Burning questions 'Back to Life' Season 1 finale needs to answer including investigator's motives and who burned Nathan's truck
The first season of Daisy Haggard’s dark comedy series ‘Back to Life’ is coming to an end. The show focuses around Miri Matteson, a woman in her mid-thirties, and how she tries to adjust to “normal life” after an 18-year-stint in prison.
Miri was convicted of murdering her friend. While she still believes it was an accident, the town is not happy to see her return. After all, who believes in rehabilitation?
The first five episodes of the show have been quite the ride. Haggard’s writing and acting bring out a highly complex tale of a woman’s attempts to salvage normalcy in a world where no one is rooting for her success (save the audience).
But Miri’s wasn’t the only character worth watching. Her parents Oscar (Richard Durden) and Caroline (Geraldine James) have their fair share of turmoil in their lives. Ger neighbor Billy (Adeel Akhtar) is a colorful character. So what’s in store for all of them in the final episode?
In episode 5, we saw Miri’s boss Nathan (Liam Williams) calling the police to inform them Miri might do something dangerous. Despite the fact that Miri spent an entire day with Mandy (Christine Bottomley), she found herself being apprehended by the cops when she went to visit Billy.
Apparently, someone had set fire to Nathan’s fish and chips truck and they suspected Miri. The episode ended with the enigmatic “investigator” -- the one who had accosted both Miri and Mandy on separate occasions -- smiling, while the food truck burned to the ground.
There are many questions that need to be answered in the final episode. First, why did Nathan call the cops? Nathan, so far, has been one of the few people willing to give Miri a second chance at life.
Even if he was uncomfortable with her past, he allowed her to work at his shop, knowing full well how that would affect customers. It seems out of character for Nathan to do something like this, especially considering it was Miri who decided to take pity on him and quit the job.
Second, what will Miri’s ex and her mother’s former lover Dom (Jamie Michie) do? Miri made it amply clear to him early on that she wanted nothing to do with him. Caroline too ended her affair, feeling too guilty about her family. Oscar, having found out about the affair, beat him up.
Even if Oscar and Caroline decided to mend things, Dom can still potentially cause harm. He can tell Miri about the affair and that would do some damage. In episode 5, he did have a deranged look on his face. Perhaps he is out there to make trouble.
Third, who set fire to the truck? It could have been Dom, looking for revenge. It could have been the “investigator”. It could have been the father of the girl who Miri killed. Or it could have been an unknown new character.
Miri getting arrested for the fire may or may not have been the intended motive (though it seems likely that it was). And finally, who is the “investigator” and what does he want? So far, it looks like he is after the truth -- whatever that might mean.
He seems interested in Miri’s case but his motivations are unclear. He seems antagonized against Miri and Mandy, but the reasons for that have not been revealed. And if he is indeed the person who set fire to the food truck, why is he hell-bent on punishing Miri?
These are all questions the finale will hopefully answer. But if it doesn’t, one will have to wait for season 2, whenever that arrives.
'Back to Life' airs every Sunday at 10 pm ET on Showtime.