirties as her long lost son.

However a big farming family headed by matriarch Agnes (Fionnula Flanagan) is not happy when she finds out about Kat's mission. Her husband Lance (Ian McElhinney) tells something important to Dermott, the young priest. He was one of the kids that survived the drowning, but his mother did not.

The episode ends with Lance being drowned by the errant priest. Redwater is less soap and more Broadchurch but we know who did it so what other skeletons does the town have?

An interesting take on a soap opera spin off, at least this is a better version of Ireland presented on screen than the last time someone from Walford went over the Irish sea. I just fear how Shane Richie's acting chops going to deal with Fionnula Flanagan. No contest I think.

The critics and indeed the public pounced upon this Kat and Alfie spin-off and I don't really know why.

Yes, it's trying a little bit too hard to be 'Broadchurch', but for the most part this is a well written first episode, that does well to give the audience a lot of Kat and Alfie scenes, while also introducing all the people in the town. It's not like episode 1 of 'Broadchurch' where we were meeting everyone for the first time, it's a spin-off so Kat and Alfie have to be central, so in some respects its harder.

Darker in tone than a normal soap, and with the Kat and Alfie characters slightly toned down a bit too, this wasn't really what I expected, but in a good way.

I think people need to lay off it a bit.