As the action cuts between 1944, 1975 and 2012, the past and present residents of Lightfields continue to find themselves seemingly at the mercy of Lucy’s (Antonia Clarke) hauntings. But as the past is gradually unearthed, and new memories and revelations come to the surface, Pip (Michael Byrne), Vivien (Leilah de Meza) and Luke (Alexander Aze) soon realise that there is much more to Lucy’s appearances than they realise.

While undeniably creepy in places, there’s something about Lightfields that makes its conclusion a little anti-climactic. Throughout the series several theories, suspects and reasons for Lucy’s death have been discovered, and dangled in front of our noses before being quickly disproved. But the real circumstances for the mysterious barn fire in 1944 – and Lucy’s later appearances in 1975, 2012, and her on-going preoccupation with Luke and fire – are nowhere near as illicit as the series wanted us to think.

So, when it was finally revealed that Lucy died not as a result of jealousy or malice, but instead accidentally, when Tom (Danny Miller) set fire to the barn in a fit of drunken jealousy over her liaison with an instantly unlikeable American airman, Dwight (Neil Jackson), it feels like Lightfields has been building up to an ending that’s nowhere near as dramatic as previous episodes had hinted.

However, it’s important to remember that Lightfields is no ordinary ghost story; at first it seems like a story of revenge from beyond the grave, then, a murder mystery, but what the series is really concerned with is regret, guilt and forgiveness. As the characters struggle to deal with their collective involvement in Lucy’s death, what emerges is a tale of pain, suffering and finally, redemption.

Lucy is not an evil spirit, but rather a lost soul who had bad taste in men. But she also liked to set fire to things, nice things, and indiscriminately terrorise people at will, so she didn’t do her cause many favours. However, Lightfields has been a psychological horror that analyses the nature of guilt and grief, and for that, it should be applauded for breaking from the tired vengeful ghost story trope.

Aired at 9pm on Wednesday 27 March 2013 on ITV.

> Order Lightfields on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy Marchlands on DVD on Amazon.

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