wtf PTSD

A fast paced mini-series set around the fictional character of Police Sergeant David Budd, a British Army war veteran suffering from PTSD, who is now working for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service.

 

Budd is assigned as the principal protection officer (PPO) for the ambitious Home Secretary Julia Montague, whose politics he despises, which leads to the heroic but volatile Budd to become increasingly torn between his duty and his beliefs. As the drama unfolds, it is not only Budd who finds himself questioning who he can trust - the viewer also finds themselves suspecting everyone in turn of corrupted ideals.

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“The machinations of this series and the dynamics between its political personalities create a complicated puzzle that demands to be solved,” a review on Vulture says.  This makes Bodyguard instantly bingeable: you can't let go until you figure out how all the pieces fit together.

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Budd's struggle with his personal demons is a central feature of the plot. Given the stress of his job and family breakdown, Budd loses the ability to control his increasingly apparent PTSD symptoms.

The series ends with him volunteering to seek help for his PTSD - leaving it open for the return of his character in Season 2.

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Our reviewers for this series were a mix of people in recovery from PTSD, including ex-veterans, as well as clinical experts. Our ex-Vets described how watching the images of warfare, shown through Budd's flashbacks, reminded them of their own service history and mirrored events that they had also taken part in and experienced. In particular, the car scene when Bud and Montague are ambushed, brought back particularly vivid and realistic memories. 

 

"The sound of the bullets hitting the car brought back identical sensory memories.  I immediately felt frightened but also exhilerated - like someone had given me an injection of adrenalin."

 

Watching the series was very stressful and caused our viewers to ruminate and become more hypervigilent themselves.  But all continued to watch the show to the end - gripped by the storyline.

 

But, it wasn't all positive:

- All of us thought that the way Budd's character was depicted fed into unhelpful myths about how individuals with PTSD are dangerous, volatile, unpredictable and stubborn.

- It seemed unbelievable that his PTSD symptoms wouldn't have been picked up through psychological evaluations.

- Certain points in the plot seemed contrived and a bit over-the-top.

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A central message for the series appeared to be that it is hard to ask for help and, given this, the ending seemed very intentional.

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It is certainly one that we endorse!

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See the official trailer