As the fifth episode of Trigger Point begins, we see that Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) is still struggling with the loss of Billy. While laying in bed, Karl Maguire (Warren Brown) tries to call her. She doesn’t answer as we see that her phone has several missed calls. DI Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) comes to her place later because she hasn’t been responding to his text messages. He offers to help her get some bags packed and get her moved into his place so he can look after her properly. Lana doesn’t think now is the right time for that though. When she asks about John Hudson (Kris Hitchen), Thom admits they didn’t find anything on him. They looked through his entire comms history and it seems he is clean. Thom leaves after that. Next, Lana meets with Karl who wants to know how she is doing. He knows they don’t like talking much, but he is still willing to listen regardless. Lana believes Billy would’ve been okay if he just trusted her.

They were close before her job and life got in the way. If they would’ve still have been close, Billy would’ve listened to her and been okay. Karl understands what it is like to carry that type of guilt. He reminds her of what it was like to stand in front of a device for the first time and the sheer terror she experienced. After years of training, you go into autopilot so there aren’t any nerves. It wasn’t that Billy didn’t trust her. Instead, he just didn’t know what the heck was going on. Karl encourages her not to beat herself up over it because she is a good EXPO, great person, and nobody could’ve done more. Lana isn’t sure about that, but she thanks Karl for saying it anyway. Lana admits Karl reminds her of Nut. Karl understands that since Nut was a great person. He says that is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to him before suggesting they have a lot of stuff in common.

Karl thinks she gets him and he gets her although she isn’t sure she gets herself. Before they leave, Karl asks if she wants to watch a movie or something, but Lana just wants to be by herself for a bit. She goes home and gets drunk by herself that night. She eventually breaks down and starts crying. The next day, DSU Marianne Hamilton (Nadine Marshall) thanks Lana for coming in for a meeting since it couldn’t have been easy. DSU Hamilton starts by saying they do not believe Billy was aware of the Farringdon VBIED plot. A pressure plate was rigged under his seat to arm the door when he got up. Billy saved many lives by driving away from Farringdon. They managed to geo-locate Billy to an address in Streatham registered to someone named Thomas Marshall. Lana knows him because Tommy was an old friend of Billy’s. It is believed Billy spent the night with Tommy and left on the day of the anti-fascist demo before spending an hour at an address in Brixton.

After that, he went north in his car and tripped an ANPR camera. They called Lana at 11:41 AM when she was at O’Hara’s Pool Hall. She claims she was with some mates Danny and Mike there. The conversation turns to Billy being charged with racially aggravated assault. Lana says he hadn’t shown any far-right inclinations before. She blames it on Billy being naïve and easily misled. Thom asks if Billy ever mentioned someone named Frank, but Lana doesn’t recall that name. They believe Frank is connected to the Crusaders and possibly a member. Lana believes Billy was groomed. She learns DNA was found in Billy’s flat matching Frank Adrian Welsh who was born in Dagenham on June 7, 1978. Frank was released from prison three years ago after doing time for armed robbery. Thom says he was a former member of English Flag and they believe he was among the members expelled by Agatha Jack.

There is a connection between Frank and Nic Roberts since they attended the same rehabilitation group in late 2019. Frank was in the Territorial Army from 2005 to 2014 with a record of explosives training. He fits the profile of the bomber and is likely the man they’re looking for. When the meeting ends, Lana chases down Hamilton to beg to be allowed to return to work. She argues this is not the time to be one EXPO down and they brought her on as senior for a reason. She goes on to say she is ready, she was wrong about John, and she needs to do everything she can to get Frank Welsh. Hamilton relents and agrees, but she wants Lana to provide daily reports after each job she is sent to.

Hamilton says they have a duty of care to her and Lana understands that. Lana promises to do whatever is required of her. She begins meeting with Dr. MacAndrew (Pippa Haywood) who asks Lana served two tours in Afghanistan in EOD. Once Lana completes the questionnaire, MacAndrew notices she ticked no on every question. She encourages Lana to trust her. Lana confesses she doesn’t discuss things or share her feelings with work colleagues because they’re focused on the job. It can be hard to shut it off when she is away from the job and she knows that makes it difficult for the people around her and her partner. She laughs while saying Nut used to say that EOD stood for Every One Divorced. While he job is to keep people safe, she hasn’t been able to do that. Dr. MacAndrew listens as Lana begins talking about Ali Hussein, Billy, and Nut because she wasn’t able to save them. When she is asked how it feels to carry that responsibility, Lana says she doesn’t know how to answer that.

