Suspicion is a 2022 British thriller television show released by Apple TV+, based on an Israeli series titled False Flag. The first season follows the perspective of five London residents who have come under suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping of a media titan's son.
The series as a whole was met with mixed reviews from IMDb users, earning a 6.9/10 average from 4,800 votes. However, the audience ratings of individual episodes show that some were much more liked than others
Unmasked - 4.6
Apple TV+'s best 2021 original shows helped make the platform a promising competitor to Netflix and Disney+. However, Suspicion won't be on 2022's list, as its first-season finale, "Unmasked", received dismal reviewers from viewers, nearly two entire points lower than any other episode.
Part of the disappointment was no doubt due to the fact that it was the finale, and its conclusion was unsatisfactory to viewers. Most reviews for the episode found the ending nonsensical and/or a betrayal of the characters. Thriller shows like Suspicion rest on mystery, then reveal, so if either one is unsatisfactory, it's going to leave viewers disappointed at best.
Questions Of Trust - 6.5
While it's rated much more highly than "Unmasked", the fact that "Questions of Trust" is the series' penultimate episode and second-lowest rated shows that viewers' feelings on the series were going down before the finale aired.
As the lead-up to the finale, this episode didn't satisfy viewers enough for a higher rating, but it did leave enough room for hope that the final episode would provide a great ending. Alas, as evidenced by "Unmasked"'s reviews, that didn't happen.
Strangers - 6.9
The third episode of the series, "Strangers" takes place after the initial two-episode arc has built up the mystery and acts as a rest for the characters, as each suspect is allowed to return home after an initial grueling investigation.
A big part of why this episode is rated much lower than the two that preceded it is probably exactly because of the break it gives to the characters. The first two episodes have built up a great mystery at this point in the story, and a break, while needed, interrupted that flow.
Be The Gray Man - 7
The sixth episode of the season sees the suspects preparing to flee the authorities, although they haven't yet finalized how exactly they plan to do so, and ultimately have to make these decisions individually. With only two episodes to go, the clock is ticking and the authorities are closing in.
Based on this episode's ranking, and the much-lower scores of the following episodes, the ending of "Be the Gray Man" set up intriguing possibilities for viewers as to where the ending could take things. User Joshumms said that this episode "slows down a little bit, especially because the characters split up again." An ensemble drama lives and dies on the merits of its cast's chemistry, and it's clear that eventually deteriorated.
Persons Of Interest - 7.1
The series premiere promised an intriguing mystery to viewers as well as potentially a great Uma Thurman TV role, with her playing the mother of the kidnapping victim. Based on the reviews left for this episode, most viewers were intrigued to see more, finding promise in the show.
The fact that the first episode isn't the highest-rated demonstrates that, for at least part of the season, the show established and developed its mystery quite well. Since Apple TV+ didn't release the season all at once, the viewers who did come back definitely returned out of genuine interest.
What Does A Kidnapper Look Like? - 7.1
There are plenty of great kidnapping thrillers to watch if viewers love that particular subgenre, and some of the hits have definitely informed the treatment of it in Suspicion. This episode tied with the series premiere in viewers' ratings, and brought some spark back into the show.
Shifting the formula, the episode saw all five suspects stuck in a cottage house together, hiding from the authorities and trying to figure out who framed them for the kidnapping, or if one of them is actually guilty. It has an air of Agatha Christie's classic novel And Then There Were None, and is definitely one of the more thrilling episodes.
The Devil You Know - 7.4
The devil you know is better than the one you don't, so the saying goes. Picking up from "Strangers" and improving quite a bit on it, as well, "The Devil You Know" sees characters Eddie (Tom Rhys Harries) and Aadesh (The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar) joining together to clear their names.
All three people who reviewed the episode commented on how this episode picked up the pace and brought their interest back, and it's clear that viewers were once again excited to see where the show was going with its storyline. In the top quarter, the show would never again hit as high as this episode.
Room For Doubt - 7.5
The second episode of the series was also the second collaboration between director Chris Long and Rob Williams, the latter of whom wrote some of The Man in the High Castle's first season episodes. "Room for Doubt" also debuted the same day as the premiere, making the two episodes more akin to a single, double-length episode.
Raters were once again intrigued by the premise, but also observed that the show was moving a bit slower than they were expecting. However, the episode ended in a place where the show seemed like it was finally going to get really interesting, which is what resulted in the next episode, "Strangers", being such a comparative let-down.