If you were expecting another claustrophobic mystery set in the belly of a nuclear submarine, the opening minutes of Vigil season 2 probably felt like a bit of a cold shower. Gone is the rusting steel of the HMS Vigil. Instead, we’re thrust into the blinding heat of Wudyan, a fictional Middle Eastern kingdom that serves as a thinly veiled proxy for the complex geopolitical alliances Britain maintains in the real world. Suranne Jones returns as Amy Silva, but the vibe is totally different. It’s faster. More political. Honestly, it’s a bit of a gamble that paid off for some and frustrated others who loved that original "locked-room" tension.
The shift in setting wasn't just a creative whim by creator Tom Edge. It was a calculated move to explore the horrifyingly modern reality of remote warfare.
The pivot from deep sea to desert skies
The core of Vigil season 2 revolves around a joint weapons test gone catastrophically wrong. During a demonstration of the "R-7" drone system at a Scottish base, the technology is hijacked. It turns on its own, slaughtering multiple soldiers in a sequence that feels more like a horror movie than a standard police procedural. This isn't just a whodunit; it’s an interrogation of how much we should trust the algorithms we build to kill for us.
Amy Silva and Rose Leslie’s Kirsten Longacre are back, and their relationship remains the emotional anchor of the show. Kirsten is pregnant this time around, which adds a layer of genuine anxiety to her investigative work back in Scotland while Amy is boots-on-the-ground in Wudyan. It’s a classic split-narrative structure. While Amy navigates the tight-lipped military hierarchy of the Air Force, Kirsten is chasing leads through rain-slicked Glasgow streets.
The technical detail is surprisingly dense. The show dives into the mechanics of drone pilot interfaces, signal jamming, and the ethical murky water of selling high-tech weaponry to regimes with questionable human rights records. It’s gritty.
Why the Wudyan setting actually matters
Some fans felt the fictional country of Wudyan was a cop-out. Why not just name a real country? Well, the BBC has to play it safe legally, but the parallels to real-world UK-Middle East arms deals are impossible to ignore. By creating a proxy, the writers were able to heighten the stakes without getting bogged down in the specific diplomatic red tape of a real-world nation.
- The R-7 drones represent the cutting edge of autonomous flight.
- The friction between the RAF and the Wudyan authorities mirrors actual tensions in multinational military bases.
- The "kill switch" debate in the show is a direct reflection of current UN discussions regarding AI in combat.
Realism vs. TV Drama: Where the show bends the truth
Let's be real for a second. Vigil season 2 is a thriller, not a documentary. Just like the first season’s portrayal of submarine life drew some side-eyes from actual Royal Navy veterans, the Air Force portrayal takes some liberties.
For starters, the speed at which Amy Silva—a DCI from Police Scotland—is granted access to high-level military intelligence in a foreign country is... optimistic. In the real world, the jurisdictional nightmare would take months to resolve. Here, it takes about forty minutes of television. But we forgive it because the pacing demands it. You want the mystery to move. You want to see Amy standing up to grumpy Air Marshals who think they’re above the law.
The show excels when it focuses on the "human in the loop" problem. This is a real military term. It refers to the requirement that a human being must make the final decision to fire a weapon. The villain in this season isn't just a person; it's the systemic failure that allows a machine to bypass that human element.
Decoding the mystery of the drone hijack
If you watched the finale, you know the resolution was a bit of a whirlwind. The conspiracy goes deeper than a simple disgruntled soldier. It’s about corporate greed and the frantic race to secure contracts in a world where traditional warfare is becoming obsolete.
The character of Callum Barker, the young drone pilot, serves as a tragic entry point into this world. He’s a kid who grew up playing video games and now finds himself "flying" missions thousands of miles away from a shipping container. The psychological toll of that detachment is one of the show's strongest themes. It’s a different kind of trauma than what we saw on the HMS Vigil, but it’s no less potent.
