All at sea: Subpar last act plumbs the depths
Vigil BBC1
Much like the titular submarine, Vigil looked great on the surface. Sleek, scary and very expensive. Once you dived below with the whodunit, though, things got murkier than the North Sea 400 metres down.
Last week’s final episode had plenty of work to do despite the villain being revealed as sonar operator Doward the previous week; sadly things didn’t quite come together by the time the mournful credits rolled.
The jumbled plot finally attempted to zero in on something we could care about. Was it Martin Compston’s swiftly murdered technician? Suranne Jones’ icy detective? The hapless captain, or his grumpy crew?
In the end the fate of Britain’s nuclear deterrent was what was at stake. Which is fairly odd because it’s so divisive; it’s like basing a mystery around an attempt to save Top Gear. Plus, the shenanigans on board didn’t exactly leave you desperate to retain the shambles of a sub.
Doward himself was a mystery right to the end, too. He briefly became a villain in a slasher movie before being stopped but ultimately his motives were unknown.
Silva (Jones) branded him a narcissist based on nothing much at all, really.
The premise, of a detective trapped on a submarine, is too good to waste. Perhaps despite the mess there will be a second series?
Don’t let Vigil be a deterrent.