Vigil's Ending Explained: Who Was The Saboteur? | Screen Rant
Vigil season 1 ends with an episode full of twists and turns, keeping you on your toes as loose ends are tied up. Here's the ending explained.
Warning: Major SPOILERS for Vigil ahead!
Vigil season 1's final episode tied up all the loose ends of the investigation DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) was sent to conduct on the HMS Vigil submarine. The mini-series ended on September 29 on BBC One in the UK. It is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and is reported to be the second most-watched drama of 2021 in the UK after Line of Duty.
BBC's Vigil follows the crew of a fictional ballistic missile submarine following the death of sonar operator Craig Burke, played by Martin Compston. Detective Silva arrives onboard the Vigil to investigate the death, along with Burke's replacement Matthew Doward (Lorne MacFayden). The investigation takes place on the submarine and simultaneously on the ground, with Silva's ex Detective Sergeant Kristen Longacre (Rose Leslie) and the rest of the team providing assistance.
Vigil touches on many themes, focusing primarily on the existence of nuclear deterrent programs, their weaknesses, and criticalities. The BBC show, created by Tom Edge—also a writer on C.B. Strike—gives an apt representation of all the forces at stake in the drama, picking up on real-life incidents. For example, the multiple sinkings of trawlers that happened over the years off the coast of the UK because of submarines, and authentic tidbits of information about how life works for people employed on the underwater vessels. The Vigil season 1 ending is full of twists and turns that could be missed, as the action is packed.
Burke's death happens in the first 10 minutes of Vigil episode 1, but his killer is revealed only later when the situation on the submarine has considerably worsened, and Silva and the crew are already looking for a saboteur. His killer is revealed to be galley chef Jackie Hamilton (Outlander's Anita Vettesse), following the plans Russian intelligence operative Peter Ingles (Sam Redford) was involved in, as he had contact with Doward, the saboteur that replaces Burke. Originally other crew members are looked into regarding his death, which Silva quickly rules as a homicide.
The reason why Jackie kills Burke has less to do with Burke and more with her personal situation. Jackie's son is held in prison in Indonesia, in his first year of the 10 he must spend incarcerated for illegally smuggling drugs in the country. Jackie was ordered by Russian operatives to kill a sonar operative aboard the submarine, in case the operation didn't succeed on the first try, in order for Doward to replace him. In exchange for the murder, Russia would have interceded in her son's difficult situation in Indonesia.
Still, the choice of Line of Duty's Martin Compston's Burke as a victim depended on other convenient circumstances as well. He wasn't well-liked among the crew members, as he had files on all of them in his and his girlfriend Jade's quest to prove corruption inside the British Navy. Moreover, the objective of the mission was to make the Vigil get to the surface, and a death onboard might have warranted that if the trawler accident hadn't happened and the Vigil crew hadn't realized another submarine was tracking them. In addition to that, Burke could have identified Ingles, as the Russian operative had approached him first to ask him to collaborate with Russia, but he refused. Killing Burke would have killed two birds with one stone.
Outlander's Lauren Lyle' plays Jade, who is revealed to have been in a relationship with Burke early on in the show. She was working with Burke to collect information on the Navy corruption, and she was part of the peace camp protesting the British nuclear deterrent program based off Scotland. Believing she was being followed, she snapped a picture of what she thought was an MI5 agent but was then revealed to be Ingles. If it weren't for Jade's friendship with fellow activist Ben Oakley (Cal MacAninch), Ingles never would have met her. When they did, though, Ingles drowned her to protect his identity.
Contrary to Jade, Jackie wasn't killed. Doward had been pressuring her to proceed with the plan, which involved releasing a nerve agent to force a resurface of the Vigil needed for the mission to be completed, but she had second thoughts about it. Jackie, played by Outlander's Anita Vettesse, is found by Elliot Glover (Shaun Evans), coxswain of the boat and helper of Silva throughout the investigation, and releases the nerve agent. Glover watches her die while trying to secure the container covering it with a clear plastic box. Jackie had helped the Russian but ended up dying a hero trying to save the crew.
Considering how many people died throughout the show, Doward's mission seemed futile. The sonar operator needed for the HMS Vigil to resurface when it was surrounded by Russian vessels so that they could take pictures and show them to the public, proving Britain's nuclear deterrent program had flaws and could be infiltrated. A vote on its funding was scheduled in Parliament the following week, and Russian operatives wanted it to be defunded.
Doward tried to force the submarine to surface in many ways, including flooding it. It was one of his last acts, though, as he's stopped by the crew when he tries to take control of the boat by keeping Silva at knifepoint and threatening to kill her if the Commander (Paterson Joseph) does not give the order to resurface. His reason for wanting to help the Russian operatives is never explained, as he refuses to comment when in custody.
As a result of Silva's trauma from losing her partner—as she had to choose between him and their daughter—her ability to profess her feelings is affected, and that impacts the relationship with Longacre. When Longacre learns more about her situation when visiting Silva's daughter on her birthday, things start to change. When Silva leaves the Vigil submarine, she asks Kirsten to visit her daughter Poppy together with her and is finally able to tell her she loves her, leading to their reconciliation.
Anjli Mohindra, who plays onboard medic Tiffany Docherty, has told the press that talks were in motion for a possible Vigil season 2, but nothing has been confirmed. Creator and writer Tom Edge has revealed he would love to revisit some of the characters of the show, although not underwater, as all the stories they wished to tell on a submarine were explored. Story-wise, Vigil does not need a second season, as all major storylines were satisfactorily concluded, but it could still be in the works.