Written by Steven Allison
Bodyguard, created by Line of Duty writer Joe Mercurio, is undeniably delicious. Just about as plausible as landing a dinner date with its handsome lead male actor Richard Madden, the series may not serve up the sort of realism that viewers had hoped would be on the menu. Flawed, but not fatally so, it is a guilty pleasure of sorts, and a strong start leads to a hurried but not completely disappointing finish. Once you come to accept what Bodyguard doesn’t offer, it becomes much easier to enjoy the show for what it is – a highly compelling and exhilarating feast for the mind. Once you’re invested in the characters, the slightly disjointed first and second halves won’t bother you. Save this one for the weekend and binge on the lot with a huge pile of your favourite snacks.
In Bodyguard, Madden – probably known best for his role as the honourable but politically inept Rob Stark in Game of Thrones – plays the hawk-eyed David Budd, a British Army war veteran plagued by PTSD. The six-part series kicks off with a (somewhat too) lengthy, on-the-edge-of-your-seat opening scene. Budd persuades a reluctant female suicide bomber to abandon her plan to take out a London-bound train, on which he and his children are travelling from Scotland. This leaves the audience sweaty-palmed and desperate to know what comes next. And the first half of the series doesn’t disappoint.
On the authority of his superiors, the sullen Scotsman is a “credit to the branch” – that is, the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. In an ill-fated promotion, he’s assigned to guard the ruthlessly pragmatic Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), whose approach to politics arouses his suspicion. By day, he carries out his duties with a cool professionalism. By night, he grapples with his post-Afghanistan demons, drinks heavily, and badgers his stony, estranged wife.
Montague – with her cut-glass accent and unscrupulous nature, on top of her polished, attractive appearance – would possibly be better placed as a Machiavellian villain in a Shakespeare play than as the country’s Home Secretary. Yet, it’s these qualities that make her quite so irresistible. And we’re not the only ones hypnotised by her charm. Budd, at first repelled by Montague’s haughty dismissiveness, shifts his outlook when she pulls some strings to his benefit. Looking past her power, he’s seduced by the vulnerability revealed when she drops her armour in the wake of an assassination attempt. Sadly, the onscreen passion that follows is just as convincing as the rest of the plot and left me on the cooler side of hot under the collar.
As a sidebar, has anyone else noticed that Keeley Hawes looks like an older Claire Foy? It would be surprising if she hadn’t been considered over Olivia Coleman to play the Queen in season 3 of The Crown given the likeness.
Anyhow, as the story moves forward, Budd is ordered to covertly observe Montague by Anne Sampson, Head of the Counter Terrorism Command. Played by an erroneously cast Gina McKee, tepid Sampson displays all the character of a walnut in a pantsuit.
Viewers are unsure whether Budd chooses to continue his affair with Montague because he’s been tasked with spying on her or due to his inappropriate attraction to her. For a while, he ignores damning information about her knowledge of a likely terrorist attack on the school his children attend and seems convinced by the flimsy justification she eventually offers. As a character, Budd is a little blank at points, making him nearly impossible to read. Yet, this could be explained away by the whole tortured soul thing he has going on. True or not, the case isn’t helped by some pretty unrefined dialogue.
What happens next in the tale renders Budd’s intentions with Montague irrelevant, as a silly and intricate series of events unfold before our very eyes. While there were hints as to the convoluted nature of the series across episodes one to three, episodes four to six descend into real obscurity. While the believability of Bodyguard becomes a non-issue once it’s overlooked, it is truly impossible to ignore the fact that the second half appears to have been written by somebody else altogether. This lack of consistency is one of two things that manage to hamstring the show to any degree, the other being the absence of something else after the first half – but you can find out what that is yourself.
Yes, much of what the audience is treated to as the Bodyguard hurtles towards the finish line is so far-fetched that it defies even the most basic level of belief. And sure, my 2-year-old niece may have been able to pen a more persuasive conclusion with her crayons. However, there’s a full-circle element to the ending that goes some way in making up for all of this and lends to the show’s overall enjoyability. In the words of Aristotle, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” This couldn’t be truer in relation to this series. Block out all objective criteria of judgement and allow yourself to be consumed by Bodyguard in all its ridiculous glory.