As Lana goes back to work, she hears Thom telling everyone that Frank Welsh is their number one priority right now. Once Thom finishes speaking, he pulls her aside to ask about playing pool with Danny and Mike since he knows better. He checked the log and knows she was lying about that. After she admits she was with someone else, Thom asks if their relationship is over now. She doesn’t know what that means. Meanwhile, John and Danny (Eric Shango) listen to Simon talk about Agatha Jack and the English Flag group not producing any clear policy yet. John says Simon is so biased although Danny isn’t sure why they’re listening to him. Then, we see Simon Shenley take the stage for a special show for the upcoming by-elections. He says this one is particularly important since it comes at a time when London is facing a critical threat level. Lana joins the others and tells them to turn down the volume. Then, she reveals they have a name, Frank Welsh.

She tells them more about his secondaries and tilt switches before saying they need to be at the top of their game to avoid losing anyone else. Moments later, Lana visits Sonia Rees (Kerry Godliman) who has created a replica of the device from Cranstead Fields. The timer was indeed a dummy. Sonia gives her Nut’s lucky snips. She reveals she checked with Porton Down about the HMX they found. She shows Lana the batch data report for the HMX-319. All the information has been removed except for 661142. It has been wiped clean although the export code shows it was produced for license in Afghanistan. DI Samira Desai (Majinder Virk) receives a call about a security alert at South London University. At 2:05 PM, a member of the security team noticed a suspicious item hidden amongst the recording equipment brought in for the upcoming broadcast. The team looks at video footage of an unknown man moving equipment around. When sorting through the entry IDs, they found a suspicious one with the name Dave Harris.

It is actually Welsh. The talk show people have been moved to a safe location in case they’re Welsh’s intended targets. Desai tells Inspector Robins (Cal MacAninch) and the others that Welsh could be in the vicinity and could be armed. Lee Robins tells his team to move to their positions. Lana reminds them there will be radio silence once they’re in there before telling John he is coming with her. Danny gives her encouragement before she heads inside. In a flashback, Lana tells Dr. MacAndrew how she overcomes the urge to run by making it personal. She says what scares someone is the unknown so she always tries to get into the bomber’s head. She claims it is her and the device as well as her and the bomber. John and Lana make it to the bomb as Lana pinpoints the location of the device. While she works, John admits he has been meaning to say sorry about Billy who was a good kid.

She tells him not to say that now. John complains he can’t say anything without her biting his head off. Outside, Desai tells her team to keep the crowd back before asking if anyone has spotted the subject, but they haven’t. Lana finds a phone and timer so they suspect it is a decoy timer with remote detonation. PC Costa (Gavin Sibson) can’t find Welsh from his spot. Then, Lana finds two phones meaning there is one to prime and one to trigger. She asks John to go tell Thom to look out for any suspect who has two phones while she sets up the pigstick to disrupt the bomb. John walks outside and notifies Thom and Desai that they should be looking for someone with two phones. Costa spots a man walking around in a flat across the way with two phones. One of the phones rings so Lana radios that it is armed as she rushes to complete the circuit for the pigstick.

Once Costa gets a positive ID on Frank Welsh (Russ Bain), he takes the shot and immediately kills him. John goes back inside to tell Lana that Frank has been killed so there is no pressure. John walks outside, radios that they’re about to disrupt the bomb, and calls the other phone. Lana hears it arm so she has to run outside before it explodes. She makes it to safety just before the bomb blows. She looks over and watches John continue running from the scene. Back at the station, Thom confirms they have reports of John Hudson fleeing the scene seconds before the blast. Mobile data also shows he used his mobile in the seconds before the device was triggered. Frank Welsh was the caller to the primer phone. When Welsh was killed, Hudson took over. They’ve also confirmed that the explosive used was the same as the devices at Westhaven, Amburiq, and The Five Oaks.

