Why millions are addicted to Dr Foster’s nerve-shreddingly venomous revenge
It’s uncomfortable viewing. But, as the series ends tonight, JAN MOIR explains why she can’t look away
THE finale of Doctor Foster comes not a nerveshredding moment too soon. How much more of this torrid BBC1 psychodrama can viewers take? Over the past four weeks we have looked on in horror — sometimes from behind the sofa cushions — as Dr Gemma Foster (Suranne Jones) and ex-husband Simon (Bertie Carvel) dance a fandango of hate amid the bombed-out ballroom of their rancid marriage. Last week’s episode ended on a cliffhanger, as she appeared to deliberately accelerate her car towards him as he walked along the road. At the last moment she wrenched the steering wheel. But here is Gemma’s dilemma: does she drive into Simon, or veer away from him?
All will be revealed tonight as we roar into the series finale with pedal to the metal, all cylinders firing, perhaps even smoke and flames pluming from Gemma’s flared nostrils. If not hers, then certainly mine.
Just take this scene from the closing episode, pictured here. All seems well, Gemma is having dinner with friends. Troubled teenage son Tom (Tom Taylor) is by her side, sober and not attacking anyone.
The credits could be accompanied by soothing music, but look at Gemma’s face. Something dreadful is about to go down — and no, I won’t reveal what.
Just when you think matters couldn’t get any worse in this dark-hearted, post-divorce drama, you can depend on Dr Foster to do something foolhardy and ruinous to ratchet up the tension.
Gemma! Put down that mega-goblet of sauv blanc and think this one through for once. Should you really be spying on your son from the bushes, making an inappropriate visit to his best friend’s bedroom, gate-crashing your ex-husband’s wedding party or snogging strangers in the local disco?
NO, OF course not. While she may be a doctor, Gemma’s general practice seems to be to cause as much small-town mayhem as possible, under the misguided entitlement of being a wronged wife. Even if her smug, craven, ghastly husband deserves all he gets. You know he does.
‘How old is that top?’ Simon sneers at Gemma when they meet up after a long time. The amazing thing is that she didn’t plunge one of her fullyprimed, homemade acid injections into his thigh there and then.
As the five- part series lurches towards a denouement, the poisonous antics of Slimy Simon and the Witchy Doctor have gripped millions.
Why so? Divorced and divorcing couples are not new to TV. From Blake and Alexis in Dynasty, to Angie and Den in EastEnders and Don and Betty Draper in Mad Men, their florid love lives and epic deceits can fascinate.
Yet Dr Foster brings a harrowing dimension, featuring a couple who are (almost) equally unlikeable, who stop at nothing to get one over on each other. Gemma and Simon are morally ambiguous and borderline villainous. They haven’t been able to divorce and move on like sensible adults. They remain locked together, bubbling away in a tormented broth of mutual loathing.
Their relationship has become so toxic, one feels corroded just watching them. In fact, after some of the more highly charged episodes, a shot of antivenom serum wouldn’t go amiss.
Perhaps it is so affecting because we can see the wretchedness ossifying the hearts of a couple who have lost sight of what they once loved about each other. Divorce has unhinged them; revenge consumes them. Gemma is the wounded wife intent on vengeance, while Simon is motivated by his allconsuming obsession for her — which makes one wonder why the fool had an affair in the first place. Don’t ask.
All you need to know is that in the Parminster home where they were once happy, they scream at each other over the kitchen island, marooned in a sea of hate. Their entire world is now the crack in the teacup, the smash in the glass, the complete erosion of family life.
Each is assured of their rightful place on the moral high ground, but their righteousness blinds them to the plight of Tom. He is the innocent pawn, weaponised and unintentionally abused by both of his highly-strung parents.
Gemma and Simon are so wrapped up in their ongoing hostilities that neither appears to have noticed he is paler, quieter and more troubled by the week.
In last week’s penultimate episode, Gemma succeeded in ruining Simon’s new life and second marriage. Tonight, we will find out at what cost.