In Flight episode 6 finale spoilers follow.
When Katherine Kelly commits to a part she really throws herself in, and that's exactly what you get with In Flight. A stunning performance that lures you in long enough to realise that this is not just another generic crime thriller.
While we may have seen similar stories like this play out across our telly screens before – an innocent coerced into a life of crime in order to save a loved one from a terrible fate – In Flight makes some interesting choices that keep the audience guessing, resulting in a fresh feel to the story.
Kelly brings that 'mother lifting a car to save her child'-energy to the character of flight attendant Jo, after she is pressed by a criminal gang into using her job to smuggle drugs. The price of refusal would be her incarcerated son Sonny's (Harry Cadby) life.
Not only must Jo find a way to free herself from this impossibly binding contract (one which comes with an onslaught of deadly threats), she is also determined to prove that Sonny is innocent of the murder he's been accused of.
Kelly's approach to Jo isn't phoned in. There is real grit and desperation to the way she claws herself through every obstacle, as the drama unfolds.
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Even so, the whole show isn't riding on her talent alone. The writing – from creators Mike Walden (Marcella, Whitstable Pearl) and Adam Randall (Slow Horses' director)– is as impressively tight as Jo's expression the whole way through. There is beat by beat tension that causes you to lean dangerously close to the screen, in anticipation of what will happen next.
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We're also introduced to other characters who create intrigue, both in relation to their connection with Jo as well as independently.
Brutish thug Cormac (played by Stuart Martin) is the mouthpiece for the criminal gang targeting Jo and Sonny. He's who she does her dealings with, therefore he's the source of her pain, her fear and her frustration. Cracking the code to him is how she gets out of this mess, and their interactions always unfold in an interesting way thanks to their palpably strained chemistry.
However, there's more to Cormac than audiences might initially assume, and Martin makes sure we are aware of that from the jump in understated ways that become more relevant in hindsight.
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Jo's relationship with her ex Dom Delaney (Ashley Thomas) is also perfectly intertwined with the story. Their longing for one another in the midst of this chaos is perfectly placed when you consider Dom's job as a customs officer. The question of how much he's willing to sacrifice becomes a point of quiet tension that builds for him, manifesting in strained relationships and health problems.
More broadly, one of the most interesting questions that In Flight asks its audience is one of how well we actually know our children. As they grow and change from the babies we once knew, do we know what they are capable of in adulthood?
It's a chilling question that Jo must contend with. It pricks at her as the show explores trust through the mother-child bond, and adds a real tenderness any time Cadby and Kelly share a scene.
In Flight's main drawback, however, is its tendency to overstuff the narrative with storylines that it either doesn't need, or doesn't have time to properly build upon. Dom's health problems, for instance, are never fully fleshed out, while moments showing Jo's friendship circle (meant to give a fuller picture of her) end up feeling like a distraction.
However it's the introduction of the character of Kayla (played brilliantly by Heartstopper's Corinna Brown) that really feels forced. Her pregnancy and relationship with Sonny is as unexpected to us as it was to Jo, and despite Brown's natural talent resulting in an easy charm from Kayla, the character and this storyline just doesn't add any value to the overarching story.
While Brown and Cadby do a lovely job of capturing the purity and authenticity of Sonny and Kayla's young love, its insertion so late into an already-packed series feels jarring.
By the end of In Flight, Sonny is essentially left in a position where he has no choice but to run. Jo giving up her whole life would have been a huge sacrifice for her to have made, but if there's one thing we've learnt over the course of six episodes it is that Jo will do anything for her son.
It isn't as easy to buy into the same kind of commitment from Kayla, who only had a "fling" with Sonny but kept in touch with him while he travelled because they "connected".
In Flight tries to compensate for this rushed development by planting a seed early on about Kayla's fractured relationship with her parents, which conveniently became irreparable just as Jo and Sonny had made the decision to flee the country and start afresh.
Perhaps more went into Kayla's decision to up sticks than her soured relationship with her parents, something that would convincingly explain how she could so easily walk away from her whole life... But In Flight doesn't give viewers the opportunity to find out, just like we don't really get to know her outside of Sonny, or beyond her sunny disposition.
Worst of all Kayla diminishes the conclusion. In Flight's ending, without Sonny's absolution, is a bit of a shock considering the show had been teeing up that outcome. Still, despite being a tough pill to swallow, Jo is able to pave a life for him that didn't end in his death or long-term incarceration.
It's mostly a bittersweet and satisfying conclusion, but one that somehow feels a little bit less so with a smiling Kayla by their side. It makes the somewhat 'happy' ending feel a little too convenient to be plausible.
Still, these very minor issues are forgivable given that the six-part thriller maintains pace and is an arresting watch from start to almost-finish. The conclusion still holds weight, with Jo's gutsiness leading that charge.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
