The Season 2 Trailer for 'The Capture' is a Real-Life Warning

The purpose of science fiction is to explore the paths of technology not yet taken or propose alternative universes where humanity has chosen different priorities. While the latter can make for comforting TV, either in the horrors avoided or utopias established, it's the former that's more worrisome. The Capture, a hit on the BBC in 2019, falls under the alarming heading, not because its deepfake technologies are necessarily dangerous. Still, because they exist right now, as shown, and should governments choose to use them, these stories are not just plausible but a warning.

Season 1 was an introduction of sorts. It began with a case where a court marshaled Lance Corporal, acquitted of war crimes after a personal body cam reveals him innocent, is then accused of abduction and murder. He is shown to have done it on camera, even though viewers know it never happened. The irony is that the footage in both cases was manipulated by a group trying to expose SO-15, a secret CGI deepfake operation within the intelligence community that manipulates video evidence to put away people for crimes they didn't commit. Though the suspect winds up going away from the crime he didn't commit instead of the one he did, justice is (kind of) served.

But the big twist at the end of the season is the show's hero, DCI Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger), decides to work for this secret operation rather than expose them. Despite the horrificness of the argument, a bit of evidence manipulation to create a slamdunk case against those who mean harm is in the national interest; viewers are supposed to sympathize. Or are they? Is Carey joining the group because she believes they are right? Or is she going to take them down from within?