The strength of this series is that it goes beyond neutralizing the threat, and tackles the real consequences: the bureaucracy to bring such heinous crimes to justice, the long wait for a trial, the fear of testifying. Is it an exciting, action-packed series? Frankly, no. But most of the time it’s not doing the right thing either. And the people who do the right thing don’t have to be nice either.
Indeed, Pope cleverly turns the knife every time the public begins to sympathize with Robbie as he camps out at the Collins house awaiting trial, repeatedly shocking us with a reminder that without Renshaw’s murder plot, Robbie is likely. would still be part of National Action. One minute he’s playing video games with Collins’ kids or admitting pitifully, “I’ve never had any friends,” the next he’s berating minorities or complaining that an East London neighborhood is “the middle of damn Nigeria.” . Robbie is not a hero.
Instead of bloody violence, Pope uses subdued realism to upset the public and keep us gripped as the threat of impending repercussions on the fight against fascism sustains every second of the Collins family’s everyday life. Matthew’s long-suffering wife Alison (played with grit and charm by Cold feet‘s Leanne Best) folds laundry as she talks about the need to pick up the kids from school after police report a “credible threat.” She playfully teases the boys as they leave the house to visit their grandmother, while Matthew checks under their car for bombs.
The wider cast is a recognizable, talented ensemble, especially Chris Coghill (eastenders), who plays National Action leader Lythgoe with simmering, intense rage. His face is so emotional that we sometimes see hints of almost childlike vulnerability as he struggles to understand that he lives in a world where hardly anyone outside of his National Action dominance agrees with his abhorrent views. It’s not sympathy we should feel though – Lythgoe and his ilk are truly irreparable – but above all, Pope shows us that Lythgoe isn’t just a monster, he’s human, and that’s much more terrifying.
A quick look at Twitter during the broadcast makes it clear why a drama like this is so necessary these days – in addition to the massive praise for the series, there are plenty of comments that would honestly be more at home in a National Action gathering. While there is hope, there is still hatred, and that is a reality that – like Jeff Pope’s… the walk-in – we must not flinch.