ITV's brand-new drama, Malpractice, has gripped viewers in recent weeks. Although the medical thriller, which stars Niamh Algar as main character Dr. Lucina Edwards, has been airing on Sunday evenings for the past five weeks, series one in its entirety has been available on ITVX for viewers to binge at their leisure.
It seems the fifth episode, which aired on Sunday on ITV1 at 9pm, sparked a mixed reaction from those watching at home. While many were thrilled with the ending and made comparisons to Line of Duty, others weren't sure, branding it "predictable." Warning! Spoilers ahead…
One person summarised on Twitter: "A good leading performance but it felt like a total slog to get through for me. And that ending was very predictable. #Malpractice." A second echoed this sentiment, writing: "Next time, on #Malpractice, Lucinda is abducted by the Life of Brian aliens. Sorry but from the disappearing gunman to the highly improbable ending."
A third was equally aghast, tweeting: "So does the open ending of #Malpractice mean there's another series or do we have to imagine what happened for ourselves?"
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However, it wasn't all bad news because others were big fans of how the thriller left the plot. "Absolutely loved ITV's #malpractice Best series I've watched in a long time. Really well written. Won’t give any spoilers but can’t wait to hear what others made of the ending," wrote one fan.
Another said: "I enjoyed #Malpractice - Classic #LineofDuty style ending..." as a third added: "Well, Malpractice was a bit good, wasn't it?! @NiamhAlgar absolute top tier actor!"
What happened to Lucinda at the end of Malpractice?
The synopsis for the fifth and final episode reads: "Lucinda's search for the truth becomes dangerous and she needs help, telling George about the lengths she has gone to so far. Norma isn't impressed but reluctantly agrees to help if she drops her investigation. Lucinda continues her hunt for answers, but as things finally fall into place, she must find out who is."
As fans know, the medical drama was created by a former NHS doctor, Grace Ofori-Attah, and tells the story of Dr. Lucinda Edwards who is investigated after her patient Edith Owusu dies of an overdose.
Over the episodes, viewers saw Lucinda fight for her innocence and try to prove she had been framed. The medic would record pharmacy owners and engage in more tactics to gather evidence that she was not to blame for the patient's death.
Things got complicated when she began to uncover a wider conspiracy that was taking place at the hospital to do with prescription drugs. After a confrontation with the pharmacist, Jubair, she was injected with oxycodone with the intent to kill her. Fortunately, Lucina was found and recovered in hospital but the ending was left open.
Although viewers saw Lucina attend the tribunal to find out the fate of her career following the misconduct investigation, the end result was not revealed, leaving the possibility of a season two in the balance.
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