Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva in Vigil - here's our review
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Vigil episode 4 REVIEW: If you’d given up on this submarine-based crime drama, BIG mistake

Oooo, stand by your beds... it's getting good again

Vigil on BBC One has been the big Sunday-night event-TV crime drama looking to replicate the success of Line of Duty.

Starring Suranne Jones, Martin Compston (well, kind of), Shaun Evans, Rose Leslie et al in the submarine drama, it’s ebbed and flowed and has had plenty of twists and turns.

However, half-way through the series and it seemed to run aground a little bit.

But now? Bring on the final two episodes!

**WARNING – SPOILERS AHOY!**

Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva in Vigil - here's our review
Amy had another murder to contend with (Credit:

Vigil review: Where are we in the series?

By now you should know the basic premise.

DCI Amy Silva (Jones) was sent aboard HMS Vigil – an ageing nuclear submarine whose crew were in disarray.

Crewmember Craig Burke (Compston) was found brown bread, poisoned in his bunk.

Read more: Vigil actress Suranne Jones almost ended up in Emmerdale – as one of the Dingles!

From that moment everyone on the sub was a suspect. Coupled with the fact that Amy was coming off anxiety meds and having some flashbacks, and suddenly you had a tense situation.

And, back on dry land, Kirsten (Leslie) was undertaking a parallel investigation into shady dealings by all sorts of people.

But like so many crime dramas, the middle part of the series dipped a little and it began to feel a little predictable.

Rose Leslie in Vigil - here's our review
Kirsten got involved with MI5 (Credit: BBC)

Russian spies!

Last night it seemed to be following suit.

It took the opportunity to pad out the love story between Amy and Kirsten with a lot of flashbacks.

We saw how they met, how their relationship began to blossom – all in the face of Amy’s previous trauma.

As Amy and Kirsten smooched (touching and rather sweet it has to be said), we desperately wanted to see what the hell was going on on the sub.

When the parallel investigations did kick into gear again, it began to get good again.

Kirsten and her team were granted an audience with the Defence Secretary after it was established the Americans had been following Vigil because they feared a Russian spy was onboard.

Once that fact had been established, the whodunit mystery was given greater jeopardy.

Amy and Glover in Vigil - here's our review
Amy and Glover in Vigil (Credit: BBC)

Vigil review: All kicking off again

When we did finally get back on Vigil, it was all kicking off.

Another emergency so everyone was dashing about. Signs of attempted sabotage, Shaun Evans’ Glover looking shifty.

And then the cook – whose son had just been mysteriously released from an Indonesian jail – wound up dead.

Read more: Vigil on BBC One fan theories: Newsome killed Burke and Glover is a WRONG ‘UN! – SPOILERS!

AND in the very final scene, someone in a gas mask rugby-tackled Amy as she found the body.

Vigil has been great in places, average in others.

But we’re heading into the final two episodes with momentum regained.

Time to get invested again.

Suranne Jones Discussing Vigil on The One Show 2021

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor