Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie’s second outing in the BBC drama Vigil has come under fire from viewers following its finale.
While the series continues tonight and tomorrow at 9pm on BBC One, all six episodes of season two have dropped online for people to stream.
However, it’s safe to say those who’ve already sat through the latest instalment aren’t exactly unanimous in their praise of the series.
After watching Amy Silva (played by Jones) and Kirsten Longacre (Leslie) get to the bottom of the mysterious murderous drone plot within the Air Force at Dundair, many took issue with the show’s dialogue and themes.
Vigil – which had already sparked “defund” calls following its premiere – has been accused of being “anti-UK” with its storyline while other viewers have accused Amy and Kirsten’s same-sex relationship of “baiting” people to watch, arguing it adds little to the plot.
Much of the furore and divided opinions came on Monday evening when the full box set became available to stream online.
Suranne Jones as Amy Silva in the second season of Vigil
BBC
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, several fans blasted the “anti UK” sentiment, with one viewer fuming: “So Vigil’s another BBC self loathing ‘aren’t we Brits awful’ pile of s**t then.”
A second similarly raged: “Started watching Vigil on @bbc. Should have known.. totally anti uk and defends twrrorists .. disgusting @bbc.”
Complaints about the show’s “wokeness” also poured in, including a third disgruntled viewer who penned: “#Vigil is the most non-sensical, badly acted, woke rubbish the BBC have ever made. Utter s***e.”
“@BBC I’ve seen some b******s on bbc but vigil takes the biscuit,” a fourth weighed in. “The acting is diabolical the plot is diabolical the script is diabolical, again wokeness has overtaken TV.”
And a fifth took aim at Amy and Kirsten’s romance: “Worst wlw [Women-loving Women] rep i’ve ever seen ever, it’s awful, it’s queerbait, it’s a marketing ploy, it’s not natural, it’s only to attract a queer audience to let us down. F**K OFF.”
However, amid the backlash were a number of viewers who jumped to the drama’s defence, including one person who argued: “Heard that there’s people s**tting on #Vigil saying Silvacre is just bait and it’s actually not good rep?
“Well back the f**k off, will you. Vigil is a hell of a good show, S2 had some gorgeous writing and the queer rep is actually pretty f**king amazing.”
And another echoed: “Cannot believe I’ve seen a TikTok that says Vigil uses lesbians to bait people into watching the show like?? I promise a show where lesbians aren’t the main plot like doesn’t mean a show is using lesbians to bait you to watch.”
Romola Garai as Eliza Russell in Vigil season 2
BBC
In the end – spoilers ahead – Vigil has opened the door for a third season should the BBC decide to revisit Amy and Kirsten’s storylines.
The pair finished season two luckily unharmed along with Kirsten’s unborn baby and fondly looked towards the next chapter in their crime-fighting and personal lives.
Elsewhere, they solved the mystery of who was behind the deadly drone attack with Romola Garai’s Eliza Russell the main culprit.
She spearheaded the conspiracy with vice-marshal Marcus Grainger (Dougray Scott) and Derek McCabe (Steven Elder) calling the shots.
