* This Trigger Point season 2 episode 4 recap contains spoilers * After seeing yet more people get blown-up, Lana's colleagues are concerned she's suffering from severe PTSD, but she refuses to leave the case and vows to catch the terrorists who killed DCI Thom Youngblood. It seems Alex could well be her best hope of doing that, but how much can she really trust the mysterious informant who works for The Wave?
Following the blast in central London, Commander Francis confirms that cabinet minister Matthew Palfrey and two civil servants have been killed. Oliver Jenkins, whose laptop set-off the blast, has also died. Moments later Alex calls to say there will be another drone attack with up to 12 bombs later that day.
Alex forwards the address The Wave are headed for, Bullion Wharf in East London, to the expos and they set off immediately. But is Hope, the leader of The Wave, on to Alex? He's been acting pretty suspiciously? We shall see.
In East London, a series of explosions ring out and when Wash finally manages to upload the live stream Alex has forwarded to her, it becomes clear the bombs are not attached to drones — but scooters! Lana can only watch as a woman is blown apart in brutal fashion, while riding one.
It’s another memory to add to Wash’s enormous list of traumas and when Sonya Reeves arrives on the scene she tells her mate she needs to start taking better care of herself. Obviously, there’s no way a real expo would be able to carry on after suffering such a litany of horrors, but we suppose we have to take these things with a pinch of salt — after all it's great telly!
Can Webster King be trusted?
After several missed calls from her mum, Lana pays her parents a visit and finds them arguing about the death of her brother. “She says she wants a divorce,” says her dad when Lana walks in. “We all tried with Billy, but he wasn’t well. Can we stop blaming each other and start looking after each other!” says the expo, before leaving.
Back at Counter Terrorism HQ, Hass confronts Lana about her decision to run after the woman on the scooter. He says she’s stopped caring about the rules and is starting to put herself in danger through complacency. “You don’t give a shit anymore!” he says, but she doesn’t seem ready to listen.
Meanwhile, The Wave have posted another video, entitled "The rich don’t work for you, don’t work for them. The kingdom must fall". Lana has some thoughts on it, but it’s clear Commander Francis isn’t as keen on her opinions as he used to be. When he questions the veracity of Alex’s intel, Lana says she has a feeling he’s trying to help. “Feelings aren’t going to solve this case!” he replies furiously. He says until they have evidence that proves otherwise, Alex remains a suspect.
Nevertheless, Alex is back on the line and suggesting there will be another attack today on a "big house", which will be The Wave’s "crowning glory".
Commander Francis believes they could be talking about Buckingham Palace, yet his team soon finds a link between the attack at Bullion Wharf and the one on Ratea Analytics. They’re both owned by Webster King, who’s facing investigations into bribery and has taken several government bailouts, while pocketing billions of pounds from the sale of his previous company. What a guy.
It turns out King is getting married in Hertfordshire, in a ceremony bound to be packed with hedge fund managers and cabinet ministers. “Let me manage Wester King,” says Francis, before setting off to attend the imminent COBRA meeting.
At a very swish country estate in Hertfordshire, Wash and the team arrive as Webster King is making his speech. Thankfully there’s no bomb in the wedding cake, but there IS an enormous IED concealed in the staff toilets, with enough explosives to take down the entire building. There are less than two minutes on the clock, but Wash uses the wedding Range Rover to pull the bomb into an empty field.
“Better to have arrived late than not to come at all,” says King, in a comment that doesn’t land well with Lana. He then goes on to lament the loss of his Land Rover, which apparently meant a great deal to his family. Tbh, he makes us sympathise with The Wave a bit, but is there something more sinister about this aristocrat than his pomposity?
Can Lana trust Alex?
Meanwhile, Commander Francis wants to take the fight to The Wave and his first step will be to arrest Alex. “You’ll have to find him first,” points out Lana. In the debate that follows, it’s clear he doesn’t really care what Lana has to say. Maybe he feels she's been through too much and has become a loose cannon. That isn't entirely unfair, but of course we're still #TeamLana.
Yet when she arrives home, Lana finds Alex is waiting for her. “You’re the only one who can save me!” he says. “I need your help to stop these people.” Alex then goes on to tell his story. He had a wife, a daughter and a well-paid job, but his daughter died two years ago at the age of 13. She was being bullied online and ended up taking her own life.
When he was at his lowest he joined a cyber group who were fighting back against big tech. That group eventually became The Wave and started planting bombs. He wants out, but he also wants to try and make up for some of the damage he’s helped to wreak. “You could get killed,” says Alex. “Or maybe I could do some good!” he replies.
He then tells her his real name and begs her not to give it to the police, saying she’s the only person he wants to deal with. “They’re planning something terrifying now, no one in the city’s safe!” he says eerily.
Lana trusts Alex, but is he telling her the whole story - or is this simply their latest ruse? Is he the real leader of The Wave?
