Channel 5’s brand-new thriller The Game made its much-anticipated debut last night (May 12), with familiar faces Robson Green and Jason Watkins leading the cast – and after just one episode, viewers already have a lot of questions. The series, which promises suspense, twists, and emotional depth, wasted no time in plunging into its tense storyline, leaving audiences both intrigued and slightly unsettled. Robson Green and Jason Watkins, both known for their powerful performances in past dramas, bring a gravitas and unpredictability to their roles that hint at even darker turns to come. The premiere episode carefully layered its mystery, offering just enough clues to draw us in while leaving several plot points frustratingly unexplained. Social media was quickly flooded with theories, from the motivations behind certain characters’ actions to speculation about hidden connections that haven’t yet been revealed. With such a gripping and ambiguous start, it’s clear The Game is setting itself up to be a slow-burn drama full of secrets, deception, and unexpected alliances – and we’re absolutely hooked.

Channel 5‘s new four-part thriller follows retired detective Huw Miller (Watkins), who believes that the Ripton Stalker – the one person he failed to catch during his career – has just moved in across the road.

Robson Green plays Patrick Harbottle, and after a boozy night out, Miller is convinced he’s the one who got away.

Here’s all the burning questions racing round our heads as we eagerly await tonight’s second episode…

Is Robson Green’s Patrick the Ripton Stalker? (Credit: Channel 5)

Would ‘Catch you later’ really cause Huw to think Patrick is the Ripton Stalker?

Catch you later was the sign-off the Ripton Stalker used in his correspondence with Huw. And, at the end of a night out, Patrick shakes Huw’s hand and bids him goodnight with the words “catch you later”. This sparks Huw’s suspicions.

But, as his wife Alice Miller (Sunetra Sarker) told him in the first episode, a lot of people say catch you later. It’s a very common goodbye, so could it be a coincidence, or is Patrick playing a very sinister game?

Twitter appears to agree with Alice. One viewer said: “Most people I know say: ‘Catch you later.’”

But with Patrick admitting to having Googled Huw, there certainly seems to be more to it. We’d say that and the creepy music every time Robson’s on screen is definitely pointing to him being the Ripton Stalker…

What happened to Frank?

Huw found his neighbour Frank dead in the bath early in the first episode. He presumed that he’d suffered a heart attack. However, when his old police team arrived, Huw knew there was more to it, especially after an overdose was blamed for his d3ath.

Eventually, after pressing his old colleague Jenny Atkins to look at the autopsy report, it was revealed that it wasn’t quite as cut and dried as she thought, with Frank’s d3ath needing further investigation.

So what happened to Frank? Did Patrick kill him and make it look like he took his own life so that he could move into the house opposite Huw?

Huw’s former colleague Amber eventually realises that Frank’s d3ath wasn’t a suicide (Credit: Channel 5)

Why are his old colleagues so mean?

Huw appears to be a bit of a laughing stock amongst his former colleagues. They didn’t come to his leaving do, they laughed at his farewell speech and they didn’t listen when he KNEW something was off with Frank’s d3ath.

True, he didn’t catch the Ripton Stalker, but neither did any of them. When he got clonked over the head in a flashback at the start, he was alone – where were his colleagues with their backup then?

Something is fishy about how disliked Huw is – after all, his neighbours like him and he comes across as a pretty likeable man. One theory online suggests he is the Ripton Stalker, but we’re not sure we’re invested in that one.

Either way, we’re sad for Huw and how his cop ‘mates’ are treating him. He knows the case inside out, give him some credit and bring him in!

“No need to guess why Huw took early retirement in #TheGame,” said one viewer. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep working with those colleagues of his, either!!”

Is the show sponsored by Amazon?

We don’t think so, but the mention was a little odd…

In amongst all the drama, there was a bizarre moment of apparent product placement for Amazon.

With Huw struggling with his retirement, Alice buys him a gift, some golf balls from Amazon and, as she hands him the box, makes sure to give the company a namecheck, too.

“I ordered you a little something on Prime,” she tells him, handing him the box.

“Product placement for Amazon Prime in #TheGame?” one viewer asked on Twitter. Let’s see if the parcels continue to arrive tonight!

Jason Watkins plays former detective Huw in the new drama (Credit: Channel 5)

What’s in the briefcase?

Patrick’s housewarming party saw everyone in the street attend. And it gave former detective Huw the perfect excuse to snoop.

He went upstairs with the bottle of beer Patrick had given him when he arrived at the party, slipped into his bedroom and started having a poke around.

Huw soon found a briefcase poking out from underneath Patrick’s bed. Putting his beer bottle down (and leaving it there – rookie mistake), Huw tried and failed to get it open, sliding it back under the bed when he was caught by wife Alice.

She dragged him home to explain himself, as Patrick headed upstairs and saw that Huw had fallen for what appears to have been a trap for him.