Bodyguard - General Discussion

[Superpole2000]

I liked the series. This episode was the weakest of the bunch, though. A few of the twists became too much for me in terms of keeping the show sort of believable:

1. Budd dropping the vest and being able to escape an army of police officers
2. Breaking into Chanel's home was really easy for Budd, so easy that we didn't even see it
3. Affixing a complicated bomb vest to Budd and getting him revived in a short time frame was a major stretch
4. Nadia being the mastermind was unnecessary for the plot and seemed like one big, "Ahaha, we fooled you!" moment

But I got past those twists with just a few eyerolls. The thing that ultimately made this a weak episode for me was how much the show pushed Budd's isolating frustration onto its viewers. It's the part of Line of Duty that I dislike the most as well. Everything became "Me against the world!" and "No one believes me!"

I was also never satisfied with the depiction of Julia's bomb death in Episode 3. Why was the one security agent running toward the stage before the explosion? Did she spot the guy with the briefcase? He was a known ally of Julia's, so charging the stage seemed like quite an overreaction. That scene was pivotal to the entire series, so it always bugged me that it felt illogical.

[shirazplease]

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Hey...wasn't the shooter the same guy who killed Robb Starks wife??

I just kept thinking, "It's Fiore, he'll be back to kill another day!"

[shirazplease]

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So at first I thought that Julia Montague was being played by the same actress as the lead in Dr. Foster

I did too!  I thought "oh man, Robb better watch out - she's gonna F his shit up."  I LOVE Dr. Foster.

[Lady Calypso]

I'm surprised with how quickly I've gotten into this show. Two episodes in and I'd love to spend the rest of the night watching the rest. 

So, yeah, they definitely jumped right into bed with each other after that ambush. It makes sense, with how many episodes are in this series, but still. I actually think it would be much more intriguing if David and Julia didn't end up together by the end of this, because this cat-and-mouse game with who holds the power is much more fascinating to watch. Julia and David both have secrets against each other and it could be interesting to see who brings the other down. I'm not positive they're going that way, as I think Julia's supposed to be morally grey but it's hard to tell what side she's really on. 

It doesn't make sense that the car wouldn't have bulletproof glass, especially with elevating levels of terrorism, but I guess they definitely will now! 

[Lady Calypso]

I do like this series, but I kind of see where they might be heading with the story. I do like David and Julia as individual characters. They are very interesting and have different layers to them. What I don't find interesting is their growing relationship. It does make things messier, especially on David's end

I do think Julia has developed genuine feelings for David, and I think David has been holding back on having feelings for her. He knows a lot more about people being against Julia and knows she's a huge target. With his own bosses starting to demonstrate behaviour not unlike Julia's (his boss not-so-subtly threatening his family's life if he didn't comply with their plan to listen in on Julia's secret conversations), I can see David switching to really protect Julia because she could end up being the lesser of two evils. The thing is that I like her being who she is: she doesn't seem to have a great platform to stand on and is definitely in on some egoistical power trip to probably be PM in the future. 

Like I said in the episode 2 thread, what would be more interesting for me is if both were really genuinely using each other and their romantic feelings were merely fleeting, rather than it bringing them closer together. I don't think they'd be a very compatible match long-term, and I'd rather see the power struggle between the two. I'd actually like to see Julia using David by thinking that she has him wrapped around her finger. It's hard to tell at this point, as I can see them going the predictable route of them falling for each other and working together to defeat the evils of government and the leaks within their government agency (by the way, totally convinced Rob is one of the leaks). 

This is a good series (the first twenty minutes of the premiere are some of the best work I've seen this year on TV) but I'm fearful of the ending and how things will be concluded. I'm generally ok with all the deception, with Julia and David both holding secrets and the fact that David's secrets will definitely push Julia away from him for a bit. I'm just not so sure it'll stick. I'm definitely going to see how this series ends, since I am fascinated with the idea.

[Lady Calypso]

So...Julia is dead? Or just faking her death so that she can lay low for a while? I'd be pleasantly surprised if she was actually dead. Not that I disliked Julia, but with her being dead, it DOES shift David in a different direction. However, I immediately thought she was just faking her death. 

So, I'm guessing now that Rob is merely a pawn in whatever bigger conspiracy there is. I'm definitely confused at some parts, but not in a bad way. 

I'm not surprised there is suspicion on David, since he has been hiding stuff, but I like the female cop, Louise. 

I feel pretty certain that the device wasn't even in the briefcase. When they reshowed the explosion on the CCTV, it looked like the explosion happened from underneath the stage. But even if that isn't the case, they are making it obvious that Tahir wasn't the bomber. I'm just not sure who it would be. 

[Infie]

The car did have bulletproof glass, but the sniper was using a 50 calibre gun, which will punch through bulletproof glass once it is compromised.  That's why the driver's window survived the first two shots before being penetrated by the third.  The body of the car would be lined with full armour, which has a much higher penetration rating than bulletproof glass does. 

[Duke2801]

On 10/24/2018 at 8:04 PM, hokeypokeyFOIA said:

Huh. Just watched the first 3 episodes, taking a comment break.

So at first I thought that Julia Montague was being played by the same actress as the lead in Dr. Foster, but it turns out it's not only a different actress, Keeley Hawes, but I realized I recognized her from The Durrells of Corfu. So I had seen her before.

Other than that, and thinking for a few moments early on that David's wife looked like Emma Watson, I really like it so far. 

I just have no idea where they're going with it, since clearly the romance isn't going to work in any facile manner.

 

On 12/14/2018 at 12:00 PM, shirazplease said:

I did too!  I thought "oh man, Robb better watch out - she's gonna F his shit up."  I LOVE Dr. Foster.

Count me as another who initially thought Julia was Dr Foster! 

They’re both quite attractive, but in BOTH instances I remember pegging the actresses as late 40s/early 50s—only to be surprised to find out (via IMDB) that they were both a good deal younger than that!

[truthaboutluv]

On 11/15/2018 at 7:35 AM, ruby24 said:

As it was, that part felt a little too sudden for me. Not that he wouldn't have been upset, but to go around like that, trying to kill himself, taking charge of the investigation and threatening her ex-husband, etc. is more the actions of a Dirty Harry type, somebody who's really lost with grief. Even with his instability, I think that would have been more plausible if we knew he was really in love with this woman or something, and I didn't get that impression, since he was still attached to his wife the whole series. But like I said, probably one more episode of her and him and I could have bought it.

Like others have stated, I think Bud's intense quest to find out the truth was less about his feelings for Julia and some intense grief (not to say he wasn't upset about her death but just that that wasn't the root of his motivation) and more so, one, his feeling that her death was a failure on his part as his job was to protect her at all costs and two, as he kept digging, realizing that this went bigger than he initially realized and more importantly that he was obviously being set up as the fall guy. Couple that with all his existing PTSD issues, can't say I found his actions and emotional reactions that hard to believe. 

