Prey opens with police officer Marcus Farrow (John Simm) emerging from a crashed police van: not in his professional capacity, but as a prisoner. He swiftly makes an escape after helping the other victims of the crash in a bold opening that quickly sets the tone for the remaining episode. Flashback to three days earlier, Farrow is helping his colleague and friend, Sean (Craig Parkinson), with an investigation into a body that could be a missing Turkish gangster, the key to which could be on a couple of floppy disks which hold the original case files (it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a floppy disk as a crucial plot point). Each event carries its own unique tension as the anticipation builds to the revelation of just what he is doing in that van. However, the pieces quickly slot together. All it takes is that threat to the family and poor Abby’s death warrant was signed. Despite the predictability of this plot point, the scene in which he discovers his wife slowly dying on the floor of their home is no less affecting. Director Nick Murphy allows Simm to do the emotional heavy-lifting, which he does brilliantly, opting more for a movingly quiet panic instead of the histrionics that can sometimes overshadow this type of scene. In terms of the biggest emotional shock of the episode for both Marcus and the audience, it is the discovery that his youngest son, Max, has also been murdered along with Abby. Simm’s performance again excels, as does DCI Reinhardt’s (Rosie Cavaliero) cold manner with him, making it particularly harrowing after it becomes clear she didn’t believe him. The pacing of the episode is also particularly good here, allowing for a couple of quieter scenes to let the emotional fallout settle before the narrative takes on not only a faster pace, but a whole new genre. Now that Marcus is on the run, Lunt’s script can start to play up the more thriller aspects of his lead character’s plight, which unfortunately makes the unfolding plot a little easier to forecast, particularly with reference to aspects of the crime scene such as no unforced entry, the disappearance of Marcus’ key. All of these suggested that there is someone impeding Marcus from within, though I must admit, I wasn’t expecting the reveal in the first episode. That it was Sean was something I should have seen coming, because Craig Parkinson never really plays morally sound characters when it comes to ITV dramas. The acting Detective Chief Inspector, Reinhardt, is a worthy, complicated antagonist for Marcus. An interesting parallel is created between them early on as they meet for the first time at a vending machine and have a rather ominous conversation about them both having ‘one of those days’. Like Marcus, Reinhardt’s home life is seen in glimpses and seems to be more than a little chaotic, creating a tension between her work and her domestic life. Her colleague, Ash (Benedict Wong), even asks condescendingly if she will be able to cope with taking on Marcus’ case. The conflict between work and home is something that clashes violently for Marcus and by creating this parallel with Reinhardt, it establishes a potential future common ground between these two characters. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.