Trigger Point episode 3 began with more tragedy as Lana failed to defuse the bomb and save the man trapped in the mosque, with the right-wing group The Crusaders emerging as the prime suspects. But who are they and how are they getting such high-grade explosives? Check out our theories below...
*WARNING — spoilers for Trigger Point episode 3 below* Trigger Point is on ITV Hub in UK and on Peacock in the US.
Is Billy a member of The Crusaders?
The Crusaders, claim responsibility for the bombing of the mosque, saying it was as an act of revenge for the attack on the Westhaven Estate. CCTV images show the victim of the bombing leading a white man carrying a blue plastic bag into the mosque and him leaving a few minutes later without it. Bomb data expert Sonya also confirms the explosives used were similar to the ones found at the 'bomb factory' and the Westhaven attack.
Back at EXPO HQ, Wash bumps into John and asks why he didn't back her up when she needed his support, but he reminds her it was her job to request a second unit. Some mild fisticuffs ensue and while we don't really like John much, it's hard to escape the thought that maybe Lana is losing her grip on the situation and might benefit from a bit of a break after the trauma she's suffered...
As if things couldn't get any worse, she then gets a call from her brother, Billy, who's been arrested for an altercation at a Halal butchers. He's also very keen to keep his curtains closed, but why? ...and if he has no job, who's paid for his car to be fixed up?
We've been wondering about Billy's part in this story and there are a few clues to mull over here. He tells his sister he attacked the butchers because "people like that killed Nut" and says "we're at war", which is pretty extreme language. Could he be involved with The Crusaders? Have they recruited him to get close to Lana?
Is Karl an undercover detective?
As memories of the mosque continue to haunt Lana, she receives a call from Sonya telling her the HMX explosives come from a government facility at Porton Down, yet she can't get any more info because the whole file is classified. But how would any bombers - Islamist or White extremist - get access to such explosives?
In a bid to take her mind off things, Lana goes to see her old pal Karl, who saved the day when she got drunk at the pub. He takes her for a game of pool, but not before talking about his demons and how he's still haunted by his days in the army. The pair go on to have a deep and meaningful about life in the army and Lana's work as an EXPO, in a conversation we can't imagine her having with her boyfriend.
Could Karl be the man behind the bombings? He has military training and could also have the connections to secure the high-grade explosives used in the attacks. Or is he simply being used as the front for a larger government conspiracy?
Alternatively, could he be an undercover detective who's assigned the task of starting a friendship with Lana, in a bid to infiltrate the EXPO team and flush out the person who's really behind all this. John, we're looking at you! Either way, he's pretty rubbish at pool...
How did the bomber access explosives from Porton Down?
Back at his (lavish) flat, Thom tells Lana they've managed to track down the mosque bomber and shows her a picture of a sinister looking chap named Nick Roberts, who was a member of racist organisation, English Flag, until last year.
Yet Lana's phone soon bings as she has a message from Karl, although she tells Thom it's from Danny. Naughty naughty. Just put your phone on silent if you want to keep your new fella a secret Lana!
Thom also tells her he's looking into the link with Porton Down and consoles her over her guilt at failing to save the man at the mosque. For one reason or another, she doesn't feel able to open up to him and he gets a lukewarm reaction when he asks her to move in with him, although she eventually agrees.
Later on at EXPO HQ, Lana apologizes to John for having a go at him the other day and he probes her for information about whether the police have any suspects. He then moans at the TV reporter covering the mosque story, accusing her of being a "typical lefty" who always "sides with the enemy". Lana is obviously unimpressed with such sentiments. Could John be the man responsible for the bombing? He has the expertise to make the bombs and the contacts to acquire the explosives. Surely it would take someone higher up the chain of command to access explosives from Porton Down? But who and why?
Are the bombers intentionally keeping Lana alive?
There's no time to ponder that though, as The Crusaders have planted another device in a van near LGBT pub, The Five Oaks. The pub has been evacuated and the EXPOs send in the robot to find out what's going on, but why did the terrorists allow everyone to be evacuated, rather than just blowing up the pub?
As the robot does its work a series of bangs ring through the air as a sniper begins firing bullets into the poor robot, causing Danny to lose control of it. With the bomb wired with enough explosives to flatten half the street, everyone near that van is in grave danger.
Not for the first time, Lana springs into action and courageously deploys a smoke bomb to provide a cover from the sniper fire and allow her to gain access to the van. She just about manages to disarm the bomb before the smoke clears, but we can't help but feel like the sniper could have taken Lana out if they'd wanted to? Are the bombers keeping her alive as part of their plan? If so, why? Either that or she really does have nine lives...
Was Simon Randall killed by one of his colleagues?
Meanwhile, the police enter the flats opposite the pub and race to the 17th floor in a bid to find the shooter. Lo and behold, our old friend Nick Roberts descends in the lift wearing a suicide vest, with his finger on the trigger. Inspector Lee Robins promptly shoots him several times in the head rather than risk letting him set off the bomb and kill everyone in the building. But we don't think Nick Roberts was the shooter...
Upstairs, armed police officer Simon Randall enters an empty flat and finds a chair with a police uniform draped over it. While he's pondering that anomaly, someone darts out of the shadows and cuts his throat with a knife. But who was his killer and how did they escape the block of flats without the police seeing them? Or was Simon killed by one of his colleagues?
Maybe the shooter donned a police uniform and slipped out of the building in disguise after killing Simon? The police uniform wasn't there when the rest of the officers discovered his body, so it seems clear that poor Randall stumbled on a big clue before he was killed...
Could John be the bomber?
The police are now convinced the entire bombing campaign is being carried out by The Crusaders and also agree with Lana about the bomb factory they discovered not being genuine. They've interviewed Andy Phelan after discovering he shared a cell with Nick Roberts and find the deceased had a personal grudge against Phelan, so did the Crusaders attack him and use it as an excuse to start their racist bombing campaign?
But if Roberts was a "paranoid schizophrenic" - as Phelan put it - could he really have helped devised such a sophisticated bombing campaign? We think it's more likely he was a small cog who was exploited and considered expendable by the bombers...
CCTV also confirms our theory about the shooter slipped out of the block of flats disguised as a police officer, forensics won't get much from that Prius though.
Meanwhile, Lana is becoming more and more convinced there's an inside man helping the terror cell with their bomb-making and decides to break into John's locker to check out what he's been up to. In there she finds white nationalist leaflets and an A to Z marking out all the bombing locations! Is John a member of The Crusaders? Is he working with Karl? Or is he the man Karl is trying to catch?