 

On 11/19/2018 at 11:55 PM, Infie said:

The things I thought most telling were his interactions with Chantel at the coffeeshop and initially at the bar.  David Budd is at his most charming and personable when he's lying his ass off and baiting a trap.

Yeah as soon as I saw how smiley and friendly he was being towards her, I knew she didn't just "run" into him and he suspected her of something. And it showed how little she observed him in the time she worked for Julia because that should have tipped her off. 

 

On 11/20/2018 at 10:32 AM, Athena said:

They did have feelings for each other, but Budd's resolve to uncover the conspiracy is also his unflinching commitment to not fail. We see this in the first scenes of the series when he goes all in to diffuse the bomb situation on the train including ignoring the orders of other officers. He is scared the whole time and his kids are close by, but he has a strong sense of duty and fear of failure. 

Yeah, agree with this too.

 

On 11/24/2018 at 5:12 PM, morakot said:

Aside from that, while I was sympathetic to Julia's loneliness, I didn't really trust her.

I didn't not trust her since I thought her motivations and ambitions were obvious. That said, I'm with others in being more than fine with her staying dead, largely because I never really bought the romance between her and David. I know the series was very limited with only six episodes but the whole thing felt a bit rushed and slightly forced. And I thought their chemistry was mostly just okay.

Speaking of David's chemistry with others, I definitely got the feeling that while she may not necessarily have been attracted to him, Louise did seem to allow herself to develop some type of emotions towards David. Her reaction when they found out about his connection with the shooter and felt like they'd been played by him, solidified that to me. Her partner even had to tell her to dial it back a bit when they were negotiating with David. I felt that her intense anger was anger at herself for feeling like a fool who allowed herself to fall for some guy's sob story and lines.

 

On 12/10/2018 at 9:56 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I love that Nadia was somehow the mastermind.  That the whole thing snowballed because Budd saves her life and showed her pictures of his family.   

Agree. I can see what some are saying regarding some of the plot holes - the biggest for me being that she would have panicked like she did about going through with the initial bombing, given how calculated they made her seem in the end - but a part of me did like that all of this was because, like she said, David, like probably many other men, were so quick to buy the "poor, weak woman controlled by a man" narrative.

Never assuming that a woman is the true mastermind. And we do see this in real life a lot. How many times do people initially suspect a crime was committed by a woman? Thinking about it, I now wonder if Nadia wasn't really panicked over killing herself but when David surprised her, since the husband had gone out as the decoy, she was smart enough to read him well almost immediately and switched tactics.

Probably decided to have him talk for a bit to gauge the situation and then realized that in the long run, the con would serve her better. After all as she said, sure they didn't get the train that day but how many others did they kill, right up to someone as powerful as the Home Secretary.

 

On 12/14/2018 at 7:04 AM, Superpole2000 said:

I was also never satisfied with the depiction of Julia's bomb death in Episode 3. Why was the one security agent running toward the stage before the explosion? Did she spot the guy with the briefcase? He was a known ally of Julia's, so charging the stage seemed like quite an overreaction. That scene was pivotal to the entire series, so it always bugged me that it felt illogical.

It definitely seemed like she saw the guy come to the side of the stage and immediately started running. But like you I am confused why because as you said, the guy was vetted government employee working for Julia. 

 

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Not an award winning series but I was interested start to finish, so that's a win.

Guess the Golden Globes disagree :)

[Lady Calypso]

So, for a short-lived series, if there is not a series 2, it was pretty damn good. Were there some missteps, especially with this final episode? Yeah, I think there were. But I did enjoy the first episode and this episode a lot. 

I found the bomb disarming scene in this episode just as tense as the first twenty minutes of the first episode. I think this show did a great job at building up the tension at the right moments. 

I did have issues with the portrayal of some of the women in the series, though. I didn't mind the theme of the women being underestimated (Julia, David's wife Vicky, Nadia, Lorraine, Sampson were all underestimated to varying degrees) but at times, it felt like they were plot devices, rather than actual characters. Julia was used as a plot device in the sense that she died more for David's story, to propel him forward and to develop the conspiracy to implicate him. Of course, we also got to know Julia as a person in the three episodes that she was in, so we got to see why she was a target for many. In a sense, she was still her own character, but I think her death was awkwardly placed in the series. As much as I'm ok with her being dead, and I actually hope she's truly dead and not about to rise from the dead should this series get renewed, I think there was something missing in her overall arc. I'm just not so sure what, which makes me uncertain about even calling her a plot device in the first place. She certainly was more than that at times, but maybe it's more because only three episodes for a major player before her being killed off is so odd to see. 

But yeah, I think I'm rooting for Julia to stay dead. She did technically die due to her own actions, rather than for David's mainpain. Plus, killing her off was a bold move that actually worked rather well. Bringing her back would, for me, cheapen the show's second half of this series. 

I didn't mind the idea of Nadia being the mastermind. But yeah, I think the confession scene at the end made things a little more confusing and had me questioning it more. So, Nadia's original plan was to blow up the train, so that means that David being the fall guy was not Plan A by any means. But if Nadia was planning to help bring a message about Julia to get her killed, what would her death have accomplished if there really were more hiccups along the way? Who would have been her successor to build more bombs? It doesn't sound like she's had dozens of bombs ready to be detonated. Obviously she pre-planned the devices seen in this series, but why was she willing to die to kick-start the plan? 

And the train scene in the first episode going haywire due to David stepping in, something I doubt Nadia or David's boss Lorraine could have foreseen, that means David being the fall guy was put into motion at some point in the first or second episode, I guess after the first assassination attempt? And what bigger role was Chanel supposed to have in all of this? She knew Luke and was associated with Luke, but her role doesn't make complete sense to me right now. 

I did like Vicky's role in this finale. She hasn't been a very well developed character and I thought her taking charge with helping to make sure David wasn't shot was very brave of her. And I agree with others about how her taking charge with David's life helped accept the reconciliation at the end. It's a shame she was never really a fully developed character because I found her major decision to really speak volumes about the potential that was wasted with her character.

Louise and Deepak's roles in this entire series have been layered pretty well. I think they developed Louise's relationship with David enough to buy her feeling betrayed when she thought David was the inside man. Meanwhile, Deepak had been so suspicious of David at the beginning that him coming around and being suspicious of David being framed was well done as well. 

I am glad Sampson didn't have anything to do with the conspiracy, although it's obvious she's still hiding some stuff. I went back and forth on who the inside person was. At times, I did suspect David's boss Lorraine but ultimately went with Sampson for this finale. It'll be interesting if I go back to rewatch the series and watch Lorraine's scenes more closely.  

