ITV's new series, 'Winter,' introduces Dr. Ethan Winter, a pathologist with an unusual method of solving crimes: he communes with the deceased. Played by Richard Armitage, Dr. Winter is presented as 'brilliant but unconventional,' a trope often applied to fictional forensic experts. However, this character takes eccentricity to a new level by speaking to cadavers and soliciting information about their deaths.
The series, set partly in Bristol, also features Dr. Winter's interactions with the ghost of his deceased girlfriend, Simone, played by Carlotta Banat. Their spectral romance includes shared moments, such as dancing to the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always On My Mind.'
Despite the unique premise and familiar Bristolian scenery, the series is criticized for a significant number of plot holes and inconsistencies. For instance, a suspect whose blood was found under the victim's fingernails is dismissed by police after denying the murder. Another storyline involves a woman who murdered her abusive husband and disposed of his body, yet inexplicably hides in a cave rather than remaining in hiding.
Further plot contrivances include the discovery of a second body, left in a refrigerated truck after the killer's five-year-old child was involved in another death. The central mystery is resolved when Dr. Winter connects a cough suffered by the killer's father-in-law to exposure from rare American cave-dwelling bats, a detail the review notes is based on the man's flu vaccination records.