'COBRA' Season 2, "Cyberwar" Kicks Off With Destroying Kent

It's been almost two years since we were last enthralled, confused, and annoyed by Sky TV's COBRA, written by Ben Richards and directed by Mo Ali and Sallie Aprahamian. The term "COBRA" has the same relevance to herpetology as Monty Python's Flying Circus; it's an acronym for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, where bad news, bad behavior, and political jockeying solve big problems. Season 2's big problem is a World War II wreck in the Thames Estuary, loaded with explosives. (Helpful note: there is a real-life World War II wreck in the Thames Estuary, the SS Richard Montgomery, loaded with explosives, a mile from densely-populated land and in an area full of shipping. Fingers have been crossed for a very long time.)

Backtracking to the "real" start of the series, shortly before the catastrophe, Prime Minister Robert Sutherland has recently won a general election, although with a smaller margin than before. He is a friendly Tory, we've been told, not too posh, and he successfully kept his promise to turn the lights back after a massive solar flare knocked out everything except everyone's cell phone in Season 1. The Labour Party has a new, dynamic leader, and Sutherland's family scandal may well have also lost his party some seats.

Daughter Ellie went on trial for a drug offense that caused the death of a friend, and after a short spell in prison, she is now in Chile to keep out of trouble. Sutherland's wife, also in danger of a prison sentence for her involvement, was found not guilty. Francine Bridge, who defected from Labour to join Sutherland's cabinet, and is now out of favor with both parties, is looking for another position. She appears on a podcast with journalist Hara Misra with whom she trades insults and lots of significant eye contact, leading to an intimate exchange of phone numbers.