Virgil sexually abused John when he was a child.

"….all in an effort to atone for crimes he committed against people who live across town. Oh, okay."

House of Cards, The Missing, Southcliffe, The Honourable Woman, Black Mirror, Mayday, Utopia are just a few reasonably recent ones that spring to mind… scripted as well as virtually any American drama - and a couple of them more original than most US television.

If by 'slow burn', you mean similar to attempting to light a campfire with soaking wet wood - and by 'thought provoking', you mean thoughts such as, 'What a pretty girl that can't act they've hired to play Chiyoh,' and ''Where is that fast-forward button again?'; I agree 100%.