Vigil Season 2 review: A drone strike, murders and more conspiracies, yet Suranne Jones-led show is middling at best

The BBC original series comes to India months after its original release and takes the action to an air force base after a drone demo goes horribly wrong

Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva in Vigil Season 2

Vigil

Vigil Season 2 story: DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) is called in to find out how and why a military training operation involving drones went horribly wrong, leaving multiple soldiers dead. Was it mechanical malfunction or cold-blooded murder? That’s what she’s got to determine, because these deaths on this base could not have come at a worse time, as the air force was in the midst of closing a mega deal between the UK and Wudyan (a fictional oil-rich Middle Eastern country). With some of those involved in the operation stationed in Wudyan and remotely piloting the drones, DCI Silva is shipped out and goes from being ‘trapped’ within a military base in a dictator-led country, to being kidnapped by ‘terrorists’.

Vigil Season 2 reviews: Viewers in India who liked the Suranne Jones-Rose Leslie led Vigil in its first season outing aboard a submarine, had an inordinate long wait for the second season, which has now dropped a good 4-5 months after its original release. This time around, the action is on ground, albeit across different continents and timelines, which isn’t necessarily good for the show.

Vigil review: Murder, sabotage and Russian spy drama can't save this rapidly sinking story 

Bad guys from the Middle East has been a trope in thriller movies and series for the longest time, so, Vigil starts off on the wrong footing – it feels stale and very early on you get an idea of how the narrative is going to pan out. When a billion bucks are on the table, anybody will bend over backward to pocket it and that’s what the Brits are doing this season, by engaging in a military partnership with a country that’s under dictatorship, and where human rights is an iffy subject. No prizes for guessing which way the narrative pivots, eventually.

When an incident occurs within the military, one would assume that it is handled in-house by the military police and someone like DCI Silva having to fight for every morsel of information to help solve the case. Instead, she literally makes her visit to a military base a walk in the park, with pretty much no restrictions whatsoever.

What saves Vigil from going down the drain is its cast. This time around, Silva and Longacre are in a romantic relationship, co-parenting the former’s step-daughter Poppy, and expecting a second one. It’s testing for the duo to uphold the highest professional standards when their personal safeties are at risk. Jones, as Silva, does most of the heavy-lifting, because Leslie was heavily pregnant at the time and is, hence, severely under-utilized.

Vigil star Rose Leslie was pregnant in real life while shooting for season 2 - Did you know? 

They are joined by Dougray Scott as Air Vice Marshal Marcus Grainger, Romola Garai as Squadron leader Eliza Russell, Amir El-Masry as MI5 agent Ramsey, Chris Jenkins as Callum, among others, all of who are turn in memorable performances in a series that struggles to rise above mediocrity.

Vigil Season 2 verdict: In its second outing, Vigil does not offer anything new, whether it is about defence deals, terrorism, human rights and suppression of voices of dissent, LGBTQIA+ issues, PTSD, etc. It’s got a seen-it-all feel. It’s not bad, but it leaves one with that lingering after-thought that it could have been so much better.

All six episodes of Vigil Season 2 are now streaming on Lionsgate Play. You can catch the show with OTTplay Premium’s Powerplay pack. Enjoy 35+ OTTs like ZEE5, LionsgatePlay, Ullu, SunNXT, SonyLIV, Fancode and 250+ Live TV channels at just ₹99. 

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