Vigil season 2 also introduces us to some formidable new faces. Dougray Scott as Air Vice-Marshal Marcus Grainger is a standout. He plays that specific brand of "charming but potentially lethal" military officer with terrifying ease. You never quite know if he’s protecting the mission or protecting himself. Romola Garai also joins the cast as Eliza Russell, the acting squadron leader, providing a foil to Amy’s outsider perspective.
A tale of two cities (and one desert)
The contrast in cinematography is striking. Scotland is filmed in cold blues and greys, emphasizing the isolation Kirsten feels. Wudyan is all high-contrast yellows and harsh sunlight. This visual storytelling helps the viewer keep track of the sprawling plot, which involves:
- The initial massacre at the Dundair base.
- The secret history of the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) development.
- The hidden agendas of the Wudyan royalty.
- The internal struggle within Police Scotland over the scope of the investigation.
It’s a lot to juggle. Sometimes the show feels like it’s bursting at the seams, but the performances keep it grounded. Suranne Jones has this way of looking exhausted yet determined that makes you root for her even when she’s making questionable tactical choices.
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The technicalities of the R-7 system
In the world of Vigil season 2, the R-7 is the "next big thing." It’s designed to be unhackable. But as we see, any system built by humans has a backdoor. The show touches on "spoofing," which is a real-world electronic warfare tactic where a drone's GPS or command signal is overridden by a stronger, fake signal.
While the show dramatizes the outcome, the threat is real. Governments are currently spending billions to defend against exactly what happened in the first episode. The show effectively taps into that specific modern paranoiac fear—that the very things meant to protect us can be turned against us with a few lines of code.
Is there a future for the series?
While there hasn’t been a formal announcement for a third installment yet, the success of the second season suggests the BBC would be crazy not to continue the brand. The beauty of the Vigil format is that it isn't tied to the submarine. It’s an anthology of military-police intersections.
The biggest hurdle for a potential season 3 would be finding a new environment that offers the same level of tension. We’ve done the sea. We’ve done the air. Space? Maybe too sci-fi. An army barracks? Perhaps. Whatever they choose, the core will always be Silva and Longacre navigating the friction between civilian law and military secrecy.
The ending of season 2 leaves our protagonists in a place of relative peace, but in this universe, that never lasts. Amy has finally started to process her past traumas, and Kirsten has their future to think about.
How to watch and what to watch next
If you haven't finished the season yet, I won't spoil the very final twist, but keep your eyes on the secondary characters. The show loves to hide its true motives in plain sight. It’s currently available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and various streaming partners globally, like Peacock in the US.
For those who finished and are looking for something with a similar "military vs. civilian" friction, check out:
- The Capture: Focuses on deepfakes and surveillance.
- Bodyguard: Higher octane, but similar political stakes.
- Line of Duty: For that relentless interrogation room energy.
- Trigger Point: If you like the "high-stakes technical job" aspect of Vigil.
Final insights for the fans
To truly appreciate what the writers did this year, you have to look past the absence of the submarine. This was a story about accountability. It asked whether a country can truly remain "the good guys" while selling the tools of oppression to others. It’s a messy, complicated question that doesn't have a clean answer, and that’s exactly why it makes for great television.
If you’re planning a rewatch, pay attention to the dialogue regarding the "Sanchari" group. The breadcrumbs for the finale are laid much earlier than you’d think. The show rewards those who don't just watch the action but listen to the political maneuvering in the background.
To get the most out of the experience, try watching the first and last episodes of season 1 right before starting season 2. It highlights just how much Amy Silva has evolved from the terrified, claustrophobic detective we first met. She's harder now. More cynical. But arguably, she’s exactly what she needs to be to survive the world of Vigil.
Take a closer look at the credits and the production design next time—the effort to make Wudyan look lived-in and distinct from typical "desert" sets is a massive part of why the atmosphere works. It feels like a place with its own history, even if it only exists on a soundstage and a few locations in Morocco.