The Survivors episode 1 recap: a sickening death tears apart a sleepy seaside town

The Survivors is a gripping new thriller series on Netflix, which is set in the stunning landscape of Tasmania and based on the bestselling novel by Jane Harper.

The show follows Kieran Elliot, whose life was changed forever 15 years ago when two people close to him drowned in a terrible storm, while a young woman also went missing.

But, as Kieran returns to his childhood home with his new family in tow, the past resurfaces when a woman is found murdered after digging into the 15-year-old mystery.

With the community once again rocked by tragedy, the investigation not only threatens to uncover old mysteries but also reveals a secret killer amongst them.

Here is everything that happens in The Survivors episode 1...

The series opens with a teenage boy, Kieran, caught in a sea cave during a violent storm. He is trying to get out, but the waves are so strong that he's struggling to keep his head above the water. As Kieran yells for help, two friends arrive on a boat to save him, but as they are racing through the stormy waters, their boat suddenly capsizes when a huge wave hits them, and they are killed.

The episode then flashes forward to the funeral of one of the young men who died, called Toby. A voiceover talks about how the whole town has been torn apart by grief and guilt after Finn and Toby died. As everyone else leaves the graveside, Kieran walks over to another fresh grave, and this one is for Finn.

The voiceover talks about how Evelyn Bay is a wild and beautiful place, but there is also a darkness to it. We learn that another life was lost the day of the boat accident when a young girl called Gabby Birch went missing.

In the present day, Kieran and his partner Mia are walking through the airport with their baby, Audrey. They are talking about how they don't really want to be in Tasmania, but it is only for a few days and then they can return to Sydney. They greet Kieran's mom, Verity, and she meets her granddaughter for the first time, suggesting that Kieran doesn't visit his hometown very often. Kieran asks if his father is at the airport, but his mom says he wasn't up to the drive.

The drive home from the airport is awkward and they make small talk, but when Verity tells them their timing is good for their visit, as it is the 15th anniversary since the boat accident next week, things go quiet. She tells them they are holding a memorial and asks if they are sticking around for it. Kieran asks if she wants them to stick around, but she doesn't answer, and he has a flashback to the time of the tragedy and it is clear his mom blames him for what happened.

At home, Kieran is thrilled to see his dad, who has dementia and needs to be reminded that Mia and Kieran had a baby and that he is a grandad now. Kieran is happy when his dad tells him how proud he is, but when he calls him Finn instead of Kieran, it becomes clear Brian is confused, and also that one of the boys who died, Finn, was Kieran's brother.

Kieran is struggling in the wake of his dad confusing him with Finn and takes a walk with Audrey on the beach - his friend Ash sees him and is thrilled to have him home. Ash asks if Kieran is staying for the memorial, and Kieran tells him that he doesn't think people will want him around. Ash is adamant that people don't care about all that anymore and that they have had a new clubhouse built in memory of Finn and Toby.

The pair bump into Bronte on the beach as she takes photos, Ash introduces her as someone who lives with Olivia, and says they are all going to the pub that night and Kieran and Mia should come. Bronte says that she is doing a project on Evelyn Bay and is only there for the summer, but when Kieran introduces himself, she recognizes his name immediately, and Kieran realizes that Ash lied about the fact that no one talks about him anymore.

Bronte is at a bar editing her project on missing Gabby when she looks through the photos she took earlier and spots something in them. However, before she can look closer, someone called Marco starts hassling her, and she leaves.

Later, Verity is looking after Audrey while Mia and Kieran go out to the pub. Kieran sees a poster for the memorial and he has flashbacks to the accident. Mia tells him they don't have to go for drinks, but he is adamant he'll be fine after a few beers. In the bar, everyone stares as they arrive, but soon the drinks are flowing and Kieran's friends are happy to see him.

Bronte comes over and says she found a baby hat in lost property that can replace the one Audrey lost that afternoon, and Kieran is grateful. Mia introduces herself and is surprised when Bronte already knows who she is, saying she knows she was Gabby's best friend when she vanished. Mia seems shocked by the whole thing, especially when Bronte also says she knows Mia's mom, Trish. As Olivia arrives and everyone catches up, Bronte asks if she can talk to Mia before they leave, as she has some questions about Gabby's disappearance.

Later in the evening, Kieran and his friends are enjoying their drinks when someone called Liam comes over and starts shouting at Kieran, he gets angry to see him there and throws a jug of beer at him, and it turns out he is the son of Toby, the other man killed in the boat accident. Everyone is shocked by the whole thing and Kieran and Mia leave.

As they walk home, Mia tells Kieran he isn't responsible for what happened to Finn and Toby, and that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, as they are talking, a car comes speeding down the road and almost hits Kieran, only missing him because Mia pulls him out of the way.

