Lockerbie: A Search for Truth – Episode 2 Recap & Review

Episode 2

Episode 2 of Lockerbie: A Search for Truth begins May 1990. We’re 1 year and 5 months after the tragic plane crash and Jim is working with Murray to try and figure out the truth. Jim Swire shows up at the airport carrying two suitcases, one of which holding a cassette player which is being used as a dummy bomb. The idea here is to see how easy it is to smuggle something that could be explosive onboard… and very easy appears to be the answer.

Jim is bound for Boston and when he arrives, picking up the yellow suitcase again, we see exactly what he’s done. The cassette player opens up to reveal something that looks like a plastic explosive, which is an exact replica of the bomb, but instead of C4, it’s marzipan. All of this proves that airport security is actually very lapse. However, Jim’s crazy plan ends up making the news.

Jim Swire does make it back to London, where Jane is waiting for him. Jane is obsessed and the house has tuned into a shrine for Flora. There are pictures everywhere, a portrait up on the wall and she’s barely sleeping either. Jim apologizes for leaving, and keeping his family in the dark over everything, but he feels determined to see this through to the bitter end, no matter what.

The sad truth is, this is only going to make waves for a few days before it’s forgotten again, and it’s clear the airline doesn’t want this sort of heat, given Jim just gets a slap on the wrist for his antics and is told not to do it again.

Jane reminds her husband that they still have two other kids and since Flora’s death, he’s been holed up in his study, barely speaking to any of them. So instead, she makes an effort to change things and organizes a family trip up to the Isle of Skye in Scotland. This tranquillity is just what they need to try and reconnect as a family. They used to go for family trips up here in the past, and watching the home videos that night prove to be a difficult exercise, as Jim silently weeps in front of the TV.

That night, news breaks that two Libyan nationals have been arrested in connection with the bombings. One happens to be the same guy we saw at the start of episode 1, a man named Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. The other is Lamin Khalifah Fhimah.

Over in Libya, al-Megrahi speaks to his wife, who’s shocked to find his face up on the news. This coincides nicely with Jim Swire’s latest talk, as the spokesperson to the families. He’s looked over the crime scene evidence and among the charred belongings happens to be a piece of clothing that has a fragment of the bomb, made in Malta. This bears the Yorkie label. A label which originates from a Maltese national who owns the shop that apparently sold some random clothes to a Libyan national.

On top of all this, al-Megrahi used to work for an airline and with an old pass, the presumption here is that he snuck the suitcase in with the other luggage and during a connecting flight, it was just added in with the other suitcases and subsequently exploded.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi used to be head of security at the airline, so the theory here is that he managed to bypass a lot of the security checks, hence the ease of doing this.

Murray is not convinced though and believes it’s still Iran behind all of this, given the Middle Eastern tensions, and broaches the idea of this being covered up. When Jim heads home that night, he finds a strange man outside by the name of Nabil. He works for a newspaper in Cairo and comes with a proposition. You see, Colonel Guddafi wants nothing more than to stick it to the West and that means there appears to be no chance of al-Megrahi making trial in Scotland.

So, as a compromise, Nabil wants to take Jim Swire to Libya to meet with the Colonel. It’s an unconventional method yes, and Nabil gets a scoop for his newspaper so he’s not doing it completely selflessly. The thing is, if this gets to the UN, sanctions are going to harden and it’ll make it nigh-on impossible to get any sort of resolution – and Jim knows that.

Before he leaves, Murray encourages Jim to have some keywords and phrases just in case things go sour while he’s away. Given what a splash he’s made with the news and his current investigation, it’s almost certain that his phone lines have been tapped, so this is the safest bet to keep things intact.

Jim touches down in Libya with Nabil, and meets with the Colonel. As he sits in a large room, surrounded by soldiers, he wears a badge honouring those who died from the Flight. Inside his suitcase happens to be photos of Flora, but the Colonel is not happy, refusing to be blackmailed by anybody in the west. Jim  wants justice to be done, and explains he doesn’t want revenge – he just wants the truth to come out. After pinning a badge on the Colonel, he leaves Jim without a word.

However, Jim’s trip to see Guddafi actually changes the perception of the families, who believe this is a foolhardy idea and he starts to receive hate mail too, telling him they’re all ashamed of him.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi meanwhile, does a news report and apparently he was in Tripoli on the day of the bombings. This is a lie, given his wife Aisha knows he was in Malta, but al-Megrahi is skittish and not revealing everything. Unfortunately, it all leads to an international stalemate, as Guddafi refuses to turn the suspects over to the West.

We then jump forward once more. It has been 4 years since the bombings, BUT there is a compromise. The trial could take place in a neutral country like Switzerland, which appears to be the only play Guddafi will play ball. Both sides – the combined efforts of the US and UK against Libya – want to get a resolution given the UN sanctions are slowly killing the African nation, but both have very different idealistic views so it’s not going to be easy.

Jim shows up back in Libya and meets with Guddafi once more along with a legal expert, Robert Black. They play to Guddafi’s strengths, and it does the trick as the trial goes ahead. It will be a former airbase in the Netherlands that will play host to this. 

Jim leaves for the airbase and promises Jane that this will be the end of it. When the trial has finished, he’ll be back with the family. For good this time.

The Episode Review

With time marching forward and a new political government, the Lockerbie case is finally starting to unravel, and this series foes a great job capturing the raw essence of this through the eyes of Jim Swire. He’s obviously torn between justice and dedication to his family, and it has gone right down to the wire here, with Jim promising to let this go once the trial is done.

Quite what will happen at this trial is anyone’s guess (except for those who know their history!) and the case will hopefully get some justice and resolution for those poor victims and their families.

So far Lockerbie has been a solid watch and the mix of politics, drama and great acting has definitely helped set this up as an enticing watch. There is a lot of information packed into these episodes too, making for an incredibly dense view, but it’s an engrossing one all the same!