This 6-part mini-series from the BBC was a nice surprise when I finally decided to give it a try, after Netflix repeatedly displayed it prominently on my “you should see this” list. Only one season was made, but a February 2022 online story suggests that the producers may be gearing up to make a new season 2. In any event, the first season stands on its own as a complete story, solidly rooted in the geopolitical traumas and anxieties of our time.
The main protagonist, Sgt. David Budd (played by Richard Madden) is a veteran of 10 years of war with the British military in Afghanistan and Iraq, who now works as a personal protection officer (a bodyguard) for the Scotland Yard division that protects important British government officials.
In an early scene, while riding with his two young children on a train, he recognizes a terrorist plot unfolding, and intervenes to stop a suicide bombing before it happens, thereby saving both the train’s passengers and the woman bomber, and in the process becoming an instant hero in the press.
In a very believable story of “no good deed goes unpunished”, David is quickly rewarded for his heroism with a new assignment as the personal bodyguard for Julia, the Home Secretary and top Conservative woman MP in the government (Keeley Hawes), who is campaigning to undermine and replace the current Prime Minister.
To her new Police Sergeant protector, the Home Secretary represents all the worst judgment, bad policies, jingoism and hypocrisy that led to the disastrous wars he fought in, which have left him psychologically damaged, bitter and now alienated from his wife. Nevertheless, his devotion to duty won’t allow him to do anything but guard her ferociously with his life, and try to anticipate the evolving threats which she seems to draw like a magnet.
Without revealing the full plot and spoiling it, I would say that this excellent series reminds me more than anything of the long-running HBO show Homeland. In both shows, we see an exceptionally competent and dedicated agent, each with a heavy load of psychological damage from their respective war experiences, trying to stay one step ahead of complex terrorism plots, while also trying to deal with layers of bureaucratic intrigue in their own organizations, and their own disturbed personal lives, loves and families. It makes for an absorbing and complex story in both cases.
Bodyguard also includes several of the most adrenaline-pumping action scenes of a character under threat of immediate death, trying to hold things together and get everyone safely through a moment of impending mayhem, that I have seen in recent years. In an entertainment world full of spectacular CGI car crashes, gratuitous gunfire and colorful explosions, these scenes stand out for their close-up focus on the drama of characters trying to survive under the pressure of imminent catastrophe.
This is a fine example of the contemporary political thriller, with plausible scenarios and realistic threats unfolding in the uniquely British context of the post-Forever Wars world. Highly recommended.
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