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Coldwater (review)

  • mwoldridge02
  • Oct 3
  • 2 min read

Published by Mason Oldridge, 3 October 2025


Andrew Lincoln and Ewen Bremner star in this gripping ITV thriller.

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Traumatised by a violent incident at a playground, stay at home father John moves with his wife Fiona and children to the idyllic Scottish village of Coldwater to start anew, but soon finds himself trapped in the sinister orbit of his outlandish neighbour.


Lincoln conveys the vulnerability and sensitivity of John well, while Bremner is chilling as the psychotic Tommy, delivering such a compelling performance as he fluctuates between his innocent God-fearing facade and his deranged sadistic true self.


The unpredictability of the series drives the narrative, even once it becomes apparent it's a battle between the two households as every time they both meet is a tense and uncomfortable exchange, making for proper edge-of-your-seat viewing. Highlights include the confrontation in the garden with the hot tub, the dinner party and the final showdown between John and Tommy.


The ending is bittersweet as, while the truth prevails and Tommy is revealed as a serial killer, justice is ultimately not delivered as it ends with Tommy on the run and Rebecca unexposed, profiled as a victim rather than an accomplice.


As a couple asides, there is hauntingly some truth in Tommy’s final words as John’s involvement with him did take him from a broken shell of a man to a more confident figure, posing the psychoanalytical question: did Tommy truly like John right up to the end? Furthermore, in the aftermath interview, John is dubbed as simply the husband of a food writer in what is perhaps a commentary on masculinity?


Despite Tommy and Rebecca evading their comeuppance, Coldwater is a truly thrilling watch and far outperforms that expected of an ITV production.


8/10

I, Mason Oldridge, do not own any images featured on this site

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