Unforgotten Finale; The Reveal of a Psychopathic Serial Killer

With a twisted grin, the caring and trusting facade of a Doctor quickly slides to the ground to reveal the twisted and psychopathic identity of a serial rapist and killer.
Doctor Tim Finch is being interviewed by DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) when he finally reveals himself to be the killer of Hayley Reid and many other adolescent girls.
This portrayal of Tim Finch, performed by Alex Jennings, is creepy, twisted and uncomfortable. Jennings truly displays an array of talent as he delves into the dark mindset of the psychopathic serial killer - especially after the character realises that the police have enough evidence against him to charge him with the murders of both Hayley Reid and Alison Baldwin.
With slight tilts of the head and sly half-smiles, the character reveals himself to be a wolf in sheeps clothing or rather a psychopath in sane skin.

Although Tim Finch had been arrested in the previous episode to the finale, this is the moment that viewers had been waiting for; the confirmation that Finch was indeed the murderer of Hayley Reid. Mouths were further left agape as the character further stated that he would tell the police about the others and admitted to being a "textbook psychopath" with "above average intelligence, superficial charm and zero empathy."
"What I'm baffled by is how I'm able to perform such appalling acts in the first place," he simply states - analysing his behaviour. "These things are often the result of some significant event...as you say, it's baffling."

Prison psychologist Robert Hare, once said that "Psychopaths are capable of the most heinous crimes, yet they're often so charming and manipulative that they can hide behind a well-cultivated mask of normalcy."
Not many viewers suspected pleasant Doctor Finch of murdering Hayley. Throughout the episodes we had seen the Doctor as a caring Father and friend, the accusation of abuse against his wife fell against deaf ears because of her mental health and he was acquitted over verbally abusing and threatening an elderly patient because of the lack of evidence and the fact that the complainant had a history of filing complaints against Doctor's and staff members. His ability to fit into society and his superficial charm mean't that Finch could hide in plain sight; camoflaging his identity by being a functioning and trusting member of society.

The three other male suspects, however, seemed to be a much more likely bunch. Many had suspected Chris Lowe (James Fleet) based on the false accusation that he had visited child abuse websites when in reality his credit card had been hacked, Pete Carr (Neil Morrisey) was also a likely suspect because he had robbed a church close to Hayley's whereabouts and had committed fraud. James Hollis (Kevin Mcnally) also had a likely motive due to sex addiction. However, the most trusted man of them all was the one character who had decieved society - by easily displaying plastic perfection and emotions. The other three suspects, however, were simply flawed members of society and the victims of a tough life.

DCI Cassie Stuart was also having a tough time this series. Over the past few episodes, we watched as the once-steely DCI suffered from insomnia, tearfulness, frustration and loneliness. There was a lump that formed in the throat of viewers and the sad knowledge that Cassie was sruggling to swamp through the emotional exhaustion and distress that comes with seeing years upon years of dispicable, monstrous horrors of humanity at its worst. The toll of investigating cold cases was finally beginning to show until Cassie suffered a breakdown in the finale. After the draining interview with psychopath Tim Finch, upon her Father's suggestion, Cassie finally decides to take some time off. Due to the fantastic writing of Chris Lang and the heartbreaking performance by Nicola Walker; it was insightful to see a Detective so vulnerable and to explore the mindset of a Detective who had witnessd the worst of humanity for far too long.

This series of Unforgotten had seriously taken a dark turn from the two previous storylines. The series managed to keep viewers guessing right up until the last minute, had managed to explore the harsh realities of life, and has given us an insightful tour into the minds of a psychopathic serial killer and into the exhausted and vulnerable mind of a Detective.
Chris Lang had managed to give us the very worst of humanity and the very best, as a group of male friends leave a funeral and part with "I love you, mate."