Stephen Graham's new AppleTV+ thriller has a glaring error – and it could ruin the series

Stephen Graham's latest psychological thriller has only been available for a couple of days – and viewers have already spotted a glaring plot hole.

The Adolescence actor stars as Jurek Walter, a highly dangerous serial killer who is serving a sentence in solitary confinement due to being considered a highly dangerous prisoner.

So dangerous, in fact, that staff attending to Jurek are ordered to follow a strict set of rules when dealing with him. That is until the rules are thrown out the window when Karl, a new nurse at the facility (played by Rory Culkin, in case you didn't notice the resemblance), is allowed access to him alone.

Jurek wastes no time in getting his hooks into Karl, allowing him to gain a connection to the outside world – the very thing you don't want a dangerous serial killer to have access to.

The series kicks off with Jurek gaining access to the outside world (Apple TV)

The plot point is one which viewers were quick to criticise online, with the interactions being described as an 'awfully contrived way to move the plot forward'.

"Jurek Walter is the most dangerous patient in the facility, and the plan was to send in one medic with no training? Not a two-person team? Not a guard," read one reaction on X, with the user jokingly adding that it was a 'bold staffing choice' from the psychiatric unit.

"The instructions were clear. "If he talks to you don't listen, and whatever you do, don't tell him anything about yourself." Yet, within five minutes of being in the same room as Jerek Walter, all the instructions had been forgotten," a second view observed, while a third wrote: "Right off the bat, send a new staff member to administer a sedative and search the cell of a dangerous criminal, with no backup nearby. Really?"

"One manufactured stupidity ruined the premiere for me," wrote a fourth, adding: "The facility director's decision to manipulate a compassionate new nurse into administering a knockout drug & conducting an improvised cell search is an awfully contrived way to move the plot forward."

Access which is a little too convenient according to some viewers (Apple TV)

The comments aren't entirely wrong, as it does feel awfully convenient that a dangerous serial killer would just happen to be able to manipulate an empathetic member of staff just as he needs information about the outside world.

Exactly how Jurek's manipulation of Karl will play out remains to be seen, as AppleTV+ is airing the show via a weekly release schedule, with episode three available on 6 November.

Graham previously addressed Jurek's decision to target Karl during an interview with TV Insider, explaining that the killer had been 'patiently waiting' for a person to manipulate.

"We spoke a lot about this, and what I think he sees in Karl is that kind of vulnerability and that naivety, but also he sees Karl as being a little deer who’s doe-eyed and has a sense of wonder. And he works this out quite quickly," Graham explained.

"Because don’t forget, he’s been patiently, patiently, patiently waiting in that cell in a kind of meditative contemplation, waiting for the right person to strike. So I think he notices in Karl a massive vulnerability, but also an opportunity to be able to persuade him."