Bodyguard Ending Explained: Unpacking Netfilx's Twisty Thriller (2024)

Warning: Major spoilers for Bodyguard below.

If you’ve already binged Netflix’s intense, emotional thriller Bodyguard, take a minute to just breathe and collect yourself. It was quite a ride, right? But even though the series answered the main question of who killed Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) and seemed to give David Budd (Richard Madden) a pretty clean ending -- perhaps too clean? -- there’s still a lot to unpack and explore regarding both. Was it satisfying? Did it even make sense? And what exactly was up with the kompromat? Below is a breakdown of the ending, as well as some questions still lingering about the series:

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Who Killed Julia Montague?

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So first thing’s first: The conspiracy around Julia Montague’s murder ended with Luke Aitken admitting that he arranged for her death. Who is Luke Aitken? He was a latecomer to the story, the leader of a crime syndicate whose ties to the others who positioned themselves against Julia wasn’t clear until the final episode. And even then, it felt like it was more or less thrown in. The season focused on the political tensions around Julia’s RIPA 2018 bill, which would have expanded the purview of the Security Services (i.e. MI5), including increased surveillance and the potential for personal data invasion. It wasn’t popular with her political opponents — some of whom seemed to conspire with Aitken to remove Julia from office — especially when it became clear that she was making a play for the Prime Minister’s job.

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But ultimately, the series backed away from that avenue (suggesting that Rob was telling Tahir to interrupt Julia’s speech as a viral moment, and that Mike Travis was only trying to sabotage her politically, not to take her life) and focused instead on the sudden inclusion of this crime syndicate. That syndicate was one that got their information from a corrupt official — David’s boss Craddock, which felt a little forced — and their bombs from the same organization Nadia belongs to. And, they got to David using Julia’s rich, recently fired PR manager. So ultimately while Aitken was responsible (which itself was kind of a letdown), the full picture is pretty complex.

What Was the Kompromat All About?

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Early in the series, Julia is given a little tablet (the kompromat) by a mysterious man: Richard Longcross. It’s at this point that David starts to see a larger conspiracy building, one that Julia is also a part of. It appears that she was in league with MI5 to get information on the Prime Minister that she could use to force him to resign and grab power herself. Thus, it was in their interest to try and find that tablet after she was killed, to cover their tracks in what could otherwise read like a government coup. (What her ex-husband had to do with it I don’t know — I guess he was in on it as well?)

Longcross ultimately was just an MI5 agent, although he seemed like he was more because Nadia pointed to him as a the bomb maker (falsely, as we later learn). Once the agency realized that David was onto them though, it’s surprising they didn’t try to bring him in on things. Was it because David was aligned with the Metropolitan Police that MI5 didn’t kidnap him and include him in their plot (especially given how close he was to Julia)? Regardless, every good thriller needs a shadowy government org, so it worked in terms of atmosphere.

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Why Did Nadia Suddenly Admit to Everything?

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One of the finale’s less believable moments was that Nadia suddenly did a 180 and admitted to everything, proving that her “scared wife” persona was just an act. She admitted that she built the bombs, and that because David had underestimated her as not being the mastermind of the operation, she had mislead the investigation and targeted his children for another attack (which was thankfully thwarted). None of this made a lot of sense; Nadia says that she was able to do even more from prison because she was being trusted by investigators enough to cause more targeted damage, but if that was the case, why stop there? Why not continue on with her act and still feed information? Why admit that she was behind everything at that point?

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So while her chilling turn was an interesting surprise, it was one that also weirdly put David’s initial act of mercy into doubt. Essentially, he’s been perpetually punished ever since saving all of those people on the train as well as Nadia herself (who seemed to genuinely have been scared and didn’t want to blow herself up). What exactly is the lesson of that, to not have compassion or try to negotiate with people looking to do harm? Which brings us to …

Is the Series Islamophobic?

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As discussed, David’s compassion towards Nadia was rewarded by a long line of terrorist events, which makes the case that he should have allowed the police to kill her initially. That’s a pretty heavy statement to make, and one that isn’t helped by the fact that everyone (including David) later suspected Tahir as carrying a bomb or being part of the conspiracy to kill Julia.

Ultimately the show didn’t give us much time with Tahir, but it seemed plausible at one point that he was being used as a kind of False Flag operation by Mike Travis and his cronies. By suggesting that Tahir planted and set off the bomb, the investigation into Julia’s death could have ended with it being a terrorist-crafted explosion. That theory was bolstered a little earlier on, with the reveal that David’s friend Andy was the one trying to assassinate Julia in the caravan, as part of a potential homegrown terrorist movement. All of this (including Longcross being the bomb maker — later proved false) added up to the possibility that white opponents to Julia and her political stance were using brown people as cover for their own misdeeds, playing off of the police’s tendency (as presented here) to suspect them first.

