Viewers are divided on the Vigil season finale

Virgin Radio

27 Sep 2021, 11:33

The BBC drama's conclusion left viewers polarised.

The BBC's latest police drama Vigil has come to an end after six episodes. The story followed detective chief inspector Amy Silva, who is sent aboard a nuclear submarine after a crew member dies under suspicious circumstances. The final episode began on a tense cliffhanger, as episode 5 left DIC Silva trapped in a torpedo tube gradually filling with seawater. Silva wasn't shown in any preview footage for the final episode, leaving some to speculate she'd met her end.

Spoiler alert: she hadn't. Amy Silva makes it safely off the submarine with her apprehended Russia spy, and returns to land to reunite with her stepdaughter and love interest DS Longacre. Viewers were left divided in their feelings about the season's finale, with some disappointed in what they found a lacklustre ending, and others praising the creative team behind it.

A common point of praise was the depiction of Amy and Kirsten's relationship. Fans gushed over the positive representation of a lesbian couple on a popular prime time TV show.

"A queer relationship on the prime time BBC with a happy ending? neither of them died? they resolved their issues and are working on being back together? working on having their /family/ with poppy? #vigil and #silva are giving us absolutely everything" said one user.

Viewers also seemed touched by Commander Prentice's character development, after kicking off the season as un unlikable murder suspect. One twitter user commented that "His redemption arc is unrivalled".

However, many other viewers were left disappointed by what they saw as an anticlimactic finale. Fans drew many parallels between Vigil and Line of Duty's endings, saying that they had felt let down by both. One fan took to twitter to say he found the series "kind of disappointing really, it started so well but descended into nonsense." Another user added "and I thought line of duty had a bad ending #vigil".

The drama was created by World Productions, the production company behind recent hits Bodyguard and Line of Duty. The first episode drew 10.2 million viewers in its first week, making it the most viewed BBC debut of the year. There is no news on whether a second series will be commissioned, but fans are certainly hopeful.