Overall, this series WAS well done, though a little shaky at parts. I do like that it was the perfect length and didn't have any filler stuff like American shows would have. It does make me want to explore more British television series and look more into these actors' works. 

[blackwing]

Just finished the series.  I loved that Julia died midway through the series and stayed dead.  This is one of the things I love about British television... I'm hard pressed to think of an American show that killed off its lead actor or actress midway through the first season.  British TV takes chances like that.

So because I am a little dense... just wanted to work out exactly what happened.  Julia Montague was looking into corruption that implicated the Prime Minister and the head of Security Services, Stephen.  Richard Longcross worked for Security Services.  They hired Luke Aikens to take her out.  Luke worked with Nadia and her terrorist cell to get the bomb.  Anne Sampson runs the police counterterrorism force.  One of the divisions is the bodyguard service, run by Lorraine Craddock.  David Budd is one of the bodyguards working under her.  Lorraine gave information about Julia's movements to Luke, and they decided to frame David for it just because he seemed like a good patsy.  Is that about right?

If that's the case, then what was up with that snivelly aide of Julia's, Rob, the one with a very punchable face and voice?  Was he involved?  What was his role?  Was Mahmood just a red herring?  Was his only role to set off the pressure switch?  Did Rob know it was going to happen?  Why no consequences for him?

I read that they are exploring a Season 2 which would be great.  I don't see anything wrong with having David continue in the same role, after all the show is called "Bodyguard".  As far as it being implausible that the same thing would happen to him again... Kiefer Sutherland went through eight really bad 24 hour days (and a TV movie)!

[Infie]

There were a bunch of different agendas at work here.

a. the political angle

Julia was frustrated with her party's waffling and felt that she would make a better PM than the existing one.  She made a deal with the Security Service - they would support her against the PM, and in return she would support increasing their role and their power base within the country, removing influence from the police service.  Anne Sampson wanted to maintain her power base and to limit the security service's power.  She knew that the security service was working with Julia but she didn't know the details of why and how.  That's why David was told to spy on Julia.  Rob, the aide, had a crush on Julia (or just liked the idea of having a sexual hold over her, which never happened) and was angry that she kept rebuffing him.  He was working with Julia's ex - Roger - who as the party whip is responsible for keeping party members in line.  Julia's intentions to displace the PM (the leader of the party) would have weakened the party's position even if temporary, plus Roger hated Julia and couldn't stand the idea of working for her.  Rob, Roger and the PM were trying to discredit Julia rather than hurt her.  Andy Amstead hated her for her position on the justification of the war and her apparent lack of care for the consequences. Andy seemed to generally be a decent fellow, but he was recruited by Luc (organized crime) to kill Julia because of his political views. 

b. the organized crime angle

Organized crime was threatened by the surveillance bill (RIPA 18) that was intended to allow the government to monitor communications covertly.  One of the organized crime outfits was run by Luc.  Chanel worked for Luc and had been placed on Julia's staff to act as a spy and to work to discredit her by whatever means she had available.  She bad-mouthed Julia to anyone who would listen, she dropped the coffee on her immediately before she was to go on TV, and she tried to sell the story of Julia being a bad person after she was fired.  She was instructed to bring David in to Luc later, knowing that he was likely going to end up dead.  Luc's organization also had spies in the police force, the most relevant being Lorraine Craddock.  When Chanel was fired, Luc switched to trying to kill Julia instead.  Craddock fed Luc information on Julia's itinerary and her security measures, leading to both of the assassination attempts, the second one successful.  Craddock also placed Budd back on Julia's service after Luc saw him at the meeting that Andy Amstead was leading, and after the terrorist attack near his kids' school.  This would allow the use of David as a scapegoat in two potential ways - they could say that Julia's death was collateral damage of the terrorists trying to get Budd, OR they could say that Budd was himself involved in the conspiracy, depending on how things shook out.  Craddock was working for Luc for the money.  There is still the possibility that Sampson is another one of Luc's plants in the police force.  Luc worked with the terrorist cell to obtain guns and bombs - gunrunning and arms dealing is very common as a mechanism for terrorist cells to obtain money quickly and vice versa with other forms of organized crime.

c. the terrorism angle

The terrorists wanted to send a message with the 10/1 attack on the train.  Nadia had created a set of bombs that had been intended for various upcoming planned attacks and had intended to be the bomber that blew up the train.  Her fear and David's intervention stopped that attack, but subsequently Nadia's disgust with herself turned to hate directed at David and she gave her cell the information on David's kids.  They targeted the school and were foiled, leaving an opening for the organized crime folks to potentially leverage Budd into a fall guy.  They and the terrorist cell had worked together on gunrunning, so they did a deal that got Amstead his gun.  When that operation also failed they did another deal to get the bomb that went under the stage, and the suicide vest that they put on Budd.  The terrorists worked with the organized crime guys for two main reasons - RIPA 18 meant that Julia was a threat to them as well, and because the organized crime guys had money.  Nadia got a thrill from pointing everyone in the wrong direction and in playing into the muslim woman stereotype.  She wasn't a mastermind - she built bombs, she pointed out Budd's kids information, and she pointed everyong in the wrong direction over and over.

d. Summary

So - Julia was killed for her politics and for the threat posed by the legislation she was pushing so hard - RIPA 18 - to organized crime in the UK.  She was killed by organized crime.  Her death was not related to Budd, except that he was in place as a scapegoat.  Craddock was organized crime's person in the police who provided information that led to Julia's death.  The organized crime people bought weapons (the sniper rifle) and bombs (the one under the stage and the suicide vest that Budd disarmed) from the 10/1 terrorist cell, who also wanted Julia dead for RIPA 18.  The 10/1 cell were responsible for the attack on Budd's kids' school, in retaliation for his role stopping 10/1.  Everything was clouded by the fact that there was a lot of political maneuvering happening relating to Julia's about to happen bid for party leadership and the actions of the party members intent on stopping her by discrediting her. 

Comments / corrections welcome. :)

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

Most of the current dramas aren't cutting it for me.  I was hopeful going in given all the accolades 

I watched it till the end but I wasn't as awed as many seem to be. I know it is a drama and all, but that ending was too overwrought IMO. I got bored with the bomb standoff and was irritated that his coworkers were quick to believe him a terrorist. Like, come the feck on. They are horrible law enforcers with all the conspiracy theories against each other.  

I didn't believe the pairing with Julia nor the ending up with his wife. It felt like he was using sex to get to Julia then she dies and he's so distraught as if he's a man who lost the love of their life. THEN moved back with his wife??  The show can't have it both ways. There is no reason why the wife should want a relationship with him. She broke up with him because of his instability and he was arguably worse off by the end of the season. He tried to kill himself for goodness sakes!

