Vigil Episode Five Review

Vigil has entered into its penultimate episode and it was the tensest episode so far.

Things have gone from bad to worse for HMS Vigil. The ship’s chef has been killed and a section of the sub has been contaminated. Silva and Glover have to go on a dangerous mission to investigate the crime scene and retrieve the source of the nerve agent. On land Longacre investigates Peter Ingles’ life and contacts in the hope that she can find out who the Russian spy within the navy is.

The previous episode of Vigil did end on a terrific cliffhanger with Silva discovering Jackie’s body and then gets attacked by a man in a gas mask. Episode Five picks up right where Episode Four left off and the revelation was more surprising than Silva just being attacked by the Russian spy. This episode ratchets up the events and the tension. On HMS Vigil the sub had lost its food supply, it has a Russian agent aboard, and the nuclear deterrent has been knocked out. What the crew of HMS Vigil was unaware of was the number of Russian ships near them. The crew figured out the mole wants HMS Vigil to surface and can’t let that happen.

Longacre figured out who killed Jade and who Ingles’ contact was at the peace camp. Her task was simple, find Ben Oakley before he could reach a foreign consulate. It was a simple ticking time scenario, yet it was effective. It sets up a great climax for the final episode.

Whilst the tension on land was fast and instance, on the sub it was a slow burn. Silva and Glover had to go into the contaminated area of the sub. They have to wear the sub’s deep-sea diving suits, which weren’t designed for chemical attacks. They had a limited time window to do their work in the contaminated area but had to work slowly due to the weight of the suits. The danger was added to when one of the suits gets a rip and one of the characters didn’t realise they were breathing in toxic air until it was too late.

Like the first episode, Episode Five ended on a double climax. In the sub, the Russian mole gets to Silva before she can tell anyone, and she ends up in a seemingly inescapable situation. Episode Six will pick up where Episode Five left off.

The episode did seem to show the whole conspiracy and the major players. However, this is a World Productions show, so the finale is likely to follow in the footsteps of Line of Duty and Bodyguard by having one or two twists. There are some lingering plotlines to go like the vote in Parliament, and the role of the Americans and how much they know. Burke’s death was seemingly forgotten in this episode because Silva, Longacre and the crew of HMS Vigil were racing to stop the various traitors. This was deliberate so the show could have at least one more reveal involving the character.

Vigil has been shown to have an anti-nuclear weapon bias. The Royal Navy has been shown to be incompetent and HMS Vigil had constant problems. Yet the series was willing to show the Russian government in a negative light as well. Considering how Putin and his government have acted on the world stage films and TV shows don’t need to pussyfoot around. However, there are still questions about the Russian end game because wouldn’t a mole in the Royal Navy be enough? Wouldn’t further action worsen international affairs, especially if Russian ships are near the sub?

The fifth episode was an improvement over the previous episode because it was able to ramp up the tension and starting to bring the show to its endpoint.