More explosives were found at a property belonging to John Hudson but they’re still analyzing it. A woman via a video stream admits they hadn’t previously encountered his name. Desai admits he had been under surveillance and fits their working profile. Until now, there was no evidence of his involvement. Commander Bregman (Ralph Ineson) insists it is imperative to locate and detain Hudson as quickly as possible. Later, Karl meets with Lana to say he was out of order for believing she’d come to back his place or he’d go back to hers. He doesn’t want her to think that or believe he is pressuring her, but she doesn’t. Then, she explains she had to pick some things up and return to work. Karl knows she is used to doing the hard things herself. He can help, but she needs to let him in. For the first time, he thinks he has met someone who can help him make sense of his life. He wants to do the same for her.

Lana says that is very kind. Her head is all over the place at the minute though. Next, Lana meets with Sonia who has evidence from John Hudson’s place. She can’t understand how an EXPO would do something like this since they understand what the explosives do to people. When Thom joins them, Sonia confirms that the explosives match the ones found in John Hudson’s flat. Some found the number 1912 in the interior of the device so it matches what they found at Westhaven. While they look through the evidence, Thom apologizes for doubting Lana about John. They look at John’s A-to-Z book and find something else marked on the mosque page. Thom calls to get a background check on the address, Caredale Road SE1. After he learns it is the progressive alliance campaign headquarters, he tells them to get in touch with the Labour candidate and their security.

They rush over there and tell Ayesha Campbell-Khan (Salima Saxton) about a potential security threat. She says she posts regular updates on social media so people would know her schedule. Desai tells Lana they’ve been checking vehicles and they’ve found one that has been a long-term parking violation. They rush over to the vehicle to stop the tow man from moving it. As Thom walks over, he learns there is no council logo on the clamp. Lana looks under the vehicle and finds that the gas lid has been removed from the ground. Since council didn’t order any car removal, Lana suspects they wanted the car moved as a part of a set-up. Desai orders the team to evacuate the area since there is possibly a VBEID on Caredale Road.

Lana returns to Danny who asks if they want the robot. She says no and instead asks for the optic cable. They drill out a small hole in the back of the vehicle and push the optic cable camera inside. They find a tilt switch so the bombers wanted them to lift the car and the tilt switch. Then, they find an EFP. Danny tells Desai and Thom about the EFP or explosively formed projectile. Lana tells them that the charge is set off when the car is lifted onto the ramp thanks to the tilt switch. The projectile would be strong enough to go through the boot of the car and into the gas pipes below. Lana doesn’t think they’re trying to create an underground explosion since the gas would need oxygen to become an explosion. There is a more complex plan in play here. The staff at the campaign HQ were told that the gas pipes were faulty because they were filled with water and dirt.

An officer interrupts to say most residents on the street have had a gas engineer inside changing the meter. Lana expects it is John. Thom orders a bronze evacuation since this could impact thousands of residents. He is going to get them to turn off the gas there while Lana asks for EXPO support. She is going to enter all the buildings to check all the gas meters starting with the campaign headquarters. Lana checks the first gas meter and immediately finds something she doesn’t like. She uses her mirror to get a better look. Lana suspects John is going to release the gas. She runs outside to warn the others that he has set up a gas explosion in every building on the street and to ask for EXPO support now.

 

Trigger Point Review

Trigger Point has really lost its way and is just starting to drag on at this point. The bombing scenarios are getting stale because it is the same routine repeated over and over and it is easy to point the finger at the culprit. It wasn’t surprising that John Hudson turned out to be the main villain or that it is some far-right gang threatening to blow up the entire city.

It is hard to sympathize with any of the characters although I was foolishly hoping they’d take this in an opposite direction instead of making Hudson a bad guy. The cast is just too good for the story which is tediously slow and unrealistic. Danny, Costa, Carney, Robins, Pete, and all these other characters have become props without much significance or personality.

Even the relationships between Lana, Karl, and Thom are boring. It is hard to believe everyone living on Caredale Road would let John Hudson into their homes without questioning it or drawing some suspicion. I don’t trust anyone so I wouldn’t let him in and I’d say a lot of people agree with me. My enthusiasm for the finale is very low with my only hope being that the series ends here without a second season. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Trigger Point can be found here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.