[ruby24]

I don't think he was necessarily back with his wife at the end- she decided to go with them on the trip, so at most it was a maybe. Frankly she shouldn't be getting back together with him at all, given his issues (he was only just starting treatment).

[SevenStars]

I just finished bing watching this series and for the most part, I enjoyed it.

I was so happy when Julia died because I truly didn't like the character. I think it was less the writing and more the actress maybe, because on paper Julia seems like an interesting character, but on screen, she irrated me every time she appeared on my screen. She was the only character I had a problem with. 

I also hated her relationship with David. The actors had no real chemistry, which made the sex scenes really boring to me. I didn't think they were passionate or intense or anything to enjoy. But I did think the sex scenes were revealing in term of the characters' feelings. I think Julia was into David. I think she wanted more from David than he would have ever given her because I think David was in a way using her. I think he was using her to distract himself from his feelings/issues that were making him drinks. I think he was focusing on her as a way to stop himself from thinking/dwelling about thinks he wanted to forget. To me, David was never that into Julia. I think he cared about her as a person and feel responsible for her but that's it. 

I  love the way Vicky loved David. 

I didn't like the ending because it basically ended a great, and unpredictable story with very predictable, been there, done that millions of time, villains. The Nadia actress was great during her confession but that's the only good thing about her ending up being a villain. 

As an aside, funny enough, the only great chemistry I saw between David and any of the female characters was with Nadia. I thought the actress and Richard had a chemistry that would have been great to explore and witness under different circumstances. 

I will have more to add later on.

[ruby24]

I think Julia was into him- I mean, she must have been if she was being honest with what she said to him in their last conversation, that she wanted him to be with her because it was their choice, right? 

I'm less sure about him- I think you're probably right that he was using her in some ways, to make himself forget things, or even as a release from his anxiety/PTSD. And he was very obviously still hung up on his wife. Even so, there were some moments where he seemed kind of into her too, like the post-coital scene at the beginning of episode 3. He may have romanticized her a bit after her death, maybe because of that last conversation. Suddenly she's "Julia" all the time and he can't even hide it in front of people.

[SevenStars]

5 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I think Julia was into him- I mean, she must have been if she was being honest with what she said to him in their last conversation, that she wanted him to be with her because it was their choice, right? 

I'm less sure about him- I think you're probably right that he was using her in some ways, to make himself forget things, or even as a release from his anxiety/PTSD. And he was very obviously still hung up on his wife. Even so, there were some moments where he seemed kind of into her too, like the post-coital scene at the beginning of episode 3. He may have romanticized her a bit after her death, maybe because of that last conversation. Suddenly she's "Julia" all the time and he can't even hide it in front of people.

I didn't take him calling her "Julia" as him having deeper/romantic feelings for her. To me, it was just to show that they moved beyond a professional relationship. To have the other characters see this and realized that he wasn't being objective in his investigation, he was having issues. 

[dleighg]

Like many others, I felt let down by all of the extra twists at the end. I'm not sure why some programs feel such a need to do this. It seems rather artificial. I mean there's a whole genre of police procedurals where the reader knows who the bad guy is all along, and it's just up to the good guy to stop/catch him. I get that it's suspenseful to not know quite who is good and bad, but to throw a complete surprise at us in the final episode seems cheap.

I also had a lot of trouble buying Julia's statement that "she wanted to be with David." Had they ever had any intense interaction other than sex? Had he or she ever shared any personal feelings? Had they ever talked about the important stuff in life? It just did not seem like the usual way one "falls in love."

Edited December 26, 2018 by dleighg

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

David and Julia should have been completely left as superficial. Because that’s what it was until she dies and he’s acting like a man who lost the love of his life 

That was one of more contrived plots, along with Nadia being the mastermind 

[ganesh]

On 11/7/2018 at 8:53 PM, Bridget said:

Keeley was in another one of my all time favorite shows, MI5. When it aired in the UK, it was called Spooks, but it’s 10 seasons of awesomeness.

Spooks could border on a bit much at times, but the October 1 plot could be straight out of the show. It's just here the focus is on higher level officials, but iirc MI5 did answer to the home secretary. 

I'm interested in them solving the attempted bombing. 

[ruby24]

4 hours ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

David and Julia should have been completely left as superficial. Because that’s what it was until she dies and he’s acting like a man who lost the love of his life 

That was one of more contrived plots, along with Nadia being the mastermind 

Well, I don't know that it was entirely superficial. I feel like she had feelings for him for sure, and he was more conflicted, but attracted to her at least. Possibly using her a bit. But that's why I thought there should have been one more episode before she died, just to beef up that connection a tad more. If we knew that he for sure had feelings for her or maybe wanted to respond positively to her saying she wanted to be with him (after considering it and deciding he did or something- I wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking when she said that. He looked surprised but not uninterested either), then I would have bought the reaction more. 

[mledawn]

Just started this series and really enjoyed the first episode. Richard Madden looks so young in this somehow compared to Game of Thrones. I loved that Ada Shelby is playing Vicky. 
I also thought the train was going to be a fake out situation, and the fact that there were kids involved did ramp things up a bit. I am not familiar with the hierarchy of the police - those who work for the Met are the same that work for New Scotland Yard? I thought I had a handle from Sherlock but I don't. Budd already worked within the RaSP when he de-escalated the train incident, but was reassigned/promoted to Montague following it?

I really noticed the number of women in key roles and LOVED IT. 

[Athena]

8 minutes ago, mledawn said:

those who work for the Met are the same that work for New Scotland Yard? I thought I had a handle from Sherlock but I don't. Budd already worked within the RaSP when he de-escalated the train incident, but was reassigned/promoted to Montague following it?

New Scotland Yard is a metonymy for the headquarters for the Met. When people say Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard, they are referencing the Metropolitan police. Yes, Budd was already in the RaSP but he received the promotion to protect Montague following the incident.

[Infie]

On 12/26/2018 at 5:27 PM, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

David and Julia should have been completely left as superficial. Because that’s what it was until she dies and he’s acting like a man who lost the love of his life 

It's interesting to me that so many people have taken this interpretation of his actions after her death.  I didn't see this at all - I saw a man with deep psychological issues, already under a lot of stress, who FAILED and could not process or handle that failure.  I didn't see a man in love; I just saw a man with a shattered sense of self who needed to find a way to recover any sense of worth from his failure.  

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

15 hours ago, Infie said:

It's interesting to me that so many people have taken this interpretation of his actions after her death.  I didn't see this at all - I saw a man with deep psychological issues, already under a lot of stress, who FAILED and could not process or handle that failure.  I didn't see a man in love; I just saw a man with a shattered sense of self who needed to find a way to recover any sense of worth from his failure.  

