The Capture series 1 and 2 recap: How first two series ended and what it means for series 3
Series 3 begins 12 months after Rachel Carey broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation
The Capture is easily the most relevant TV thriller on our screens right now, with series 3 following on from the disturbing revelations of series 1 and 2 – so here’s a handy recap of what happened.
Series 3 is set 12 months after Holliday Grainger’s Rachel Carey broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation. Thus exposing the UK intelligence service’s clandestine video manipulation programme known as ‘Correction’.
In real life, however, it’s been four years since the series last aired. And that’s a long time to remember such a detail-heavy plot.
The Capture series 3 asks: “How do you protect the truth, in a world where lies are daily currency? And with the proliferation of deepfakes, how can we trust what we see?”
To brush you up on what happened before, here’s series 1 and 2 of The Capture unpacked in our to-the-point recap.
***Warning: spoilers from The Capture series 1 and 2 in our recap ahead***
The Capture series 1 recap: Who was Shaun Emery?
The Capture season 1 aired in 2019 on BBC One, and remains our favourite series so far. The six-parter introduced Holliday Grainger as ambitious DI Rachel Carey who uncovered huge corruption within the British government.
DI Carey was called to investigate when a former soldier was accused of kidnapping and murdering his barrister. But all was NOT AT ALL what it seemed. Although CCTV footage showed Lance Corporal Shaun Emery kissing barrister Hannah Roberts, before becoming violent, punching her, and dragging her away. He insisted the evidence had been doctored to frame him, and that they’d actually said goodbye and he’s seen her get on a bus.
And he was right, and Hannah was in on it too (at first anyway). The UK and US intelligence agencies weren’t pleased when a court of law had overturned his Afghan war crimes conviction due to a faulty helmet-cam video. The former soldier was initially convicted of shooting an unarmed Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan. After he spent six months in prison, the conviction was overturned on appeal after a technical glitch was found in the helmet-cam footage. However, despite being acquitted, Shaun Emery was, in fact, guilty of the war crime.
Specialist teams in the British Intelligence Services and CIA used ‘Correction’ to implicate Shaun in the new crime to put him back behind bars. Thanks to doctored footage, Shaun was immediately framed in the murder of Hannah. But the CCTV footage had been doctored and wasn’t real. And the crucial question was: “Were the UK/US intelligence justified to fake evidence in a bid to put Shaun Emery back behind bars? Albeit for a crime he didn’t actually commit?”
And if they are allowed to ‘play God’, where does it end?
What happened at the end of series 1?
In the final episode of The Capture series 1, the all-seeing intelligence agency blackmailed Shaun into pleading guilty to kidnapping and murdering Hannah to protect his young daughter. After being coerced into a confession, he pleaded guilty to killing Hannah on grounds of diminished responsibility due to PTSD and was sentenced. He went to prison to protect the state-sponsored conspiracy.
DI Rachel Carey had gradually realised that Shaun had been telling the truth. She was sickened to learn that she had been lied to by her bosses, including Commander Danny Hart (secretly an MI5 operative), with whom she’d been having an affair.
Rachel realised her own career was aided by this shady technology. She went on to join the elite anti-terrorism unit at British Intelligence, hoping to expose them from within.
The series highlighted a “post-truth” era where surveillance footage is unreliable and easily manipulated. Can you really trust what you see? Seven years after the series first aired, this has never been more relevant.
What is ‘Correction’ in The Capture?
‘Correction’ is an advanced deepfake technology managed by specialist teams in the British Intelligence Services and CIA to secure convictions. They use images from defendants’ social media profiles to create incriminating CCTV footage and plant it in live feeds for patsies (or “truffle hogs”, as they called them).
Basically, a more sophisticated version of police planting evidence on a suspect when they are so sure someone is guilty they need a little ‘help’ proving it. Of course, essentially, it’s unethical, and illegal.
Don’t take our word for it. Rachel Carey herself tells us: “Correction is when they take something they don’t like, and change it. Correction is a method of real-time image manipulation, using the disruption of camera feeds and the deployment of deep-fake technology.” And it’s all “sanctioned by British intelligence”.
