The Dark’s Monica Kennedy (Laura Donnelly) isn’t your average detective.
While much of her backstory is shrouded in mystery, we do know that she was once involved with a cult, the Burning Light, for whom she also played a crucial role in recruiting followers, including Philly, God rest her soul.
But not only that, both Monica and Philly’s relationship with the leader of the cult extended to having a child with him. While Monica managed to escape with Lucy, Philly’s child was taken from her by their prophet.
No, definitely not your average DI.
But despite her very best efforts to disentangle herself from her murky past, it seems the flames of the Burning Light are licking at her feet once more.
With headmaster Kyle Ward unmasked as the killer shortly before his own death, courtesy of some quick thinking from Monica after she swapped her poisoned mug for his, while Jason’s brother Nicholl was exposed as his accomplice, Monica finally had a moment to breathe.
But her calm melted away when she opened a card addressed to Lucy from none other than daddy dearest, which read: “My darling daughter, it is time to let the light in.”
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While looking into the eyes of a serial killer is not for the faint of heart, the return of the Burning Light – and the prospect of losing her daughter to the darkness – is what really sets Monica’s teeth on edge.
“It is really fascinating,” said Donnelly of Monica’s history with the cult. “It was one of the elements that I really enjoyed digging into, regardless of what this first season covers.
“We don’t get the full story… and what I hope gets revealed over time, if we get to come back and do another season, is that there’s far more to explore there. There is this past, and it explains so much about her.”
Yet Monica’s life did not begin when she joined a cult.
“There’s also so much about her and her story with her father and her own history that came before that that explains how she also ended up in that situation,” added Donnelly.
“So there are lots of different threads that work together that are very layered. It’s not just this kind of, ‘here’s one explanation that happened in her past that tells you who she is now’ – which is [the case] a lot of the time.”
Expanding on how she believes The Dark stands apart from other crime dramas, Donnelly continued: “I think particularly with detective characters, we present somebody who’s troubled and complex and very good at their job, and we want to look at this one event that took place as to why they became who they are.
“And with Monica, it did seem to be, even from the first script, to be rooted so much more in the reality of what it is to live a life, that there are lots of different things that all thread together and become a tapestry of who that person is.”
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“This story to do with the cult,” she added, “is just one element of that for her, and we get to explore that somewhat in the first season, and yet there’s still so much more to explore as well.”
So it’ll come as no surprise that Donnelly would “absolutely” like to return for more.
“These books… what I love is the very different atmosphere that each brings, and it gives a really great opportunity, I think, for having each season be very standalone in itself. It’s not just like, ‘oh, well, here’s another crime.’ It actually feels like each season could be its own sub-genre because they do have very different climates and very different styles of crime.
“And that feels like a really exciting possibility to me.”
The Dark is available to stream now on ITVX
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