The Bombing of Pan Am 103 Review: Precision Over Spectacle

The Bombing of Pan Am 103 unfolds as a six-part chronicle of the December 21, 1988, Lockerbie atrocity and the painstaking hunt that followed. Rather than anchoring its drama in a single family’s grief, the series trains its lens on the small Scottish constabulary and the encroaching FBI presence, turning an international tragedy into a study of methodical procedure. Jonathan Lee’s screenplay favors restraint over spectacle: we glimpse the inferno of falling debris in measured bursts, then retreat to the slow grind of evidence gathering.

A BBC One production with Netflix partnership, the show assembles an ensemble cast led by Connor Swindells as DS Ed McCusker and Peter Mullan as DCS John Orr, supported by Patrick J. Adams’s FBI agent Dick Marquise and Eddie Marsan’s bomb expert Tom Thurman. Their interactions form the backbone of a story about fractured allegiances on “Scottish soil” under airborne threat. Cinematic realism—right down to the scattering of luggage on snow-dusted roads—grounds the viewer in both scale and intimacy.

Viewers are drawn into the series’ tension between sober duty and personal compassion: here, volunteers sift through blood-soaked garments while detectives argue jurisdiction. That tension fuels the drama, promising an exploration of international cooperation under duress and a reminder that huge investigations begin, quite literally, with tiny fragments of evidence.

Narrative Architecture

From its opening minutes, the series balances immediacy with deliberation. Passengers boarding Pan Am 103 are introduced in quick vignettes—a child gripping a teddy, a businessman checking his watch—before the camera cuts to a festive Scottish pub. Then comes the blast: fire rips through the sky, debris rains onto quiet streets, and the detective work begins amidst smoldering wreckage.

Episode One focuses on shock and search. We follow McCusker’s team as they comb an 850-square-mile perimeter, bagging a lone shoe here, a circuit-board shard there. By Episode Three, jurisdictional friction emerges: Orr insists on maintaining Scottish protocol, while Marquise pushes for FBI-style efficiency. Midway through the run, key evidence—traced clothing scraps, forensic fragments—propels the narrative into a hunt for the bomber.

Pacing is precise. Moments of sudden violence yield to longer takes of cataloguing evidence: uniformed officers kneel in snow, labeling each item. These deliberate beats build tension more effectively than nonstop action. Small details—a volunteer’s trembling hands as she holds a faded photograph—add weight without melodrama.

Restraint defines the show’s approach to shock. The bombing itself is shown in glimpses—bright flare, rolling flames—before the camera shifts to the hushed aftermath. That choice deepens engagement, forcing us to listen for the story in whispered testimonies and the meticulous clicking of evidence tags.

Characters in Crossfire

At the heart of this procedural tapestry is DS Ed McCusker, whose quiet resolve anchors the audience. Swindells conveys a man whose empathy surfaces in private moments—lingering on his children’s shoes at home after inspecting a lone sneaker at the crash site. His arc unfolds through incremental shifts: from the overwhelmed recruit to a detective who grasps that every fragment tells a human story.

Peter Mullan’s DCS John Orr brings gravitas and a stubborn insistence on local authority. He declares “Scottish soil” with enough heat to spark both admiration and eye-rolling. Yet Mullan tempers bluster with moments of genuine concern—his recruitment of volunteers, his defense of victims’ dignity—revealing a leader whose nationalism masks deep empathy.

On the American side, Patrick J. Adams’s Dick Marquise initially feels like an outside force—tied to bureaucratic deadlines and headline metrics. Over time, his arc bends toward respect, notably in scenes where he softens after witnessing Lockerbie locals treat human remains with care. Eddie Marsan’s Tom Thurman supplies technical heft, though his accent occasionally strains credibility; his precision in bomb-fragment analysis underlines the story’s dependence on detail.

Supporting players—volunteers like Moira Shearer or advocate Kathryn Turman—humanize the procedure. Their tenderness in cataloguing bloodied clothing or arranging repatriations punctures the show’s chilly forensic focus. Two sequences stand out: McCusker’s silent breakdown over a child’s toy, and a tense joint interrogation where Scottish caution collides with FBI bluntness, each performance sharpening the stakes.

Craftsmanship and Thematic Currents

Visually, the series excels at marrying scope with specificity. Wide shots of flaming debris give way to extreme close-ups of evidence tags, while night-search scenes evoke both dread and determination. The SFX team deserves credit for rendering homes alight without resorting to CGI excess.

Sound design plays a subtle role: silence often precedes the roar of flames; only later do bagpipes and muffled church bells mark the transport of remains. Music cues arrive sparingly, underscoring procedural montages rather than emotional crescendos.

Production values impress in every frame: late-1980s period cars, rotary-dial phones, and authentic police uniforms set the clock back convincingly. Props—yellow evidence bags, battered suitcases—are given as much narrative weight as any character.

Beneath the procedural lens lie three thematic veins. First, duty under pressure: the small-town officers’ perseverance transforms chaos into order, one fragment at a time. Second, respect for those lost: volunteers’ meticulous handling of personal effects argues for a human-centred approach to catastrophe. Third, the tug-of-war between collaboration and sovereignty: every shared file, every jurisdictional spat becomes a microcosm of geopolitical stakes.

In a television landscape awash with flashy docudramas, The Bombing of Pan Am 103 stakes its claim through exacting craft and an unwavering focus on storytelling mechanics.

The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is a six-part British drama miniseries that premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on May 18, 2025, with a global release on Netflix to follow.

Full Credits

Director: Michael Keillor

Writers: Jonathan Lee, Gillian Roger Park

Producers: Julia Stannard

Executive Producers: Simon Heath, Roderick Seligman, Steve Stark, Stacey Levin, Adam Morane-Griffiths, Sara Curran, Herbert L. Kloiber, Michael Keillor, Gaynor Holmes

Cast: Connor Swindells, Patrick J. Adams, Merritt Wever, Eddie Marsan, Peter Mullan, Lauren Lyle, Phyllis Logan, Tony Curran, James Anderson, Dominik Tiefenthaler, Julian Callejja, Larry Gurreri, Chris Dingli, James Harkness, Andrew Rothney, Parker Sawyers, Khalid Laith, Amanda Drew, Joe Layton, Dana Haqjoo

Composer: Mogwai