Bodyguard finale: What the critics are saying about episode six

*Spoiler warning* Dramatic final episode aired on Sunday night

The BBC's political thriller Bodyguard reached its nail-biting conclusion on Sunday night, with viewers catapulted through some major twists and turns.

The culprits behind the plot to assassinate Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) were finally unmasked. However, since there is still so much of the story left to tell, with the terrorist cell responsible still active, creator Jed Mercurio is likely be hoping for a second series.

That outcome is looking highly positive, as Bodyguard's finale is predicted to have brought in one of the biggest TV audiences for a drama series this decade. However, critics had somewhat of a more mixed reaction to the show's conclusion.

Here's what the critics made of Bodyguard's finale episode.

The Independent - Sean O'Grady

"Bodyguard was compelling viewing, smashing records. It made Sunday night TV great again. Bonnets and breeches were banished to the costume drama warehouses whence they sprung. Jed Mercurio’s topical, breathtaking, lively script was matched by peerless performances. A hard act to follow, Bodyguard, even for Mercurio himself."

The Guardian – Lucy Mangan

"The whole thing has been a retro-rush. Weekly, unbingeable episodes parcelled out like old times. Cliffhangers you talked about the next day on Twitter, the gig economy’s water-cooler. An ancient story – soldier fails in noble duty, runs towards danger and atonement, sword aloft – in modern dress captured our imaginations once again."

The Telegraph – Bryony Gordon

"It wasn’t that this was bad television – quite the opposite, to have 11 million people tuning in each week. It was more that it was good television that could have been brilliant, but somehow failed to reach its potential.

"Watching the final episode unfold felt a bit like witnessing a grade-A student open up their envelope on exam results day to find a string of Bs. It had tried too hard to impress, and ended up collapsing under the weight of its own expectations."

Digital Spy – Morgan Jeffrey

"Having built and built a complex conspiracy across the series, Mercurio just about pulls everything together in this final instalment, even if a few of the final twists stretch credulity to near-breaking point.

"But whatever slight reservations we might have about Bodyguard's climax, there's no denying that the series has been a dramatic tour-de-force like no other – far more heightened and way more outrageous than the same writer's Line of Duty, but at its best, every bit as gripping."

The Times – Carol Midgley

"There were many plot holes here but this was event TV and Mercurio, skilled at wrongfooting his viewers, gave us two final twists. The first was average; it was that second one, linking back to that grubby intercity train toilet six weeks ago, that pulled it out of the bag."

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