After meeting a corrupted man that speaks about hope and future, Rosalie, a grieving mother that lives a normal life with her only daughter, Maddie. But, things come to challenge them when they meet Jedi.
Channel 5 has been making forays into "serious" drama for the past year or so, and with Penance it seems to be going one step farther into BBC/ITV bonkbuster territory.
Penance becomes a slippery slope towards purgatory as a bigger, uglier picture steadily unravels. It's a shame the slow-burn story wasn't given more screen time in which to develop.
London Evening Standard
March 23, 2020
And the police. Well, they act like showroom dummies as Rosalie melts down. But maybe that's because the actors have forgotten to act.
While "Penance" often veers into overheated territory, [Kate] O'Riordan knows her audience and sticks to the tried-and-true thriller formula - adding some nice touches along the way.
