The Jetty has viewers seriously confused ahead of final episode

What did you miss?

The third episode of The Jetty saw the complex mystery go even deeper into the dark heart of the town where Jenna Coleman's detective Ember has always lived. It's fair to say the story has travelled a long way from an investigation about a fire at a lake house.

But the constant twists and turns were too much for some viewers, who admitted on social media that they were completely lost. The Jetty has just one more episode to get these viewers back on board and provide the story with a satisfying conclusion.

What, how and why?

In the third episode of The Jetty, Ember's superiors finally caught wind of her husband's possible connection to the disappearance of Amy Knightly. Following the death of podcaster Riz, Ember's boss DI Morgan (Ralph Ineson) began to pick in detail at the loose threads of the supposedly cold case Riz was investigating.

This led the cops right back to Ember's late husband Malachy, who had been in a relationship with Amy just before she vanished without trace. The episode concluded with Ember being arrested for perverting the course of justice by hiding her own role in Riz's investigation and her suspicions about Malachy.

But the multiple story threads — including flashbacks featuring Amy and her childhood friend Caitlin — left some viewers scratching their heads. One user on X (formerly Twitter) even ran a poll asking fellow viewers if they were "following this story", to which 61.5% of those who responded said they weren't.

Another viewer also asked "does anyone understand what's going on?" while another even confessed that they had completely missed the timeline-shifting aspect of the story. They wrote: "It’s only just dawned on us *in Episode 3* of #TheJetty that the plot works on 2 separate timelines … WTAF? I’ve read Ulysses & Moby Dick & Buddenbrooks."

There's no doubt that The Jetty has a lot of plot threads happening at once, not to mention its journeys back in time to explore Amy's life. This presents a real challenge for writer Cat Jones, who has hopefully pulled all of those elements together for the final episode.

The Jetty has delivered some fascinating ideas about the deep-rooted misogyny that exists in society and can sometimes take hold even more strongly in small communities. Coleman's character is becoming increasingly morally murky as she tried to keep her own past at arm's length.

What else are people saying about The Jetty?

The third episode of The Jetty featured a barn-storming monologue from Coleman, in which she marched into the local pub and reprimanded the men there for their attitude towards young women. Earlier, she had quelled a rebellion of school pupils by saying she'd heard their concerns about gender-based violence.

Coleman received a lot of praise for these scenes, with a Twitter user calling the show "really excellent drama". One viewer even suggested she should win a BAFTA for her work, saying: "The writing is just some of the best I've seen in aaaages. And that scene at the end of the ep cemented Jenna Coleman a BAFTA nom/win. She's at the top of her game in this."

The Jetty concludes on BBC One at 9pm on 22 July. All episodes are on BBC iPlayer.

Read more:

• Jenna Coleman admits she 'avoided' detective roles before The Jetty (Yahoo Entertainment)

• Is there going to be a The Jetty season 2? (Cosmopolitan)

• Viewers struggle with accents in BBC's new crime series The Jetty - and turn off minutes into the show (OK!)