It’s the finale of Bodyguard and I am all.the.way.braced. This show has been the best example of gripping thriller I can remember in years, I hope to see both Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden in some more shows SOON. Let’s roll the finale right away so I can get to screaming.
Okay, so to quickly recap:
Army veteran and excellent negotiator David Budd (Richard Madden from Game of Thrones) was assigned to protect warmongering Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes from Tipping the Velvet!) from possible terrorist threats. He was assigned thusly because he successfully managed the surrender of a First of October bomber, the terrified Nadia (Anjili Mohindra).
After that, the school David’s kids attend was targeted for bombing, which Julia found out using her Secret Services allies and not the police, whom David works for. That bombing was followed by a sniper attack on Julia herself, but it was unrelated to anything other than David’s foxhole buddy Andy (Tom Brooke) working out some of his PTSD. Well. We’re not positive about that, exactly, but at this point we have to bring up David’s PTSD and hatred of Julia’s political position on war. She’s super pro-war and he blames her and the war for the loss of his settled mind and marriage/family. This hatred for her political position has not stopped David from enjoying a bunch of other positions with her: on the desk, on the bed, in the bathroom, it’s been an extremely athletic romp of a love affair.
Then Julia was killed in a bombing (totally don’t buy it) that David failed to prevent, so he’s made it his mission to find out what’s REALLY going on. Branches of the government, the police, Secret Services, even the Prime Minister is involved. Who Pretended To Kill Julia? There are eleventy-thousand people with a motive: let’s find out in the finale!
It’s been six weeks and David Budd’s adorable face is healing, he’s about to make his move with former treacherous staffer Chanel (Stephanie Hyam) – seriously, you can’t spill coffee all over your boss thirty seconds before she goes on TV and then LAUGH. Chanel is connected to Organized Crime, whatever passes for bent-noses on that side of the pond.
*I always picture Brick Top when I think English mob
Before meeting with Chanel, David retrieves his extra illegal gun, checking the bullets carefully. Why, you ask? Because after his boss/lover died, he tried to shoot himself in the head (NOT GIFFING THAT) but was thwarted by blanks that had mysteriously been placed in the chamber.
Commander of Police Anne Sampson (Gina McKee from Line of Duty!) pops round headquarters to freak out her subordinate Deepak Sharma (Ash Tandon) who gives her a rundown on the new lead via Chanel. Her mob buddy Luke Aitkens (Matt Stokoe) was spotted at the College where Julia was killed (as if).
The thing is, Julia was advocating for stricter surveillance of all citizens, which also swept up organized crime along with terrorism and wank-searches.
Guess who used to run the Organized Crime unit? Anne! She seems discomfited by Deepak’s knowledge of same and irritated that she wasn’t notified of this line of inquiry.
Deepak noted that discomfort, he’s drawn a straight line to corruption as he explains to his subordinate Louise Rayburn (Nina Toussaint-White). Hm
David meets Chanel, their greeting includes a cheek kiss and a not-very-subtle grope of his gun-area. He not-so-subtly probes her finances after, only fair, right?
This was going to be the worst first date ever, but Luke manages to save it by showing up with some henchmen and turning it into a shakedown. Oh but wait, this isn’t about his investigation, this is related to him asking for a fancy gun from a gunrunner the other night in a dark alley in the rain. I *think* he asked for the same gun that his pal Andy used to shoot up Julia’s car with.
Ooooh we’re learning so much! David wants to know if Andy got the gun from Luke or if Luke brought the gun to Andy but Luke just wants to talk about David’s bullets.
So it was HIM that replaced the bullets with blanks and prevented the suicide of our David! Why?
No answers yet, David is unarmed and escorted bodily from the pub.
Back at police HQ, Louise has just found the connection between Andy and David. They ALSO found the CCTV of David breaking into Julia’s house to pickup the Tablet of Iniquity*.
*So named because it was given to Julia from Security Services, chockfull of secrets about the Prime Minister
The Police are incensed at his apparent deception and roll out en masse to pick him up posthaste.
None of the alerts are going to help, however, he’s been beaten and trapped in a basement where he awakes with a bomb strapped to his chest.
He does a quick inventory of the explosive device, then takes a look around where he’s been trapped. Or not trapped, it seems, he exits right onto the street in London, bomb covered in a ragged cloth. He looks like an extremely handsome but bloody homeless person.
Louise interviews Vicky Budd (Sophie Rundle), David’s estranged wife about Andy, giving a summary of the charges pending against him. Is that normal? What?
David manages to talk his way into using a stranger’s phone to call the Police, but their direction after lets him know he can expect no personal support. He’s on the move again, watching from safety as S.W.A.T and police teams roll up by the half-dozen.
His boss Lorraine Craddock (Pippa Hayward) even shows, traitor! David shows himself as he sees Lorraine moving toward Sophie, having no choice but to reveal the bomb strapped to his body before they shoot him.
He shouts over and over that he didn’t do this, but they’ve more concerned with safeing out the area. He is unable to take his thumb off the detonator, it’s been taped there.
The head of Security Services Stephen Hunter-Dean (Stuart Bowman) arrives to be briefed, for the record: we think he was responsible for the first bombing attempt that David stopped.
They’ve got David corralled in a square away from office buildings, they need Critical Shot authorization. While they’re waiting for that, Louise comes over to negotiate.
At least David knows the drill, he’s been through it many times on the other side of the equation.
Lorraine chats a bit, not listening to David whatsoever, then she taps out and Vicky is brought in to up the ante.
