{"id":44670,"date":"2024-01-28T23:00:59","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T22:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1980893"},"modified":"2024-01-28T23:21:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T22:21:21","slug":"trigger-point-missed-a-vital-opportunity-with-its-first-season-2-death","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/trigger-point-missed-a-vital-opportunity-with-its-first-season-2-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Trigger Point missed a vital opportunity with its first season 2 death"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you solve a problem character in Trigger Point? Blow them up, apparently. <\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 28 January 2024 at 22:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

**WARNING: Major spoilers for Trigger Point season 2 episode 1**<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be a Jed Mercurio-produced thriller without a noteworthy character death in the first episode. At this stage, it would be a bigger twist if everyone made it through one of his season openers.<\/p>\n

Trigger Point<\/a> provided a particularly bold example in its first season, which was marketed as a two-hander between Vicky McClure\u2019s Lana Washington and Adrian Lester\u2019s Joel Nutkins, only for the latter character to be swiftly killed off<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the season 2 premiere, DI Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) came awfully close to fulfilling this role, but managed to avoid a grim fate, leaving John Hudson (Kris Hitchen) as the sole named fatality \u2013 a loss few viewers are likely to mourn.<\/p>\n

John was, of course, a deeply problematic guy. In the previous run, he was considered the prime suspect<\/a> in Lana\u2019s investigation of a terror campaign sweeping London, due to his far-right associations, as well as his openly racist and Islamophobic views.<\/p>

He wasn\u2019t the bomber in that case, but these aspects of his life remained a profound concern, leading to his suspension from the Met and later return on probation \u2013 something Lana was less than thrilled about.<\/p>\n

While it initially seemed like John had genuinely changed, this was later exposed as a simple ruse to retain his earlier authority, with a disturbing private chat between himself and Lana proving him to be as cruel and hateful as ever.<\/p>\n

Then he died. Suffice to say, it\u2019s not a tear-jerker. But it does raise interesting questions about the worldview of the show, and whether this is the best use of the character that could have been imagined.<\/p>\n

It would be a pointless lie to say that people like John Hudson, who are prejudicial and discriminatory towards certain social and ethnic groups, aren\u2019t living among us in the UK right now.<\/p>\n

\"Kris\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Kris Hitchen in Trigger Point.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In fact, some may very well be inside the actual Met, which was declared \u201cinstitutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic\u201d in March 2023 by a damning report from Lady Louise Casey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, the problem extends beyond policing and into the hearts of communities across the country, denoting a major societal issue that demands immediate attention as well as a long-term strategy.<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve recently seen from the staggering response to ITV\u2019s own Mr Bates vs The Post Office<\/a>, television drama can be a genuine force for real-world change. But as that show also demonstrated, truly momentous results are hard to achieve.<\/p>\n

In the pages of a script, a character can be unceremoniously discarded when they present too much of a challenge, as was the approach taken with John. But in reality, these individuals remain \u2013 and their words and actions can cause major harm.<\/p>\n

Would it have been more valuable to have used the character of John Hudson to present a model for bringing radicalised people back into the safety, tolerance and understanding of civil society?<\/p>\n

\"Monica\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Monica Dolan as Jo in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV Studios<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

I\u2019m not suggesting that such a storyline would \u201csolve racism\u201d in the UK or anything daft like that, but simply proposing that mainstream media representations of such journeys are important for demonstrating that they are possible.<\/p>\n

If executed well \u2013 avoiding the abundant pitfalls of preachiness and cringe \u2013 this optimistic character arc could have been moving, provocative and culturally relevant.<\/p>\n

At the very least, it would have sparked more conversation and elicited a greater emotional response than seeing him get thrown a few feet across an abandoned car park, mere moments after spewing a gallon of verbal bile.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something disappointing about the show suggesting that people like John can\u2019t change their ways, which is surprising coming from series creator (and co-writer of this very episode) Daniel Brierley \u2013 who previously suggested the opposite might have been in store.<\/p>\n

\"Ricky\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Kris Hitchen stars in Sorry We Missed You.<\/span><\/figcaption> Universal Pictures<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

After the season 1 finale, he told RadioTimes.com<\/a> that he\u2019d be interested in a \u201credemption arc\u201d for John, citing Hitchen\u2019s \u201castonishing\u201d performance in acclaimed indie film Sorry We Missed You as evidence he could handle the material.<\/p>\n

Brierley added: \u201cI\u2019m very interested in people that have opinions and beliefs and then change them\u2026 I feel like John and Kris, the character and the actor, have got so much more to give us.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, why the change of course? Well, not everyone who holds these views does end up seeing the light, and perhaps Trigger Point was simply trying to reflect that grim reality.<\/p>\n

But at such a polarised time for our country (and the world), when many people are indulging in extreme ideology or disappearing down conspiracy-fuelled rabbit holes, it might have been nice to inject a ray of hope into this predominantly bleak thriller.<\/p>\n

It was too late for John, but I hope that we can still find paths to reconcile that which divides us \u2013 for all our sakes.<\/p>\n