After making Marcella fans waiting nearly three years for the return of TV’s most troubled detective, ITV rewarded them for their patience with a double bill as the third series launched on Tuesday night.
The action picked up a year on from when we last saw Marcella, and found her living in Northern Ireland and going by the name Keira, working deep undercover to bring down the notorious Maguire family.
But while she’d left her old life behind, having realised she was responsible for the death of her infant child Juliet, Marcella continued to be haunted by her past – while her unorthodox approach to investigating crimes seemed to have remained in tact too.
Following the double dose of episodes, we were left with plenty of questions to mull over – here’s what we’re asking this week...
Did Marcella shoot Rav?
Beginning much like series two, the new episodes kicked off with a flash forward, which saw Marcella standing over her former colleague Rav, who had been shot, while other scenes showed her with a gun in her hand.
Did Marcella shoot Rav to prevent him revealing she is actually alive, after being presumed dead at the end of the last series?
Did Marcella lie about Lawrence stealing money from the Maguires just to get closer to them?
We know that Marcella offered Lawrence to the Maguires, but was their accountant really fiddling the books, or did Marcella ruthlessly have her “partner” sacrificed just so she could further her investigation? We know that Marcella already had killer tendencies, but would she really let an innocent man be murdered for her own gain?
Is Katherine onto Marcella?
All the questions Katherine asked Marcella about her background – especially the one about her being in the police – seemed pointed, while Katherine later told Marcella she didn’t trust her and suspected her of being the rat that led to the London properties being searched.
Could Katherine actually know what Marcella is up to, but is playing the long game with her?
Why is Rory spying on Finn?
The agoraphobic Maguire brother Rory has been spying on his brother through a hole in the ceiling above Finn’s bedroom, but why has he taken to watching him? Is it just sexual deviation, or is he double crossing his own family as well?
Did Rory see Marcella find the London address?
A glance between Rory and Marcella when Katherine was accusing her of being a rat suggested he had seen Marcella find the London address in Finn’s room while he was watching from the loft. But why did he not out Marcella to the rest of the family? Have they come to some sort of arrangement? And if so, how was Marcella able to achieve this? Unless, of course, he is also wanting to bring the family down...
Who is Matthew Gaskill?
Marcella was shaken when she saw this familiar face who recognised her from her previous life. But Matthew isn’t a character we met in the first two series, and he seemed to know Marcella by her maiden name, so how are they connected?
Who left the sheet music on Marcella’s windscreen?
The obvious person would be Matthew, but as we’ve already suggested, we think their connection pre dates her life in London and her late daughter Juliet. Therefore, the person who left the note has to be someone who has deep personal knowledge of Marcella’s old life in order to know the sheet music is the song that played on Juliet’s music box.
Who was Frank talking to?
At the end of the second episode, Frank was seen talking to an unknown person about Marcella and her part in the undercover operation into bringing down the Maguire family. This came just after Rav’s investigation into Bobby led to him being informed of the ongoing covert operation, as well as being handed Frank’s name.
Was it Rav who Frank briefed? If so, it means Marcella’s past is about to seriously catch up with her...
Marcella continues next Tuesday at 9pm on ITV, while all episodes are available to stream now on the ITVHub.