Thank you for this perception. This is an example of why I like discussing my shows with other's. It helps me rethink of them. 

[SevenStars]

23 hours ago, Infie said:

It's interesting to me that so many people have taken this interpretation of his actions after her death.  I didn't see this at all - I saw a man with deep psychological issues, already under a lot of stress, who FAILED and could not process or handle that failure.  I didn't see a man in love; I just saw a man with a shattered sense of self who needed to find a way to recover any sense of worth from his failure.  

This is how I saw it too while I was watching. So I was surprise when I came here and most were taking the romantic angle while I was thinking it was about his PTSD. 

[EarlGreyTea]

On 12/22/2018 at 10:23 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I did have issues with the portrayal of some of the women in the series, though. I didn't mind the theme of the women being underestimated (Julia, David's wife Vicky, Nadia, Lorraine, Sampson were all underestimated to varying degrees) but at times, it felt like they were plot devices, rather than actual characters. Julia was used as a plot device in the sense that she died more for David's story, to propel him forward and to develop the conspiracy to implicate him. Of course, we also got to know Julia as a person in the three episodes that she was in, so we got to see why she was a target for many. In a sense, she was still her own character, but I think her death was awkwardly placed in the series. As much as I'm ok with her being dead, and I actually hope she's truly dead and not about to rise from the dead should this series get renewed, I think there was something missing in her overall arc. I'm just not so sure what, which makes me uncertain about even calling her a plot device in the first place. She certainly was more than that at times, but maybe it's more because only three episodes for a major player before her being killed off is so odd to see. 

I agree with all of this. Obviously the show was a vehicle for Richard Madden (and man, did his accent/buttoned-up professionalism/nicely tailored suits really work for me), but I go back and forth as to whether Julia was fridged. As a trope - a female character's death becoming a vehicle for the male character to showcase his manpain - I disdain fridging, especially in 2018. Having said that, it was pretty ballsy to kill off one of the main characters halfway through, a la Janet Leigh in Psycho. I was totally unspoiled, so it was a genuine twist for me, although I suspected it was coming with her final speech to David and her being absent for much of the episode before she died. And like you said, she felt fleshed out enough that you could see how she met her eventual fate. I liked that she was ruthless and yes, she did seem to use David a bit. These layers helped keep her from being a one-note character used solely to prop David's pain.

I thought Vicky also was criminally underused. I like her actress very much, and having seen her on quite a few other series, I thought she would have a  bigger role than she did. The scenes she DID get in the final episode were so well-done. You could actually see how they worked as a couple. She showed real guts and in the end, her sticking by him was one of the main reasons he lived. I'd love more backstory on them.

For much of the criticism Nadia and the show got for portraying her as a villain (and I can see where that criticism comes from), what I did appreciate was that they turned the victimized Muslim woman trope on its ear. Frankly, as much as I liked the first episode, I did kind of inwardly roll my eyes at David swooping in to save the damsel in distress. The whole scene seemed like a vehicle for the David character to showcase empathy, while Nadia was stuck as a one-note victim, well-acted though she was. So I liked that she was given more to do.

[phoenics]

I didn't think his initial "going nuts to find out what happened to Julia" bit was about all-consuming love - I agree with others that it was a combination of PTSD, failure and feeling like he was responsible for her death and then of course, feelings for her (not all encompassing love, but real feelings nonetheless).

But I thoroughly enjoyed their affair and also David kept me guessing all the way up until we found out that the bomb was under the stage, and not in the briefcase.  Part of me initially thought that he was playing Julia and setting her up to be killed - and that the bomb was in the briefcase and he let it go because he was in on it.  

I'm fine with what the show did - even if it got a bit hackneyed in the end and led to a cliche "the muslim did it" ending (even if it was also the mob that did it).  But given how the show explored a new angle with that trope by busting through other tropes, I'm fine with it.  I too initially thought Julia was still alive.  Bold move to kill her off.  Bold move to make Nadia the mastermind.

Full disclosure - I knew nothing about this show before I watched it.  I just saw it on Netflix and started watching.  I got hooked immediately by the almost bombing and his attempts to help Nadia and save the train (and his kids).  Then I had to go out of town and the holidays happened.  But then I picked it up again today (well last night) and could not stop watching.  I spent the 2nd episode trying to think of where I'd seen him before (I don't watch GoT) and then realized I'd seen him in Cinderella.  Then I was really intrigued by his acting and then I got sucked in to how HAWT he looked bodyguarding and THEN they hit me with his affair with Julia and that was it.  I was a goner.  I mean - just the action, intrigue and suspense would have hooked me, but throw in the unexpected (to me) affair with Julia and this guy's ability to play how PTSD leaks out in unexpected moments and how he constantly looked like he was going to explode... brilliant.  

I never stood a chance.

I loved this show.  I loved the intrigue, the crazy conspiracy theory - the red herrings, all of it.  The only thing I hated was how his cop friends in the end turned on him so quickly - none of them had any nuance whatsoever.

I am not sure I bought the ending with him and his wife and kids at the end.  Originally this show was only meant for 1 season (just read that), so I'm not sure they chemtested him with his wife - I think they did with Julia (and they had a very specific angst/pain-driven/aggression-releasing chemistry) and I think the dynamic with Julia worked really well - but I never felt much with him and his wife - I appreciated her saving him at the end, but I didn't buy them as loving each other that way.  Not anymore.  Maybe they played estranged couple too well for me, lol.  But honestly - I don't think the wife should be in S2 - I hope they find a way out of that - one that doesn't come from manpain because she and his kids are dead.

Maybe the show shouldn't have a S2, although I desperately want one - but part of the dynamics that made S1 so amazing are gone now (julia and his complex relationship with her).

Dang this show was good.

[EarlGreyTea]

12 hours ago, phoenics said:

Full disclosure - I knew nothing about this show before I watched it.  I just saw it on Netflix and started watching.  I got hooked immediately by the almost bombing and his attempts to help Nadia and save the train (and his kids).  Then I had to go out of town and the holidays happened.  But then I picked it up again today (well last night) and could not stop watching.  I spent the 2nd episode trying to think of where I'd seen him before (I don't watch GoT) and then realized I'd seen him in Cinderella.  Then I was really intrigued by his acting and then I got sucked in to how HAWT he looked bodyguarding and THEN they hit me with his affair with Julia and that was it.  I was a goner.  I mean - just the action, intrigue and suspense would have hooked me, but throw in the unexpected (to me) affair with Julia and this guy's ability to play how PTSD leaks out in unexpected moments and how he constantly looked like he was going to explode... brilliant.  

