There are a lot of things that feel timely in the U.K. series (distributed by Netflix) "Bodyguard". From differences in political opinions to post-traumatic stress disorder and how to best deal with the continued threat of terrorism, this is a show that has plenty of material to mine. While it does get into some very "good stuff" content-wise, it also makes enough odd and perplexing decisions to prevent it from being truly great.
For a basic plot summary, "Bodyguard" tells the story of David Budd (Richard Madden), an ex-military officer now assigned as the personal protector of Britain's Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes). While Budd seems to be the ultimate professional, he's also going through marital problems with ex-wife Vicky (Sophie Rundle) and suffering from PTSD from time in Afghanistan. Topping it all off is a relationship with fellow war-buddy Andy (Tom Brooke), a visibly-scarred vet who is disgusted that Budd could stomach working with a political regime that believes in the cause that so injured their minds and bodies. When the Home Secretary proposes a piece of legislature that gives Security Services more freedoms than ever before, some assassination plots ensue and Budd must make some hard choices (both personally and professionally) on how to treat his conscience versus his professionalism.
The way I look at "Bodyguard" after its first season is thusly: The first episode is great, the last episode (#6) is great, and the four in between are very up-and-down. As I mentioned, there's no doubt that this show hits on some very emotional and practical issues present in todays political landscape. First and foremost, how can one dutifully protect a person who he feels is wrong in nearly ever political aspect conceivable? And then, minor spoiler alert here, what happens when an emotional relationship creeps into the picture. Combine this with some great action scenes and those tremendous bookend episodes, and "Bodyguard" does a lot right in its freshman effort.
The problem dragging this season down, though, is that the show just seems to make a lot of head-scratching plot and character decisions. I'm not sure if this was intended to be the case or not, but it seems as if just when a certain plot thread or character gets really interesting, they dispose of it and move on to something else. Thus, the effect I had watching this show was akin to that of a roller-coaster: upon reaching its greatest heights, it would immediately plummet down to earth in order to build the momentum necessary to crest the next hill. I wish the journey to the ultimate climax would have been a bit more of a straight arrow. While there were times I has 100% connected to the events, there were other times I was somewhat bored or lost as to what exactly was trying to be conveyed. Not helping matters in this regard was a decidedly too-large cast of players, many of which get lost in the fury of names and titles. A lot of the fat could have been trimmed away to produce a tighter story with less confusion.
Overall, though, "Bodyguard" did make at least somewhat of a positive impact on me, and I would easily jump back into a second season if one is ever planned. Despite some odd decisions, the show did enough to stimulate my creative/dramatic interests and I'd love to see some of these characters deal with whatever comes next in their celluloid lives.
For a basic plot summary, "Bodyguard" tells the story of David Budd (Richard Madden), an ex-military officer now assigned as the personal protector of Britain's Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes). While Budd seems to be the ultimate professional, he's also going through marital problems with ex-wife Vicky (Sophie Rundle) and suffering from PTSD from time in Afghanistan. Topping it all off is a relationship with fellow war-buddy Andy (Tom Brooke), a visibly-scarred vet who is disgusted that Budd could stomach working with a political regime that believes in the cause that so injured their minds and bodies. When the Home Secretary proposes a piece of legislature that gives Security Services more freedoms than ever before, some assassination plots ensue and Budd must make some hard choices (both personally and professionally) on how to treat his conscience versus his professionalism.
The way I look at "Bodyguard" after its first season is thusly: The first episode is great, the last episode (#6) is great, and the four in between are very up-and-down. As I mentioned, there's no doubt that this show hits on some very emotional and practical issues present in todays political landscape. First and foremost, how can one dutifully protect a person who he feels is wrong in nearly ever political aspect conceivable? And then, minor spoiler alert here, what happens when an emotional relationship creeps into the picture. Combine this with some great action scenes and those tremendous bookend episodes, and "Bodyguard" does a lot right in its freshman effort.
The problem dragging this season down, though, is that the show just seems to make a lot of head-scratching plot and character decisions. I'm not sure if this was intended to be the case or not, but it seems as if just when a certain plot thread or character gets really interesting, they dispose of it and move on to something else. Thus, the effect I had watching this show was akin to that of a roller-coaster: upon reaching its greatest heights, it would immediately plummet down to earth in order to build the momentum necessary to crest the next hill. I wish the journey to the ultimate climax would have been a bit more of a straight arrow. While there were times I has 100% connected to the events, there were other times I was somewhat bored or lost as to what exactly was trying to be conveyed. Not helping matters in this regard was a decidedly too-large cast of players, many of which get lost in the fury of names and titles. A lot of the fat could have been trimmed away to produce a tighter story with less confusion.
Overall, though, "Bodyguard" did make at least somewhat of a positive impact on me, and I would easily jump back into a second season if one is ever planned. Despite some odd decisions, the show did enough to stimulate my creative/dramatic interests and I'd love to see some of these characters deal with whatever comes next in their celluloid lives.