#vicky budd

Week 7: Sophie Rundle

The Unspoken Words

So I was a few years late to the party when it comes to Bodyguard. I remember the show was a rage 2-3 years ago and it drew a lot of acclaim, particularly for Madden, who I knew from GoT. Just from the gist of it, it definitely felt like something I would like but somehow I always kept forgetting about it. But now I've finally caught up with it and finished it last night on Netflix. And as I mentioned in the title of this post, this show is a glorious exercise in ridiculous amounts of tension building.

The thing that struck me about the show is how I felt absolutely exhausted while watching the show. Most shows ebb and flow. They usually have episodes where you can breathe before they kick into high gear. Bodyguard is not one of those shows. Every single episode is incredibly intense, be it emotionally or due to the action and suspense. There is literally no letup. So much so that even during the happy ending of the Budd family driving off, I was still gripping my knuckles, half expecting for the car to explode. Thankfully that didn't happen. That is a rare experience. And for a thriller, that is about the best praise I can give. It delivers on the thrills.

The narrative is a fascinating web of political intrigue, terrorism, espionage, and organized crime. All covering a base story about a man who is suffering from PTSD and is not doing anything about it and his personal life is suffering as a result. The show gives us a lot of characters. And as a result, the story goes a lot of different directions, but its impressive how well interlinked it all is. There are also some bold narrative choices, chief among them is the decision to kill the female lead midway through the series. Julia Montague was a fascinating character that we neither love nor hate but she constantly interesting and she's essentially co-lead with Madden in the first three episodes. The decision to kill her off could have upset the balance of the show but its pulled off marvelously because her presence looms over the remainder of the show so it doesn't even feel like she's completely gone. There are so many characters that the show very effectively picks up the slack. I will say the first half the season is more political thriller while the second half of the season moves into espionage and investigative thriller and both parts fit together seamlessly.

In terms of performances, Richard Madden is outstanding. He was really good in GoT but here he just holds the screen at every moment. You feel like he's not getting a moment's relief either. You immediately form an attachment to him from the first scene on the train where he's desperately trying to save lives. Yet, he's also deeply frustrating because you can see he's not quite right and his refusal to get help also helps you empathize with his wife and why she is distancing her self. Sophie Rundle as Vicky is very effective. At first you genuinely feel she's being a little unfair on David but as you go further along, you see that she had valid reasons to be frustrated with David. And then she comes through for David in a big way in the finale. As I mentioned above, Julia Montague is an incredibly compelling character and Keeley Hawes gets a lot of credit for creating that morally grey character who is consistently compelling. The acting across the board is excellent but a few who stand out are Nina Toussaint-White and Ash Tandon as the two investigators who work with David after Julia's death, and Gina McKee as the head of the counter terrorism command. Special mention to Anjli Mohindra as Nadia, who is excellent on the show and her character's turn in the finale is superbly acted.