I never stood a chance.

I loved this show.  I loved the intrigue, the crazy conspiracy theory - the red herrings, all of it.  The only thing I hated was how his cop friends in the end turned on him so quickly - none of them had any nuance whatsoever.

I am not sure I bought the ending with him and his wife and kids at the end.  Originally this show was only meant for 1 season (just read that), so I'm not sure they chemtested him with his wife - I think they did with Julia (and they had a very specific angst/pain-driven/aggression-releasing chemistry) and I think the dynamic with Julia worked really well - but I never felt much with him and his wife - I appreciated her saving him at the end, but I didn't buy them as loving each other that way.  Not anymore.  Maybe they played estranged couple too well for me, lol.  But honestly - I don't think the wife should be in S2 - I hope they find a way out of that - one that doesn't come from manpain because she and his kids are dead.

Maybe the show shouldn't have a S2, although I desperately want one - but part of the dynamics that made S1 so amazing are gone now (julia and his complex relationship with her).

Dang this show was good.

Good to see you, phoenics! I agree about being sucked in by Madden. Those suits and that accent - I never stood a chance. I love stoic characters, because when they finally blow their stack it's amazing to watch. I thought Madden did such great facial acting. It's hard to convey emotion when playing such an uptight professional, but it made his eventual emotional crises that much better to watch.

I would also like a S2, but I don't know where they could go from here. The hook was the affair, the dynamic with Julia. Of course, there's plenty of other intrigue to explore, but their relationship was the core of this series. Which brings me to the wife, Vicky. I agree that they were directed to play an estranged couple a little too well. She seemed so indifferent to him throughout the series, which makes me very curious about how their relationship deteriorated. It must have been a long, slow unraveling to get them to that point in the series. They did lack a certain amount of chemistry, but I did buy them as having been in love in the past, and I bought them and the child actors as a family unit. I do also think that she was the one he loved this entire time, not Julia.

I, too, thought David was in on the bombing. Since they did not show us exactly what was in the briefcase, I thought we were in for a twist where he was in on it the whole time. In fact, I was very confused by his motives for the first half of the series. First he's repelled by Julia's politics. Then he sleeps with her. Then he finds out she knew about the kids' school - at that point, when he had sex with her yet again after finding out, I figured it was to get his revenge by gaining her trust. But apparently not.

[phoenics]

2 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

Good to see you, phoenics! I agree about being sucked in by Madden. Those suits and that accent - I never stood a chance. I love stoic characters, because when they finally blow their stack it's amazing to watch. I thought Madden did such great facial acting. It's hard to convey emotion when playing such an uptight professional, but it made his eventual emotional crises that much better to watch.

Yes - It's got to be something with the stoic actors - Bond has that quality too (at least Craig's Bond) and so did Max from the original Roswell series.  I'm sure there are others - I guess Kevin Costner did that well too - but Madden was even better - wow.  Madden was seriously good - you can really see the contrast in the scene in the coffee shop with Chanel when he pretends to be normal - like any other guy.  But it still had a veneer of falseness to it - to US - not to Chanel.  I think that's also why his affair with Julia was so compelling.  In their first love/sex scene, the way he's holding himself apart from her until her plea for him to touch her... whew.  Then you can see in progressive lovescenes how he started to let out more and more of his aggression.  That's probably the first time I was completely besotted with a ship JUST from the guy's portrayal.

The only thing that I think felt off key to me was when they forced in the dialogue from her being frustrated about him being a bloke threatened by a woman in power.  It felt forced.  The way the scene played, I would have liked it better if she'd just owned it without apology - told him that she wanted him and it was that simple.  

Edited January 6, 2019 by phoenics
Stupid quote formatting made my post all wonky - had to split it up.

[phoenics]

2 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I would also like a S2, but I don't know where they could go from here. The hook was the affair, the dynamic with Julia. Of course, there's plenty of other intrigue to explore, but their relationship was the core of this series. Which brings me to the wife, Vicky. I agree that they were directed to play an estranged couple a little too well. She seemed so indifferent to him throughout the series, which makes me very curious about how their relationship deteriorated. It must have been a long, slow unraveling to get them to that point in the series. They did lack a certain amount of chemistry, but I did buy them as having been in love in the past, and I bought them and the child actors as a family unit. I do also think that she was the one he loved this entire time, not Julia.

 

 

I am not sure he loved her anymore that way - his "I love you" to her at the end when he thought he was gonna die felt forced to me.  I buy them as a previously married couple - but I don't buy them as a couple in love much at all anymore.  Maybe the show wanted me to want them together in the end and be ecstatic about it - but they never gave them enough moments for me to care about that.  I was well over her for him by the end of the 2nd episode.  If we get a new series/season I would prefer he got a new love interest, but I don't think anything can top Julia.  He's not destined for white picket fences.

 

2 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I, too, thought David was in on the bombing. Since they did not show us exactly what was in the briefcase, I thought we were in for a twist where he was in on it the whole time. In fact, I was very confused by his motives for the first half of the series. First he's repelled by Julia's politics. Then he sleeps with her. Then he finds out she knew about the kids' school - at that point, when he had sex with her yet again after finding out, I figured it was to get his revenge by gaining her trust. But apparently not.

I am not sure he loved her anymore that way - his "I love you" to her at the end when he thought he was gonna die felt forced to me - or more out of gratitude that she put herself in the line of fire to save him.  Or maybe I bought it as more of the kind of love you always have for a spouse, even after divorce?  I buy them as a previously married couple - but I don't buy them as a couple in love much at all anymore.  Or, I'm not interested in seeing them in love on this show.  Maybe the show wanted me to want them together in the end and be ecstatic about it - but they never gave them enough moments for me to care about that.  I was well over her for him by the end of the 2nd episode.  If we get a new series/season I would prefer he got a new love interest, but I don't think anything can top Julia.  He's not destined for white picket fences.

[phoenics]

And now Madden has a Global Globe for Best Actor!!

[Joimiaroxeu]

He gave such a charming acceptance speech. Hope his win increases the likelihood that Bodyguard will be back for a second season.

[maggiegil]

I watched it when it was initially on so my apologies for being fuzzy on the names but did anyone else expect the ex wife's boyfriend to be a big reveal? I was kind of expecting him to be revealed as the guy who gave Julia the compromat or the ring leader of the bomb on the train thing or something. The fact the new boyfriend was mentioned so much but never revealed or even named felt a bit like Chekovs gun maybe  the new boyfriends entire purpose was to show the relationship with the ex wife not being salvageable or something but I was really expecting it to be more

[Bridget]

On 12/25/2018 at 12:08 AM, SevenStars said:

I just finished bing watching this series and for the most part, I enjoyed it.

