Vigil's creator has revealed the underlying reason DI Kirsten Longacre has been flown out to Svalbard for the show's third season.
Vigil is back on BBC One with another complex international murder investigation after a British soldier on an undercover mission is killed. For the first two series, DCI Amy Silva (played by Suranne Jones) headed up the missions and travelled across the world, but it is a different story in season three.
Instead, her wife DI Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie) has been chosen to fly out to Svalbard, Norway, making it a very full-on first day after returning from maternity leave.
Practical reason for Kirsten's assignment
Creator Tom Edge teased that not all is as it seems regarding who MI5 recruited for this mission. He explained: "There is a practical reason for Kirsten to be assigned the foreign-soil gig; they need the investigation to appear low-key. Sending a DCI - especially one with Amy's track-record - would risk announcing the UK's interests."
Edge added: "But as the series progresses it may be that there is a more strategic reason at play as to why Kirsten is selected over Amy…"
Impact on Amy and Kirsten's relationship
Edge then shared what impact choosing Kirsten over Amy is going to have on the couple. He said: "This choice is discomforting for both Amy and Kirsten. Kirsten doesn't want to let Amy down; Amy struggles not to micromanage from afar."
"The choice exposes issues of trust, ambition and power-imbalances between them just as Kirsten's maternity leave comes to an end, a threshold that already prompts questions of career and family life balance."
The second episode of Vigil season three is scheduled to air this evening, Monday, August 31, with the rest of the series expected to air on Sundays and Mondays. Vigil is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