As the potential accident is playing out, Kieran has a flashback to the night of the accident when his mum is blaming him for what happened, yelling at him that she told him not to go out into the caves as it is dangerous. In the present day, Mia is upset that Kieran almost got hurt and tells him that this town isn't good for either of them. He agrees to talk to his mom the next day, telling Mia that Verity doesn't want him there anyway.

In the middle of the night, Audrey wakes and Kieran takes her to the living room to settle her. While he is sitting in the dark, a car pulls up outside and his dad comes home, mumbling to himself and doesn't see Kieran as he shuffles off to bed.

The following morning, Kieran wakes to find a note from Mia saying that she has taken Audrey to the beach. As he arrives at the shore, Kieran sees police cordoning off an area around a body on the sand. He panics that it is Mia and races over, but the police won't tell him anything. He sees Olivia sitting on the beach in tears, and she is upset, telling Kieran that she found the body, and that it is Bronte.

As the police move Bronte's body, Olivia tells Kieran she needs to wash her face and they head up to her house. She is upset, and Ash is messaging her but she isn't answering. Kieran uses Olivia's phone to call Mia as he hasn't got his with him, and tells her what has happened.

The police arrive at Olivia's house and tell her and Kieran they can't be there as it is a potential crime scene because Bronte was living there. The police tell Olivia she can't take a change of clothes and needs to leave, but she says she needs the bathroom. While she is in there, the police question Kieran about how long he had known Bronte and what time he left the pub the night before. But, instead of going to the toilet, Olivia messages someone telling them she can't talk now, and they reply that they've messed up, big time. Olivia asks how, and although we don't see their reply, it shocks Olivia. Before leaving the house, she sneaks into Bronte's room and takes her phone, which is on charge.

At the Surf 'n' Turf, police are taking witness statements because, until they know the cause of Bronte's death, they are considering this a major incident.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sue Pendlebury arrives from Hobart to lead the investigation and she asks Kieran for a DNA swab as he has been in the house with Olivia. She questions him about what happened the night before at the bar and asks about the confrontation with Liam Gilroy. He tells them about the car that nearly hit him on the walk home, but that he can't remember the make or the colour because it was dark. The police tell him not to leave the island without letting them know, and he agrees. Next, they question Mia, and soon they're working their way through anyone who was at the bar the previous evening.

Back at Verity and Brian's house, the family is talking about Bronte's death and Kieran remembers his dad coming home in the middle of the night and goes to talk to him about it. His dad's dementia is bad and he welcomes Kieran like he hasn't seen him for years, and talks to him as if he is still a teenager. Kieran asks his dad where he was the night before, but before he can answer, Sean Gilroy arrives and starts yelling, asking if Verity has seen Liam, and Kieran is shocked to learn his mom is friends with the teenager.

When Kieran realises that some boys' clothes and a skateboard he saw earlier in his wardrobe belong to Liam, he asks his mom if Liam has been staying, and she says yes, and that she needed him after the accident because she'd lost a son, while Liam needed her because he had just lost his father. She yells at Kieran that he doesn't understand because he moved to Sydney, and Mia gets caught up in the argument when she tries to defend her boyfriend.

Before they can argue any more, Verity grabs her car keys and says she is going to find Liam, because Sean has said that the police are looking for him after his car was seen leaving Olivia's house the night of Bronte's death. Sean also says that Liam has a shotgun in the boot of the car, which also doesn't look good. Brian is confused about all the shouting and as Verity calms him and asks Mia to stay with him, Kieran grabs the car keys and drives off, leaving his mom chasing after the car, furious.

Kieran finds Liam up on a clifftop, holding the shotgun and drinking. Liam isn't happy to see him and starts to lunge towards him, just as Verity and Sean arrive. They try to talk Liam around, but he gets cross and shoots the gun, but thankfully, no one is hurt.

Verity and Sean take Liam back to Julian's place, Liam's grandfather, and he is furious about what Liam has been up to. He gives him a talking to, but Liam just heads off to his bedroom, while Sean goes to lock up the gun. Julian tells Verity and Kieran that Mia was the one who identified Liam's car as the one leaving Olivia's house the night before and tells Kieran to speak to his girlfriend.

Julian also asks Verity whether the police have spoken to Brian yet, and she is confused until he reveals that he was the one who found Brian walking around the night before and brought him home in the middle of the night. While they are talking, Kieran has a flashback to when his dad got home and he checked his boots to find them covered in sand.

As Verity comments that the sooner they find a backpacker the police are searching for in connection with the crime, the better, she and Kieran leave to head home.

Meanwhile, Mia is at the house looking at Bronte's social media. She is shocked to find that Bronte was trying to work out what happened to Gabby when she went missing, and that she has become good friends with Gabby's mother, Trish.

Could Brontë's death have something to do with her digging up the past?

All six episodes of The Survivors are available on Netflix now.