DI Rachel Carey subsequently uncovered the conspiracy. She realised that the intelligence agency manipulated CCTV to plant evidence against suspects they believe are guilty. She learnt that a secret government unit manipulated live video feeds to create incriminating evidence. In the case of Shaun Emery, his barrister was working to expose ‘Correction’ and was eventually killed by the organisation, before they set him up to take the blame.
However, MI5 said they weren’t “faking” evidence. Rather they were “re-enacting” events to lead to a conviction. Rachel’s one-time lover Danny Hart told her: “Correction turns intelligence into evidence and keeps terrorists off the streets.”
Who is Ron Perlman’s character Frank Napier?
Frank Napier is the shady CIA agent running the ‘Correction’ programme in the UK. He’s capable of murder, too. In fact, Frank murdered barrister Hannah in series 1, and planted her body in the boot of Shaun’s. All to set Shaun up.
To get his wicked way, Frank subsequently abducted Shaun’s young daughter from school to force him to ‘comply’.
Frank’s boss in the CIA was Jessica Mallory, played by Famke Janssen. You won’t be surprised to hear she was capable of some morally ambiguous things too.
In series 2, CIA operative Frank Napier kidnapped Rachel Carey who was getting too close to the truth. The trailer for series 3 shows Frank attempting to work with Rachel. But we wouldn’t trust him as far as we could throw him. His job is to protect ‘Correction’ at any cost.
The Capture series 2 recap
Series 2 of The Capture landed on BBC One in 2022. So, to date, there has been at least three years between each season.
This time, DI Rachel Carey had been promoted to S015 – the very security unit suspected of being behind the ‘Correction’ technology. She was called to investigate when politician Isaac Turner was targeted by the deepfake footage she had uncovered in series 1.
Who is Isaac Turner?
Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu) was a high-flying, ambitious MP and Minister for Security in series 2. His character faced a career-threatening crisis when he was targeted by deepfake technology. His political career and reputation was jeopardised when he was interviewed on BBC Newsnight, only for the live stream to be compromised (aka faked). Manipulated video footage was created to make it appear as though he was saying and doing things he hadn’t. He became the reluctant puppet of ‘Correction’.
Ultimately, he was targeted because of his key position within the government. Isaac Turner was part of a government committee tasked with evaluating a Chinese AI facial-recognition tech company, Xanda, who were bidding on a contract with UK border security. The faked technology showed Isaac publicly endorsing Xanda. Fake footage also exposed Isaac’s (fictional) love child.
As Rachel Carey fought to expose it, she began working closely with Isaac. At the end of the series, the duo successfully exposed the ‘Correction’ deep-fake unit. They achieved it by having a manipulated version of MP Isaac Turner admit to the conspiracy on a fake Newsnight broadcast… By playing them at their own game, Rachel and Isaac were able to turn the tables on them.
Turner was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, and the ‘Correction’ was exposed – at least for now. But the shady team behind it still held immense power…
Do I need to have watched series 1 and 2 of The Capture to watch series 3?
The Capture is known for its particularly gnarly and complicated plot (hence this series 1 and 2 recap). But the conspiracy thriller is very much worth investing your time in. If you haven’t already, you can watch series 1 and 2 on BBC iPlayer now.
Although you could watch series 3 without having tuned into the previous two series, we think you’d enjoy it a lot more if you had. Although there’s a different story in each series, there is a common enemy – ‘Correction’ – and it helps to know the history.
Many of the same characters, including Paapa Essiedu’s Isaac Turner, will be returning in series 3 – this time as Home Secretary. In the 2026 episodes, Rachel is now Acting Commander Carey. Well, what better way to show that the department has cleaned up its act than putting her in charge?
In the trailer, she tells us: “The question we asked ourselves a year ago has become even more urgent. How do we sort fact from fiction. How can we believe what we see?”
She reveals a new counter-technology to help fight ‘Correction’. She reveals: “Operation Veritas is a smart surveillance camera designed to detect cyber attacks and deep fakes in real time.”
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