At the beginning of the episode, Stuart Collier (Steven Cree) Speaks with a trucker. The man finds himself stopped at a police checkpoint but Stuart says there is no police checkpoint. The man is pulled out of his truck, attacked, and his vehicle is taken. After that, we jump over to the Red Zone where a journalist speaks to a man about People’s Justice. He denies that the group is racist. He claims politicians do not care about them unless they’re looking for votes. He goes on to say the members think their kids should speak English in school and that white people should be proud of their culture. Seconds later, Francine tells Anna Marshall (Victoria Hamilton) that kids on YouTube are making the People’s Justice salute now.
The group has gone national and they’re worried about it. Robert Sutherland (Robert Carlyle) enters as Francine leaves. Anna wants to chat about Ellie but the PM doesn’t want to talk about it. Fraser Walker (Richard Dormer) enters and interrupts the conversation. He tells the PM about the hijacked 18-wheeler. He also claims that the Union is under pressure from the drivers to create a national stoppage. They head to the COBRA room and discuss a potential fuel stoppage. Their conversation turns to Scott Arthur Minett and the People’s Justice. Scott is well respected and his group has already secured resources in the area. Archie (David Haig) mentioned that Scott has two children of mixed race.
Archie and Robert get into a spat. Robert accuses Archie of trying to ruin his trip to the red zone. Robert tells Archie about a painting that features two men beating each other to death in the mud. Archie doesn’t seem worried and he says he is not going to resign. Meanwhile, a couple finds themselves in traffic. Peter (Edward Mott) and Rachel (Lucy Cohu) speak about Ellie’s situation. Peter is worried that Ellie is not coping well. Seconds later, the prime minister speaks with Francine (Marsha Thomason). Soon, the group sits down with Harry Rowntree (Con O’Neill). He chats with Francine about her decision to switch parties.
Scott and his party storm into the building and he confronts Stuart. They have an intense showdown with Stuart insulting Scott but Scott isn’t intimidated. Stuart doesn’t want to hand over the keys so the People’s Justice members threaten him. It appears Stuart is on the verge of crying. He tells Scott that he’ll be back after he is long gone. The mediation continued between the Prime Minister and Harry Rowntree. Harry threatens that his members will take things further. The Prime Minister receives bad news and that puts an end to negotiations. He speaks with Fraser about the situation and decides to send in the troops. Francine and Fraser are hounded by journalists outside. They chat about the funeral for Fraser’s daughter and his ex-wife.
Francine offers to come along but Fraser is worried about that since his kids know who she is. Scott speaks with a journalist about his mixed race kids. He explains that he blames everything on London. During their conversation, they notice several trucks full of soldiers arriving at the red zone. Moments later, General Rodney Pickering (Angus Wright) tells the PM that he senses uneasy among his soldiers. They do not feel that they should be doing that duty. Rodney explains that the men are not happy about going against Scott since he is a veteran. Archie suggests it would be bad if there are any casualties. He warns the PM that will be repercussions if anything happens.
Robert tells the General to order the soldiers to hold their position for the time being. Ellie visits her father while Anna gets a call from her husband Sam (Mark Bazeley). Ellie doesn’t like the idea that the blame is being placed on Georgia. He reminds her that most people who take drugs do not die. There is no punishment that will bring her back. She breaks down so Robert comforts her. Sam confronts his wife with the photos of Anna and her boyfriend. When asked if she loves him, Anna says she doesn’t know. Sam confesses that he has slept with other women during their marriage. She claims she is not unhappy with their marriage. She doesn’t have time to be unhappy. After that, the Prime Minister speaks in parliament.
The PM tells everyone that they’re taking steps to break the deadlock at the red zone. He says they will restore control and he wants to negotiate with them peacefully. Thomas Hydley (Mark Adams) speaks next. He wants to make sure there will not be any interference into the police investigation into the death of Georgia. Robert tries to give them that reassurance. Anna speaks with Eleanor (Lisa Palfrey) about the affair. She tells her that she found a weird message on Edin’s phone. Eleanor says she should leave it with her. The couple is caught in traffic again. They find out that there is a protest ahead. The protesters are speaking out against London and call for no emergency powers. Ellie wants to speak with her father but Robert can’t since Anna says there is a serious situation.
Rowntree speaks out against the administration on television. Fraser finds out there is another problem with the power situation with the PM doesn’t want to hear it. He is too busy listening to Scott’s rant. He says that there will be no more negotiations will him. Next, the PM receives a text from his daughter saying she wants to tell the truth. The PM holds a press conference in which he claims the People’s Justice is being selfish. He speaks out against people trying to divide everyone. Robert and Archie argue in the COBRA room. Eleanor doesn’t think they should use soldiers to break through. They put together a strategy to speak with Rownstreet and Scott. Robert agrees but says it can only be Scott. After that, Archie tells Eleanor it is time to separate the PM from Anna and a divorce might do the trick.
Eleanor explains that Edin is connected to a gangster involved in bringing in heroin from Turkey. There might be links to Jihadists too. That night, Anna speaks to her kids. Her son blames everyone on her and the administration but her daughter does not. Ellie posts a video about the overdose. Peter meets up with Archie. In the video, Ellie admits she provided the drugs and lied about it. Archie says Peter and Rachel knew that from the start. He believes the courts will be lenient on her since she confessed. He doesn’t think those who encouraged her to lie will get the same leniency. The PM and his wife watch Ellie’s video. Scott speaks to the people in the red zone. He reminds them that the PM hasn’t put the lights back on.
He says they still have spirit so they can still cause problems for the PM. Members of the gang storm the Civic Council building while Scott tries to get the soldiers on his side. Fraser goes to the barricade while Scott’s preaching continues.
Cobra Review
I guess we should’ve expected this show to get really political at some point. It is a show about politicians after all. I think the biggest problem is the fact that I can’t force myself to care about the characters. In fact, I might be a pessimist here. I find myself wanting to cheer for the bad guys. Why is it that I want Archie to take over and kick Robert out? Why do I find Scott more interesting than the Prime Minister? Realistically, I know neither of these things is going to happen. That makes the show a bit dull for me.
I’ve heard there is going to be a second season and that is really surprising. I didn’t expect that. I’ll finish this season and go from there. It is tough to believe the PM is going to call people selfish when the politicians still have access to water, Internet, and electricity. Those in the Red Zone do not. This episode did little to solve the problem of food, water, power. It was too busy jamming modern politics down our throats. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Previous recaps of Cobra are available on Reel Mockery.