I was so happy when Julia died because I truly didn't like the character. I think it was less the writing and more the actress maybe, because on paper Julia seems like an interesting character, but on screen, she irrated me every time she appeared on my screen. She was the only character I had a problem with. 

I also hated her relationship with David. The actors had no real chemistry, which made the sex scenes really boring to me. I didn't think they were passionate or intense or anything to enjoy. But I did think the sex scenes were revealing in term of the characters' feelings. I think Julia was into David. I think she wanted more from David than he would have ever given her because I think David was in a way using her. I think he was using her to distract himself from his feelings/issues that were making him drinks. I think he was focusing on her as a way to stop himself from thinking/dwelling about thinks he wanted to forget. To me, David was never that into Julia. I think he cared about her as a person and feel responsible for her but that's it. 

I  love the way Vicky loved David. 

I didn't like the ending because it basically ended a great, and unpredictable story with very predictable, been there, done that millions of time, villains. The Nadia actress was great during her confession but that's the only good thing about her ending up being a villain. 

As an aside, funny enough, the only great chemistry I saw between David and any of the female characters was with Nadia. I thought the actress and Richard had a chemistry that would have been great to explore and witness under different circumstances. 

I will have more to add later on.

I’m with you. I thought Keeley Hawes gave a wooden and stilted performance in this show. It was actually quite hard for me to take her seriously as such an important member of the government, not to mention  her love scenes with Richard Madden. Zero chemistry.

She appears on The Graham Norton Show (available on BBC America) usually twice a year. I find her to be so boring and dull on the ONE show where they serve alcohol and guests are always having a great time!

For as much as I love “MI-5”, Keeley Hawes is on that show as well. I find her acting on that show to be just as unnatural and one dimensional -  and that show premiered in 2002!

(I don’t want to spoil MI-5 for anyone in case they start to watch it, but she’s only on it for a few seasons. That info can be gleaned from IMDB, so nothing’s been spoiled. Also, UK programming is vastly different than American programs as the TV shows in the UK are known for having major characters leave suddenly through a variety of means. When an actor doesn’t want to renew their contract or the writers want to shock the audience, they do the one thing American showrunners would never do: send characters packing.) 

[dramachick]

I was so happy for Richard winning the Golden Globe! My favorite photo from the night:

 

[tennisgurl]

I decided to give this a watch after Richard Madden won his Golden Globe (I kept meaning to watch it, but that got me to finally sit down and do it) and I am so glad that I did! So intense and interesting, and Madden really did give an extraordinary performance. His character was often so internal, but he sold every emotion he was feeling, from his stoic performance on the job to the end when he was crying and breaking down. Poor David, what a shitty couple of weeks, on top of everything else. 

As for whether or not he loved Julia, I think he had a strong pull towards her and her passion (even if he didnt agree with her politics), but a lot of it was coming from their mutual loneliness, and desire to be connected to a person. We didnt get a whole lot of Julia's personal life, but she was divorced, and didnt seem close to many people, and David was estranged from his wife and was having trouble adjusting to civilian life. And his grief for her, while certainly was real sadness about her death, was also a culmination of PTSD and survivors guilt. 

I kind of love that Nadia was the bad guy. While I can see why some people didnt care for the twist, I kind of loved her calling everyone out on assuming that a woman, especially a Muslim woman, is always going to be a meek easily manipulated victim. I mean, would David have had the same response to her if she was a man? I would like to think he would show empathy for anyone who seemed to be in the distress she was in, but who knows? I kind of loved her being like"I am nobody's victim, I am the baddest bitch around" and smiling all evilly. I also thought it was an interesting switch with the middle eastern staffer who was set up to be the fall guy of Julia's death. She seemed like an innocent victim, but was really a bad gal. He seemed like a bad guy, but was really an innocent victim. 

Speaking of call backs, I love that the show started with David using his body to shield Nadia from snipers, and it ended with Vicky using her body to shield David from probably the same snipers. 

The actual plot was a bit convoluted, but thats kind of what you get with conspiracy stories. Especially when there seemed to be at least three different conspiracies all with different end goals. And the main conspiracy framing David didnt even really have much to do with terrorism except at the peripheral. It was about corruption and organized crime, which no one was even looking at.

I dont know what a season two would be like, but I would be open to it, if for no other reason than to spend more time with Richard Madden and his dreamy, dreamy accent. 

[shrewd.buddha]

I also decided to watch after all the attention given by the Golden Globes. It was an engaging, nicely short series. It reminded me of other BBC police dramas: lots and lots of different elements being thrown in the pot: PTSD, parenthood issues, estranged wife - with boyfriend, workplace affair, terrorists, organized crime, politics, office politics, etc. It seemed as if almost all the characters outside of David's family were shaded to potentially be revealed as a villain (and almost all were guilty of something). 

Unfortunately, the story  resolved with biggest police drama cliche: officer gets personally involved and obsessed with case; officer is relieved of duty - turns over gun and badge; officer goes rogue and manages to crack the case almost single-handedly. 

Personally, I did not like the Nadia 'twist'. She failed at her self-assigned suicide bombing - but then she tries to portray herself as an empowered, intelligent villain - on behalf of a radical group that most likely has little to no respect for women in their society..? 

But a second season? It is hard to imagine how they could put the genie back in the bottle after everything that has happened. How could David realistically get back to being a regular bodyguard again? 

Edited January 17, 2019 by shrewd.buddha

[candle96]

On 10/26/2018 at 11:06 PM, numbnut said:

ITA. I was wondering if this was sci-fi because the protagonist behaves like an android.

Funny that you say that, because initially there were elements of this show that reminded me of Mr. Robot, not the least being that his flat demeanor and occasional resemblance to Rami Malek. Especially when he was walking around with flat hair and a dark hoodie!If you're wondering why I would link Mr. Robot with a BBC political intrigue series, it was his initial weird obsession/hatred of Julia and internal conflict about protecting her, his paranoia, and what appeared to be an element of unreliable narrator.

Spoiler

 

I was a bit disappointed that David was on the straight and narrow in the end. Part of me wonderered if he tampered with the gun himself, and if the big reveal was going to be that he WAS, in fact, the inside man, perhaps done in some fugue state he didn't remember.

 

The first half kept me intrigued, the second half of this show turned a bit too "legal procedural" for me. I think it had potential to be a lot more, but then, maybe I've been watching too much Mr. Robot. :) 

[calibabe]

On 11/1/2018 at 9:29 AM, Joimiaroxeu said:

I don't see why they couldn't immediately identify the gunman who ambushed Julia's car. Wasn't he in the military with Budd? You'd think his fingerprints and dental records would be on file unless he went to a lot of effort to alter his body in some way.

