{"id":51428,"date":"2024-05-14T23:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T21:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2039902"},"modified":"2024-05-15T00:04:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T22:04:45","slug":"the-gatherings-thriller-element-is-the-least-interesting-thing-about-it","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-gatherings-thriller-element-is-the-least-interesting-thing-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gathering\u2019s thriller element is the least interesting thing about it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new series from World Productions has a lot going on, and it really doesn’t need its central whodunnit. <\/p>

By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 at 21:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

When you hear the name World Productions, you think thriller, you think mystery. The company has become the go-to production house for the genre, thanks to its work on Line of Duty<\/a>, Vigil<\/a>, Malpractice<\/a>, The Suspect<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n

Now, the studio\u2019s latest effort, The Gathering<\/a>, has arrived on Channel 4, and it\u2019s being sold in very much the same vein. Marketing for the series, and in fact even its title, has hyped up a central whodunnit storyline<\/a> which runs through the six episodes.<\/p>\n

However, early into the first episode it quickly becomes clear that this show isn\u2019t nearly as interested in that element as has been suggested, and neither will you be.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the series as a whole isn\u2019t interesting, or isn\u2019t worth your time. It\u2019s just that it has a lot going on \u2013 perhaps too much \u2013 and the mystery\/thriller aspect is, in truth, an unnecessary distraction.<\/p>\n

\"Eva\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Eva Morgan as Kelly and Sadie Soverall as Jessica in The Gathering.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Stack \/ Channel 4 \/ World Productions<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The Gathering<\/a> stars Eva Morgan<\/a> as working-class Liverpudlian teenager Kelly, an elite gymnast in training who is still grieving her mum, who died a few years past. When she\u2019s not training, she finds an escape in free-running with a group including her friend Adam.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we also meet Sadie Soverall\u2019s Jessica, Kelly\u2019s teammate and gymnastics rival who comes from a substantially more privileged background, as well as Kelly\u2019s father Paul, played by Warren Brown<\/a>, and Jessica\u2019s mother Natalie, played by Vinette Robinson.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s really just scratching the surface \u2013 there\u2019s a whole host of other characters whose lives are intertwined with Kelly\u2019s, such as Syrian refugee Bazi, privileged and prejudiced lawyer Jules, and his secretly gay son Charlie.<\/p>\n

The central thriller surrounds the titular gathering, an illegal rave which takes place late on in the show\u2019s timeline, at which Kelly is attacked. Throughout the series we see flash-forwards to the event, while we get to know more about the characters and why one, or any of them, could have been behind the attack.<\/p>\n

\"Eva\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Eva Morgan as Kelly and Warren Brown as Paul in The Gathering.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Stack \/ Channel 4 \/ World Productions<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It\u2019s understandable why Channel 4 and World Productions would want to hinge the show on a thriller element and a central mystery. It\u2019s far easier to sell to audiences then a straight-forward drama, particularly one with so many disparate parts at work.<\/p>\n

However, the limited, brief flash-forwards really fail to spark the imagination or create any sort of excitement to find out the culprit of the attack. Instead, they feel strangely like an add-on, and the whole attack storyline feels lesser than everything which has come before it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense that writer Helen Walsh doesn\u2019t care nearly as much about their element either, with it ending up feeling like an obligation rather than where the real heart of the story lies.<\/p>\n

This would make sense. Walsh\u2019s background is in novels, getting under the skin of an area, a character, a topic in great detail, rather than constructing tightly wound puzzle-box plots or cliffhanger episode endings.<\/p>\n

\"Sadie\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Sadie Soverall and Vinette Robinson in The Gathering.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Stack \/ Channel 4 \/ World Productions<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It\u2019s, therefore, perhaps unsurprising The Gathering is at its most interesting when its focus on its characters and its thematic interrogations.<\/p>\n

The series explores class divides in a way which is far more nuanced than it may initially appear at the outset, particularly through the friendship between Kelly and Jessica and the character of Adam, who has one foot in the world of the working class and another in the middle class.<\/p>\n

His character is one of the most fascinating of Walsh\u2019s creations, in no small part thanks to stellar work by actor Sonny Walker. In fact, the young actors here are generally strong, particularly newcomer Eva Morgan, who is a real find, while Vinette Robinson, Warren Brown and Richard Coyle put in typically assured, compelling performances.<\/p>\n

The exploration of modern parenting is perhaps the series\u2019s strongest point and, in reality, its USP. This is really a parenting story through and through, whether it\u2019s Natalie\u2019s pushy, strict, controlling approach or Paul\u2019s more hands-off approach, the downfall of which is his overly protective nature when threatened by outsiders.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Jules, whose interactions with Charlie are at times the warmest of all, but only when his son is fitting into the rigid life structure he sees for him \u2013 if Charlie doesn\u2019t behave exactly as he expects and his world-view allow, things turn nasty.<\/p>\n

\"Richard\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Richard Coyle as Jules in The Gathering.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Stack \/ Channel 4 \/ World Productions<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

All of these stories are distinct, authentic, and each offers a different piece of the puzzle when it comes to parenting in the modern era and the age of social media.<\/p>\n

There are questions surrounding how much control is the right amount to exert on your children, while the series also examines how class and social expectations play into this. It\u2019s a fascinating discussion, and one the series seems desperate to have and to explore fully. The sense that we should be looking for an attacker amongst the group only detracts from this.<\/p>\n

Another element which is perhaps underdeveloped is the story of Syrian refugee Bazi, who strikes up a relationship with Kelly, and his mysterious background and life story.<\/p>\n

The are mysteries surrounding him do unfurl throughout the series, but it does feel as though they struggle for time and prominence, given how much else is going on. Given the subject matters explored and their potential weight, this feels like a misstep and he feels like somewhat of a spare part, a holdover who should have been placed instead in his own series entirely.<\/p>\n

\"Luca\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Luca Kamleh-Chapman as Bazi in The Gathering.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Stack \/ Channel 4 \/ World Productions<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

All in all, if you\u2019re looking for a thrilling, pulse-pounding whodunnit from The Gathering, you may be left wanting. The mystery is really not all that engaging, there\u2019s too little to go on to make any sense of a guess at the ending, and the reveal itself, without giving away any spoilers, is disappointing and lacklustre.<\/p>\n

However, if you instead arrive at it looking for a character drama, one with thoroughly explored themes surrounding parenting and class, as well as a real sense of style and vibrancy, then it could be for you.<\/p>\n

There may be a bit too much going on at times, but the stories of these characters are propulsive enough on their own without the assault and the gathering itself hanging over everything.<\/p>

It\u2019s an impressive, engaging drama in its own right, one filled with nuance and complexity. It doesn\u2019t offer easy answers or stereotypes surrounding some of the issues it raises.<\/p>\n

Had Channel 4 and World Productions been brave enough to hang the show more on its exploration of parenting, it may have helped the latter to branch out and re-shape its image as a purveyor of all dramas, not just thrillers.<\/p>\n

However, it seems perhaps that\u2019s not what they were going for, and who can blame them \u2013 if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it. It\u2019s just that, with this show, one can\u2019t help but feel The Gathering is either an impressive, yet mis-marketed drama or an unsuccessful thriller.<\/p>\n