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But that wasn’t actually the case. Tahir setting off the bomb seems to have mostly been an accident, and even if it was planned (by Mike, getting Rob to call him and get him to go onstage, knowing there was a bomb to detonate), it was clear pretty early on from the footage that the bomb was never located in the briefcase. Tahir wasn’t the terrorist or a pawn, but just an innocent bystander. And yet, the show never really explores the prejudice that led to him being a suspect even by David.

What Happened to Mike Travis?

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In the fallout from the revelation of Julia’s killer as well as the contents of the kompromat (and who supplied it), it was suggested that the Prime Minister resigned, alongside the head of MI5. Craddock, of course, surely went to jail for her part in the conspiracy. (Side-note: Craddock was a weird choice for the mole. It felt a little bit like the show wanted to keep us from guessing who the “inside man” was so much that it just picked someone at random. Ann Sampson was clearly set up as the compromised official, especially given her ties to crime syndicate work and her mistrust of both Julia and MI5. We also never learned why Craddock would betray her country in such a way, but then again, maybe it doesn’t really matter).

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The one person who seemed to get off scot-free, though, was Mike Travis. He weaseled his way into becoming the acting Home Secretary, and could also make his own play for Prime Minister now (especially with both the current PM and Julia out of the way). He definitely had worked to politically sabotage Julia, and was completely fine with David taking the blame for everything (as well as him blowing up!) Whether or not he was involved in the plan to murder her is uncertain, but at the very least he’s a real rat bastard — one we’ll probably see more of in a potential Season 2.

Will David and Vicky Reconcile?

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We didn’t get to see much of David and Vicky’s relationship this season outside of them navigating difficult times and tragedy, but it was clear throughout that — despite his infidelity with Julia and Vicky’s new boyfriend — they still love each other. We don’t know why, exactly, David and Vicky were separated to begin with except that she seemed to have had enough of his long, irregular hours for work and not dealing with his PTSD since the war. And yet, she was absolutely there for him both in the wake of his suicide attempt, and at the very end when she stood by his side as he was strapped up with explosives. You never know what will rekindle an old flame!

In all seriousness, what seems to have turned the tide for Vicky was the fact that David finally sought help and counseling for not only his PTSD but the trauma he went through over the course of the series. The David we saw at the very end (picking up his kids, laughing and playing with them, and coyly asking Vicky to come with them) was miles away from the one we met earlier. David recognizing that he had failed as a husband and father, and his selflessness in telling Vicky that she deserved to be happy, seemed to be important turning points for him personally. Will it lead to a full reconciliation with Vicky? Hopefully! Although if there is a Season 2 and beyond, I’m not sure we can expect that to last ….

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It is telling, however, that we never even saw Vicky’s boyfriend. He never showed up to advise her to stop running to David’s aid, or to say he should not be around the kids in his messed up state, or to do one of those “if you love her you’ll stay away” speeches. We never saw him at all! I’m not even totally sure I believe he exists. But by not showing him or making him a part of the series, it seems likeBodyguard does, on some level, want us to believe in a future for David and Vicky.

Should There Be a Season 2?

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As of now,Bodyguard hasn’t been renewed for a second season, though it was a ratings hit for the BBC (over 17 million people tuned in for the finale -- breaking all previous drama records since the Beeb started recording that data). The show’s creator Jed Mercurio is up for a second season, but isn’t sure if Richard Madden will be available, as his turn in this role may put him in high demand. Mercurio is currently in talks with the BBC, and while this first set of episodes was meant to be a one-and-done, there certainly is the potential for more.

While a second season ofBodyguard would suffer some from not having Hawes’ presence (some suspected perhaps she wasn’t really dead — we never saw a body!) there are plenty of ways that David could end up working to crack other conspiracies or thwart attacks. I don’t know how much more dramatic things could get than having him standing for half an episode in a suicide vest, but it could happen! Madden certainly has given the character an exceptional amount of emotional depth, and it could be interesting to see where the show goes next (especially if it leans more into a political plot with ramifications there rather than a random crime syndicate). But if things conclude with David getting his life in order and able to be accepted again by his family, well, that would be just fine as well.

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Bodyguard Ending Explained: Unpacking Netfilx's Twisty Thriller (2024)

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