Review of ITV's 'Winter' Highlights Absurdist Plot and Unconventional Pathologist

The ITV series 'Winter' features a pathologist who communicates with the deceased, a narrative device that, along with other plot elements, has drawn criticism for its implausibility. In his review, Christopher Stevens of the Daily Mail highlights the unconventional nature of the protagonist, Dr. Ethan Winter, portrayed by Richard Armitage.

Stevens notes that pathologists in fiction are often depicted as eccentric, but Dr. Winter takes this to an extreme by conversing with corpses to understand their demise. The series also includes supernatural elements, with the protagonist interacting with the ghost of his deceased girlfriend.

Despite the reviewer's desire to appreciate the show, particularly its use of Bristolian locations, the plot is described as riddled with inconsistencies and unexplained events. One such instance involves a suspect whose blood is found under the victim's fingernails, yet the police reportedly lose interest in him. The story further follows a woman who murdered her abusive husband and subsequently went into hiding with her children, despite having disposed of the body. The review points out that a second death occurring within the family was handled by hiding the body in a refrigerated truck rather than in the well used for the first.

The resolution of the case hinges on Dr. Winter's observation of a cough in the killer's father-in-law, which he connects to exposure to rare bats. This deduction is based on the man's flu vaccination status, a detail Stevens finds particularly baffling and indicative of the show's erratic plotting.