Fans of the BBC drama Strike blanded the latest series’ plotline “confusing”.
Strike: The Ink Black Heart, adapted from J. K.Rowling’s novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, follows detective pair Cormoran Strike (portrayed by Tom Burke) and Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) as they investigate the death of famed cartoonist, Edie Ledwell.
Throughout their investigation, Strike and Ellacott wade through a tangled web of digital personas, business agendas, and family feuds in an effort to crack the case wide open.
During the episode on Tuesday evening (December 17), spectators observed Strike and Ellacott holding conversations in the material world with potential suspects in their quest to identify the enigmatic Anomie.
Tom Burke returns in Strike: The Ink Black Heart (Image: BBC)
patience wore thin for viewers who were left discontented by the pace and direction of this seasons narrative.
One befuddled viewer took to social media: “Well…complete confused, then fell asleep, not feeling this one. #Strike”.
Another fan commented: “I’m a tad confused, but sure it will make sense eventually #Strike”.
And yet another lamented: “I’m finding this particular #Strike rather boring.”
Strike: The Ink Black Heart is the sixth book in the long-running series by Robert Galbraith (pen name of J.K Rowling), which was previously criticised by fans. Many criticisms of the book including the novel was far too long, struggled to explore online fan culture and cover social media chatter.
Screenwriter Tom Edge has opened up about the challenges of adapting ‘The Ink Black Heart’ for television, revealing: “The book has a puzzle piece game that Jo is playing, which gets to the heart of online identity, and the point at which it clashes with the real world.
“There is a game in the book of puzzling out who the real person is connected to, their online identity and their username. That becomes important for Strike and Robin. But that’s very difficult to realise on screen.
Stars Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE) and Robin Ellacott (HOLLIDAY GRAINGER) return for Ink Black Heart (Image: BBC)
“I think the core of the story that she that she wanted to tell, we were able to achieve without stacking everything on that particular game.
One premiered the first episode of Strike: The Ink Black Heart on Monday (December 16) at 9pm, with the second episode following on Tuesday (December 17), both at the same time. The concluding episodes are set to broadcast on Monday (December 23) and Tuesday (December 24), also at 9pm.
Viewers can catch up with all episodes on iPlayer.