Normal People star's Deceived ending has viewers predicting second series

From Digital Spy

The Deceived spoilers follow.

Channel 5's latest dark thriller The Deceived reached its conclusion tonight (August 6), and viewers aren't convinced that the story is over just yet.

The series centred on university student Ophelia (Emily Reid), who embarked on an affair with her lecturer Michael Callaghan (Emmett J Scanlan) only to end up being drawn into a much deeper conspiracy.

Tonight's final episode saw all of Ophelia's suspicions confirmed after she was confronted by Michael's supposedly-dead wife Roisin (Catherine Walker), and she finally learned the truth about what had happened to Annabelle (Saffron Coombe).

Related: Normal People fans offer up their verdict on Paul Mescal's new show The Deceived

As it turns out, Annabelle had turned up at Michael's house unexpectedly and ended up telling Roisin that she'd had an affair with Michael and he'd stolen her book, before the two women were involved in an off-screen struggle that ended with Annabelle dead.

Michael and Roisin soon hatched a plot to cover up the death, and Roisin's mother Mary (Eleanor Methven) was later drawn into the whole affair too, helping Michael to burn down his house with Annabelle's body inside before locking Roisin away and pretending it was she who'd died in the fire.

With the truth finally out in the open, the stage was set for one last showdown between Ophelia and Michael, and it ended with Michael dead after Roisin lashed out at him to save Ophelia.

One more quick cover-up later, and the three women were pinning everything on Michael, with Roisin faking her own death and disappearing abroad.

The episode ended one year later, with Ophelia a new mum after having Michael's baby while Annabelle was finally receiving the recognition she deserved for her book. But the episode's closing scene saw Roisin being tracked down by Annabelle's brother Richard (Lloyd Everitt) and greeting her by name.

And it was that moment that left fans convinced a second season was in the works:

Other viewers were quick to praise the drama for keeping them gripped all week long:

While others weren't impressed at all – and probably won't be tuning into that second season, if it goes ahead after all:

The Deceived aired on Channel 5, and you can catch up on the whole series on My5 now.

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