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The second episode of Jimmy McGovern’s new drama Accused came to our screens on Monday evening with a considerable dose of controversy behind it. Senior military staff criticised the depiction of extreme bullying within the army that was shown in ‘Frankie’s Story’, and the BBC released a statement defending the drama. Whether truthful or not, this was an excellent hour of television, brilliantly written and sensitively acted.
The titular Frankie (Benjamin Smith) is in the docks for a crime that unfolds over the course of the hour. We first meet him as he and his best friend, Pete (Ben Batt), manage to talk themselves into a fight in a pub. To avoid prison, Frankie joins the army with Pete. When they get to Afghanistan, however, things aren’t as simple as they’d seemed when sitting in that police cell; Pete, in particular, discovers the horrors of war at exactly the wrong time, and gets branded a coward for it. Buckley, their bullying Lance Corporal (Mackenzie Crook) decides to make an example of Pete, and his life becomes a living hell. The last straw comes when Pete betrays him, and he commits suicide, but his family is told he died in action, a hero’s death.
While this episode lacked the central star-power of last week’s opening episode, the two lead actors are astonishing, as their characters turn from fun-loving, laddish young men, to broken, fearful soldiers. The friendship between them is believable, which is key, as it’s the most important relationship in the story. Robert Pugh also shines in a relatively small role as Pete’s grieving father, whose own military experience leads him to work out the truth. Yet the real revelation here is Mackenzie Crook as Buckley. I wasn’t sure of his ability to play a straight role convincingly, but he’s astonishing as the brutal bully, who uses Pete to try and join the rest of his men together against a common enemy. Then he becomes even more vile as he tries to deny his culpability in Pete’s death, and convince Frankie that lying about it is the best solution for everyone.
It’s obvious why the army objected to this drama, but in doing so, they did the audience a great disservice. McGovern uses this extreme setting, where people discover who they really are, to explore ideas of truth, morality and loyalty. I'd have liked some more development of Frankie's guilt that it was his action that tipped Pete over the edge. This episode raised some fascinating questions, and no element more so than the ending. Personally, I wasn’t convinced by it: I could see that Frankie’s loyalty to his friend would want him to have a hero’s death, but the idea that he would leave his wife and child for twenty-five years to give it to him didn’t ring true. However, two days later, I’m still thinking about it, which says a lot for this drama’s power.
After last week’s strong and compelling opening episode, ‘Frankie’s Story’ delved even further into questions of justice, morality and loyalty to create a challenging hour of television that will have you thinking long after it’s done.
The next episode of Accused, Helen's Story, is on BBC1 next Monday at 9pm.
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