Is guess this is a UO but I do think Julia is using Budd. I think she both overestimates the power of her sexuality and his gullibility. I also think he's being set up as the fall guy in case whatever she's up to gets discovered.

It’s always been long suggested that people within Spec-Ops, CIA/NSA have taken some of the more shall we say “exuberant” people who color outside the lines with military protocol and rules of engagement and “make them dead”. They are then used in instances where they kill HVT (high value targets) that others cannot get to. The British secret services MI6 have presumably have similar units. Essentially their fingerprints and any other identifying characteristics are stricken from the record for identification purposes if they are ever caught. They know if they are caught and do not kill themselves they will be disavowed by their respective governments and no attempts will be made to return them since such actions would be viewed as tacit approval of their misdeeds and an international incident would be triggered. Also when David went to that Veterans for Peace gathering (towards the end of Ep 1), of those who feel abandoned by their government when sent to war his friend the assassin & leader of said group says to him “I figured you turn up sometime” to which David responds “soapbox is not really my thing man” and his compatriot responds “that’s not how you were in Ireland man” so it left me feeling that they shared similar leanings with respect to politics.  His friend took one route and he took another. 

[LisaM]

I binged this in one day and enjoyed it a lot - although I think the last two episodes were not as good as the first. I think they spent a bit too much time on David in the vest and I'm still trying to figure out how he got out of it and eluded all of the cops. I was one of those viewers who initially thought that Julia was still alive - and in hiding for her own safety. I realized quickly that the doctors would not have told the elderly woman standing with her ex-husband (presumably her mother) that she had died if it was not true.

I would watch a sequel and hope it would involve the male detective who was so cynical about David and eventually came around. 

[Athena]

Bodyguard Comic Relief special:

[WatchrTina]

On 12/17/2018 at 9:04 PM, Lady Calypso said:

So...Julia is dead? Or just faking her death so that she can lay low for a while?

It's funny you asked that.  The way I found out about this show was from The Graham Norton show where the actress who played Julia teased that a bit and Graham shot her down say "No!  She's dead!  She dies in episode 3!"  Which kind of sucked for me because I hadn't see the show yet.

I lost the things I quoted originally so I think I'll just say that the people who were knocking Richard Maddens "robotic" portrayal in the first few eps -- well I hope they stayed tuned for the scene in the last ep where he's having to FIRST convince the cops not to shoot him and THEN defuse his own suicide bomb jacket.  That was INTENSE and the Richard SOLD it.

But I have to agree with the people who picked at the absurd plot threads like:

1. If Nadia was the one who targeted David's kid's school, HOW did she know where they went to school and HOW did she get that info back to her compatriots?  And if you believe that she could do that then HOW can those kids be safe now?  What's the stop the same sect from targeting them again, just to show they can?
2. How did David get into the high-rise apartment of the girl who set him up with the Mafia?  Seems like someone who works for the Mafia AND is rich would have better home security.
3. How the hell did David get away after he got the bomb jacket off?  I mean come ON! The cordon of cops had pulled back but there was still a cordon in place.
4. What made the cop (who died) rush toward the stage just before the bomb went off during the Minister's speech?  We know now that the mafia put the bomb in place and the two assistants feuding over the briefcase and the speech had nothing to do with it.  So what made the cop run into the blast zone?  Just the bad luck of spotting the assistant with the briefcase at the side of the stage?  REALLY?

I'm glad David is finally getting some therapy but actually -- it's probably best if he NOT be allowed to carry a gun from this point on.

UPDATE:  OMG I just watched the Comic Relief sketch above.  What a riot!  I now realize that the whole "Is Julia dead?" question must have been an ongoing topic in the UK when the show first aired.

Edited April 14, 2019 by WatchrTina

[Stuffy]

On 4/14/2019 at 4:48 PM, WatchrTina said:

It's funny you asked that.  The way I found out about this show was from The Graham Norton show where the actress who played Julia teased that a bit and Graham shot her down say "No!  She's dead!  She dies in episode 3!"  Which kind of sucked for me because I hadn't see the show yet 

UPDATE:  OMG I just watched the Comic Relief sketch above.  What a riot!  I now realize that the whole "Is Julia dead?" question must have been an ongoing topic in the UK when the show first aired.

Yeah some people thought they were faking her death until the end because they didn't show the funeral or anything like that. I don't know how they thought she'd survive being blown up.

I get the impression Keeley is really really annoyed about being asked if she's dead and people not believing her.  She's still being asked even with every person involved with the show saying Julia's dead and she's not going to be on season two  

[twoods]

Late to binge watch this and absolutely loved it. I never watched Game of Thrones but my goodness does Richard Madden know how to wear a suit. Hot damn! And then with that accent...I was definitely hooked. The PTSD backstory was intriguing and so glad he won a GG because he was fantastic through all of it.

I actually thought he had the best chemistry with Louise compared to Julia or Vicky and was hoping that was explored more. I also liked the secondary characters, especially the Commander (I thought she was the leak), and Deepak. 

[MsJamieDornan]

On 6/11/2019 at 12:50 AM, twoods said:

Late to binge watch this and absolutely loved it. I never watched Game of Thrones but my goodness does Richard Madden know how to wear a suit. Hot damn! And then with that accent

Oh I agree.

I would like to see another season, there are a lot of loose ends they can tie up. And David could continue to investigate.

[MsJamieDornan]

I wish this thread was more active, I have so many questions!

[ruby24]

52 minutes ago, MsJamieDornan said:

I wish this thread was more active, I have so many questions!

Lay 'em on me.

[MsJamieDornan]

1 minute ago, ruby24 said:

54 minutes ago, MsJamieDornan said:

I wish this thread was more active, I have so many questions!

Lay 'em on me.

I just watched it all again to understand the whole plot and not just drool over Richard Madden.

When Julia went to the PM's house with David alone, how did Richard Longcross know?  I will keep them coming,,,

[MsJamieDornan]

On 11/22/2018 at 12:06 AM, ruby24 said:

You know it's funny, when she told him someone made an allegation about their affair, I wondered at first if it could be the guard posted outside the hotel door. Aside from the bugging of the room, if that dude didn't know what was going on every night he was deaf. 

Not only that but how did the door guard not hear Julia screaming when David tried to choke her?

I'm still a bit confused as to what Chanel's part is in the organized crime group. What was her job ?Where did her money come from?

What were we supposed to think when David called his wife and just wanted to have a chat? She was angry when he called but I didnt really understand why? We weren't made aware of what time it was and if he was drunk ? And what he does when he makes those calls?

When Julia used the bathroom in the hotel lobby and David had to go in and clear it for her,  was that pre-planned on her part?

Edited June 13, 2019 by MsJamieDornan