Trigger Point Series 2 Episode 1 Recap

As this episode of Trigger Point begins, Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) arrives at the venue and speaks to Danny (Eric Shango). Before long, Lana speaks to the crowd about being an explosives officer. A man elsewhere is seen tampering with something on a computer. Seconds later, the fail safe delay alarm is disabled. Lana shows the audience IEDs that were found and neutralized in London. The man, Joe Hanson, sends a message to someone confirming it is done. It appears a drone is approaching the facility. He has to flee when something hits the power equipment nearby. Lana sees the explosion through the window.

The power begins going out across the area. Hassan Rahim (Nabil Elouahabi) contacts Lana to tell her about the reports of an incident at the Isle of Dogs power station. He asks her to take it even though she isn’t back on duty until tomorrow. Once Lana arrives, she is introduced to station commander Shaun Hodge (Antony Byrne). He explains that the suspected device is on the gate which is the only way to reach the fire. Shift workers are still inside. They’re worried the fire could spread to the transformers. Danny helps Lana get suited up so she can check out the possible explosive. Before long, Lana confirms they’re dealing with an IED. There are two devices that seem to be linked.

She tells Shaun that they can’t go in because they have two devices. DCI Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) reaches the scene moments later. Lana tells Thom and DS Helen Morgan (Natalie Simpson) what they’re dealing with. Shaun warns them the fire is getting close to the transformer. Lana suggests cutting a hole in the fence. Hassan arrives and tells Lana that Hudson has been back for a few months. He says Hudson is trying to change and they don’t have enough trained personnel. Lana begins deciding how to handle the explosives since dealing with one could cause the other one to explode. Commander John Francis (Julian Ovenden) approaches Thom and Helen. Lana informs them there will be two blasts. Once the disruptors are set, Danny is instructed to take the shot.

Only one goes off so Lana goes in for a closer look. She believes there is a fault with the equipment. Then, she realizes their actions have set off a timer. Lana rushes to replace the disruptor with the seconds ticking down. Conveniently enough, the bomb is disabled before it can explode. Francis introduces himself to Hassan. He learns Lana led the operation, but thought Hassan sounded concerned on the radio. They talk about Lana’s brother and the other EXPO who orchestrated the bombing campaign. Lana speaks to Thom who got promoted. She learns that Francis wants to meet her. Francis tells her it is great to see a woman in this job. Lana admits the suit wouldn’t have saved her if the device functioned.

Helen tells Thom that two of the station workers are dead. The third one, Joe Hanson (Lee Colley), hasn’t been found yet. The CCTV is monitored remotely and there is nothing after 6. Lana learns that John and Danny get along well. Lana confesses she has made some mistakes and needs to put at least one right. Hassan tells her that ship has sailed because Thom and Helen are an item now. Thom comes over to ask Lana to go easy on the new commander. Joe Hanson is found but he isn’t in a state to be interviewed. Francis says they’re declaring this a major incident so he has a call with DACSO in 30 minutes. Helen gets a link from HQ. The video, which is all over the Internet, says those responsible are taking back power for the people.

At the station, Thom says they need to prioritize locating the drone pilot’s site. DI Amar Batra (Maanuv Thiara) says the account is registered under a series of false names. Francis worries that politicians and the commissioner breathing down their necks. Helen says they’ve received a few tips about drones being piloted nearby. They manage to pinpoint an area where the pilot likely was at the time. They had one sighting of a drone being launched from an abandoned multistory car park, Crayford Place Car Park. They’re trying to trace who made the anonymous tip. The team goes to the car park to look around. Danny tells Lana he wanted to work with Hassan while she was away, but he got jumped in with John. He goes on to say John has HR eating out of the palm of his hand.

Lana ends up having to go with John. Helen asks Thom if he told her about them. Officers encounter someone inside the parking structure. They find a vehicle containing a homeless family. John tells Lana he should’ve never been off the team. He thinks he made mistakes just like she did. John questions why she is back considering everything has been going well without her. Outside, Hassan tells Francis what is going on. DI Batra learns that the car park tip off came from a burner phone purchased yesterday so it could be a trap. The team is warned just before they get ready to cut a chain off a door. While one team goes to the top level, Lana deals with an explosive device. Soon, it is confirmed that the IED threat was a false alarm. Helen and Thom come up to Lana’s level even though they’re not supposed to be there yet.

Thom gets ready to retrieve a controller left nearby. An officer steps on a trigger causing an explosion. The officer is killed. Thom realizes he’s stood on something too. Lana tells the others on the radio while approaching Thom to deal with it. She confirms Thom is standing on a pressure plate. Helen almost steps on one too. Lana warns them they’re in the middle of a minefield. Danny and Hassan reach their level moments later. Helen manages to get out before Lana begins working on the pressure plate. Lana and Thom argue about whether she should just leave. She pleads with him to stay still. Francis arrives and watches a video of the explosion earlier. Thom asks Lana if she meant what she said. Lana says she did.

Lana cuts a wire and saves Thom who kisses her. They see a drone with explosives nearby. Thom grabs a gun a shoots the drone causing it to explode. They step out of the room and join the others. Francis says they’re streaming it before questioning who these people are. Hassan notices someone on the roof over at the tower block. Helen rushes to call it in.

 

Trigger Point Review

The opening episode of Trigger Point’s second series was okay although it didn’t have the same intensity as the first. It tried to with the cliffhanger at the end, but it wasn’t as effective this time around. For starters, it was clear that some of the characters were doing dumb things to set up future scenes and to add more tension.

At the car park, Thom and Helen had no regard for their safety since they just rushed right into the chaos. Secondly, Lana and Thom spent way too much time jabbering instead of dealing with the explosive that could’ve killed both of them. How are viewers supposed to have a sense of urgency and fear when the characters don’t?

Truthfully, the explosives experts seem more concerned about romance and personal bickering than getting the explosives taken care of so they don’t get blown to smithereens. It is hard to understand why John Hudson was brought back into the picture after everything that happened unless it is necessary to play on the same topics as the last series.

Trigger Point always tries to get cheap pops with the last minute detonations such as the one at the substation. That’ll work for a while until viewers know what to expect and begin rolling their eyes. If the series would just stick to the topic and avoid the unnecessary rehashed topics, it could be much better.

Otherwise, this is just a good time killer that is best viewed with minimum expectations because it’s just the same old same old with explosives. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Trigger Point can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.