Bodyguard Season One Review

Bodyguard was one of the biggest hits from the BBC in recent years, being a big blockbuster show from the broadcaster.

The UK is suffering from a heightened terrorist threat and the Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) plans to introduce a controversial bill that would widen the powers of the security services. In the midst of this is Police Sergeant David Budd (Richard Madden), a war veteran who stops a terrorist attack and rewarded with a promotion – becoming Montague’s bodyguard. David’s loyalties are torn when the head of Met (Gina McKee) asks the officer to spy on his new charge.

Bodyguard is basically the British version of a show like 24 or Homeland, a spy-thriller that has a large amount of governmental conspiracy. This makes Bodyguard one of the most entertaining and tense British shows in recent time and it is able to match its American counterparts – even if it had fewer episodes to work with.

The show was at its best during the tension-filled scenes. The show opened with David having to talk a potential suicide bomber from blowing up a train and save her from a police sniper. The atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. It was the same during the season finale when David’s held hostage and he’s scared. Both were incidents where any wrong move would be catastrophic.

Bodyguard is one of the most action-ordinated shows from the UK. British shows tend to avoid action sequences because of budgetary reasons and a justification can be harder in a British setting. The creators have managed to get around this by David’s war experience and his profession as a Royalty and Specialist Protection Officer. The action is fairly small scale yet still impactful – the highlights were when Montague’s motorcade was attacked by a sniper and the end of episode 3 was worthy of 24 at its height. The series showcases Madden’s ability as an action star and he is considered a potential Bond.

The other strength was its character work. David was a skilled officer, able to talk a woman from detonating a bomb and showing he had investigative skills. But he is also suffering from PTSD, suicidal, and alcohol dependency. This vulnerable made David more compelling because of his issues. He had a great dynamic with Hawes’ Montague – she’s someone David should hate because she voted for the Iraq war but being a skilled politician is able to talk her protection officer around. It’s questionable that an officer with David’s stage of mind would be able to hold down a job but this could be overlooked because of the quality of the performances and the personal drama gave the show an edge.

The show was at its strongest during the first three episodes. This was when the show was at its most fast-paced episodes four and five slow things down. Those episodes focused more on the investigation side of the story. The show runners should have spread the investigation and action parts more evenly to retain audience interest a bit more.

The biggest problem with the series was the governmental conspiracies. By the final episode the show was piling on twist after twist that it became ridiculous as a constant attempt to one-up the previous reveal. It was like Spooks at its worst when it constantly revealed the real enemy was within government or the intelligence community. Some of the reveals seemed like the writers were just putting it out of their arse.

The other issue was Montague may as well have been called Theresa May. The character was the no-nonsense Home Secretary with leadership ambitious who wants to introduce ‘Snoopers Charter.’ There was no attempt at subtly with the political commentary.

Bodyguard was basically popcorn entertainment, a show that the masses can binge watch and gives a British spin to an American style show.