ITV’s mystery thriller, The Dark, has unmasked the murderer responsible for several unsettling killings in the Scottish Highlands, but the story isn’t over yet. The six-episode drama centers on Detective Monica Kennedy (Laura Donnelly) and her investigation into the death of a young man found dead in the remote countryside.
With each new murder, Monica starts to suspect they’re all connected, and that a serial killer might be responsible. The show has been full of twists and turns, keeping audiences guessing as Monica gradually pieces together the connections between the victims.
Solving the murders wasn’t Monica’s only challenge. The deeper she investigated, the more she had to face difficult truths about her own history – particularly her link to the dangerous Burning Light cult.
As the mystery unraveled and the killer became clearer, those nearby found themselves facing greater risk. Be warned – spoilers follow.
Who was the killer in The Dark?
For most of the investigation, Monica was searching for the wrong suspect, but she finally realized the killer was Kyle Ward – the principal of the high school and Tammy Ward’s father.
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Brian Ferguson plays Kyle, who successfully avoided suspicion because Monica never saw him as a threat. He was linked to the victims through his daughter and seemed like a typical, though perhaps overly cautious, dad.
In fact, Kyle was carefully selecting and manipulating young men who were emotionally vulnerable, often those dealing with grief or past trauma. He would give them disposable phones and present himself as a helpful figure, while simultaneously making them feel incapable of achieving things on their own.
Kyle also convinced Nichol Morgan (Nicholas Nunn) to give burner phones to the people they were targeting. Nichol was struggling with a tough home life and bullying, making him easily influenced. Although he participated in Kyle’s plan, he wasn’t directly involved in the killings.
Before killing them, Kyle paralyzed his victims with poison, which made the crimes especially terrifying. It got even worse when he revealed to Monica why he had done it.
He thought the young men he chose were not living up to their abilities, and tragically justified his actions by believing he was offering them a new beginning. As part of this disturbing mindset, he would leave wishing stones with each victim.
Kyle’s troubles started when his daughter, Tammy, began to suspect something was wrong. Realizing she knew too much, he lashed out at her and then took social worker Michael Bach hostage when he discovered Bach was also investigating him.
Kyle tried to make it look like Michael committed the murders, hoping to hide his own involvement. Meanwhile, Monica was independently discovering the real story. Kyle then tricked Monica into going to Michael’s house, where he shared a secret detail about the victim, Philly Murray – something that hadn’t been released to the public and only the killer would know.
When Kyle accidentally revealed he was the killer, he attempted to silence Monica by putting drugs in her tea. However, Monica cleverly swapped the cups, and believing she wouldn’t be able to stop him, Kyle began confessing to the murders and explaining why he did it.
Monica saw Kyle succumb to the poison, but she had ultimately succeeded in capturing his murderer.
What happened to Monica’s daughter Lucy?
Okay, so the mystery of who was being murdered might be solved, but honestly, the ending of The Dark left me way more worried about Monica! We found out throughout the season that she has this really unsettling history with a cult called The Burning Light – she used to be part of it. And the biggest shocker? The leader of that cult is Lucy’s dad! It’s not just some distant threat anymore, it feels super personal now.
Towards the end of the show, as Monica and her family were getting ready for Christmas, a letter arrived for Lucy. It was from her birth father, and simply said: “My darling daughter, it’s time to let the light in.”
It was obvious he knew the location of Monica and Lucy, which meant network executives had enough material to potentially create another season.
While ITV hasn’t officially announced a second season of The Dark, the way the first season ended suggests another one is possible. The show is based on GR Halliday’s novel From The Shadows, the first in a series of books about the character Monica Kennedy. For now, viewers are left knowing for sure that Kyle is the show’s villain.
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2026-07-28 00:20