*Total dick move, Police. I understand that they’re trying to manipulate him into giving up the bomb vest, but he’s already explained that he can’t because everything will blow up.
Louise is personally offended by David not telling her he knew Andy. She thought they were friends, on the same team at least.
Critical Shot has been authorized! And unfortunately, he’s in the middle of a large field with nothing to hide behind. Also unfortunate is the fact that if they shoot him, they’ll also die because that’s how the vest is rigged.
Deepak shows up and everything calms down a little, because he’s not personally offended by David’s life choices. Interesting that the vest appears to be the same as the one taken off Nadia, she identified Security Services as the people who gave that to her husband. If she’s not some criminal mastermind.
Security Services is listening closely.
David explains that he was trying to source Andy’s gun when he was snagged, at least Vicky being there back up his story about the blanks and thwarted suicide attempt. He gives up the Tablet of Iniquity, but Security Services is way ahead.
Oooh but that was a double cross to suss out SS, Richard Longcross (Michael Shaeffer) gets a face full of acid when he tries to recover it before the police. The police pick him up handily outside David’s flat, screaming with pain.
David asks to speak to Vicky, he knows what will soon happen. She begs the police to help David after his impassioned apology to her.
Bomb Squad Captain Daniel Chung (Chike Chan) is dispatched to inspect the device, we all hold our breath while he does so. He retreats to explain what he’s seen while David shouts at him to come back.
There is nobody so alone as a person with a bomb strapped to their chest.
Commander Anne Sampson is on site now, guess who she fingers as the inside man in this conspiracy? She directs everyone to pull back, which means they’re waiting for him to die or be killed.
Deepak hasn’t forgotten what he saw this morning in Anne’s office.
Vicky runs and stands by David while he begs her to not leave their children parentless.
David starts to walk, he’ll take them to where he’s stashed his evidence.
Any moment Julia is going to pop up!I haven’t forgotten!
Anne briefs the acting Home Secretary Mike Travis (Vincent Franklin), in walks Stephen of Security Services. Mike and Stephen are working together, so she’s summarily kicked out.
She WILL be investigating!
A long walk later, the parade reaches David’s flat. It’s Vicky who has to retrieve the Tablet of Iniquity, although Tablet of Secrets would really make more sense. Must ask J. K. Rowling.
The police ask Vicky to bring the evidence over, she’s worried they’ll shoot David when she walks away. David points out the forensic value of the vest he has on, he and Deepak make a deal to let him try to defuse the device.
Vicky is escorted from the area (with a you deserve to be happy from David) and the slow work of bomb defusing begins.
*You know, I get there’s a fetish for everyone, but I’m not particularly into explosive-porn. Making a cuppa while keeping an ear cocked for a boom or not-boom.
Time to cut the second wire!
Not boom!
David seizes the moment and runs, dropping the defused vest as he goes. Deepak is now personally offended by David lying.
Stephen gives Mike the headsup, what if David isn’t fleeing from justice and is instead coming for him? David’s over at Chanel’s first, he’s got a way to prove his innocence. Chanel calls Luke, who goes straight for the inside man…I mean woman.
Hullo Lorraine!
I guess Anne was too obvious, fine. I knew Lorraine was hinky too. David wastes no time rushing the couple, holding a gun on Luke and asking if he killed Julia.
It was good for business, nothing personal, mate. David struggles to get himself under control and not shoot the man who killed his lover.
It’s over.
David and Louise review the evidence after the fact, Lorraine is in interview explaining herself while David and Louise make up.
Ahhh, Luke recruited Andy, not the other way around and it was Lorraine who passed on Julia’s itinerary for that day and day Julia was killed (but like for real? For really reals?).
Oh and David was chosen for Julia’s protection specifically because he was a mess and a perfect fall guy. BUT. She didn’t give the information about his kids’ school, so who did?
Oh. Nadia? The would-be bomber from the very first episode? We watch Louise interview Nadia and I’m trying to remember at which point in this show I thought “I bet Nadia is some king of terrorist kingpin and she’ll pop up behind this door”. Hm. And that momentary thought was right, David underestimated Nadia, telling her about his children in detail while building rapport. He thought she was a weak, terrified woman, under the control of a hardline husband.
Nadia even created the vest David was forced to wear, she built all the bombs.
It was only her word that Longcross provided the bomb to her husband, looks like David’s views of women informed his interviewing techniques. Any maybe our perceptions.
Hm. So now we have believers conspiring with non-believers for money, that seems unlikely.
6 minutes until Julia returns!
David pops round to see Anne so they can watch the news about the Prime Minister and Stephen Hunter-Dean getting skidded. Anne’s not decided whether David will be able to come back to work or not, first he’s off to see a mental health professional.
David (with his face healed) pops over to see Vicky and the kiddos, he’d like to see them again regularly. For once he isn’t shouting at Vicky, yay, so she agrees to come with them for a visit, awww. We’re out for the last time and we’re done this series.
Hm.
Well.
I guess Julia was actually dead. But not even a funeral we got to see? She was a plot device to develop David’s story? I thought more of her role, why was she everything then nothing all at once, discarded once we moved into other parts of the story? ANYWAY. I was wrong for several episodes.
As was David! Interesting that they’ve reminded everyone of how easy it is to discount someone you look down on or pity. Also built into that is the perceptions some people have around the structure of power in relationships between East Asians. Well, thanks for reading along, excellent series and I’ll be on the lookout for more. Cheers!
