The Split’s ending was the perfect way to wrap up one of the BBC’s best drama series – and why it shouldn’t return
BBC drama has been hit after hit in recent months, and the Spanish spin off of The Split is no exception.
The BBC welcomed back the Defoe sisters in The Split: Barcelona alongside a healthy dose of marital fallout, divorce papers and awkward yet function family relationships.
*Spoilers ahead for episode two of The Split: Barcelona*
I, like many other BBC viewers, could not be more glad to see The Split back on my screen.
It’s been two years since the end of the third series, where we saw Hannah and Nathan finally end their marriage in what was heartbreaking but also the perfect end after affairs, betrayal and a sad move from being in love to loving someone like a family member.
In the Spanish spin off, we see Hannah and Nathan’s eldest daughter Liv ready to wed Spanish boyfriend Gael, but of course things are never quite as simple as that.
As the first episode of the two part special aired, many viewers were begging for the BBC to bring the series back and give us a fourth season, and I was firmly with them.
Yet after watching the second episode on BBC iPlayer (I binge watched it, rather than wait another 24 hours to catch it on BBC One tonight), I can understand why there are no plans for it to return.
The ending of the second episode saw the storylines perfectly tied up, even if we didn’t get Hannah and Nathan reuniting or the lavish Spanish wedding we were expected.
Instead we saw Rose and Glen becoming the perfect family unit, and showing there’s life after grief and sadness.
Liv and Gael get the most perfectly laidback wedding on the beach, and it’s better than the fancy Spanish one they had planned.
Annabel Scholey’s Nina was as chaotic as expected with a lesbian fling, but at least it meant we could say goodbye to the sad sap of a man she was dating.
And for Hannah, there was a new man on the scene and her shy confession on the beach that he might not like her body or who she is as a divorced mum of three was relatable.
Better still was Toby Stephen’s response along the lines of ‘me too’, and it was nice to see that there weren’t two characters falling in love with a fairytale romance but instead embracing the baggage they have.
Even Nathan’s confession and realisation that Hannah is not ‘his person anymore’, and he has a new life with Kate and their twins felt right.
The Split’s ending is the perfect example of what is good for you, rather than what you think you want.
Before seeing this perfect ending to one of my favourite BBC series, I would have been keeping everything crossed for Hannah and Nathan to somehow overcome the odds and put the divorce behind them.
Yet thankfully they don’t and the series felt hopeful at the end rather than just simply tying up all the loose ends.
Another series would most likely have been excellent, we’d have all been hooked but I’m happier knowing the characters are content, loved up in their own ways and there’s no animosity.
The Split airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.