Lockerbie series explores grief, justice and unanswered questions

The television series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth takes on the difficult task of humanizing the contested figure, Dr. Jim Swire, father of a victim of the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist bombing. Adapted from his book The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search for Justice, the series follows Swire through the aftermath of the bombing as he unrelentingly challenges the investigation surrounding the attack that took his 23-year-old daughter, Flora.

In the years following the tragedy that took the lives of 270 victims — 35 of which were Syracuse University students returning from study abroad programs — Swire became a controversial figure for his actions, especially among other victims’ families, some who don’t agree with his theories or the release of the series. Among these actions was an instance when he carried a fake bomb on a British Airways flight to New York to prove the inefficiency of airport security, as well as his long advocacy for the innocence of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was found guilty of the bombing in 2001. 

Played by Colin Firth, Swire is depicted as a truth searcher motivated by the anger and uncertainty following his daughter’s death. Through the episodes, Swire discovers various holes in the investigation, such as unheeded warnings about the attack that both the U.S. and U.K. governments failed to act upon. Additionally, in the episode about the trial of al-Megrahi, which occurred in the Netherlands under Scottish law and lasted 36 weeks, Swire meticulously finds faults in the prosecution’s case, leading him to advocate for a retrial and construct his own theory on who was at fault for the attack.

Courtesy of Peacock

Colin Firth as Dr. Jim Swire in Lockerbie: A Search for Truth inspecting evidence presented at the trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Firth’s portrayal of Swire’s character emphasizes his recklessness while simultaneously justifying his madness. The series takes viewers on a journey where every small discovery feels like a step closer to truth, and yet it is just far enough that we can smell it but not taste it. Like Swire, the audience finds themselves addictively wrapped in the evidence presented and angered by other characters’ inability to see it. Inevitably, Swire becomes distant from his family and the living world, yet his pursuit of truth feels undoubtedly necessary. 

The series is a thought-provoking, grim reminder that grief and truth don’t mix well. For characters like Swire’s wife, Jane (played by Catherine McCormack), closure arrives in acceptance that the uncertainty surrounding the death of her daughter is unresolvable and that all she can do is move forward. Her ability to heal represents how most of us approach grief, allowing ourselves to believe in half-truths to accomplish peace. Yet for Swire, who never takes a moment to sit back and process his loss until the last episode, truth is the brick wall standing between him and his grief, and we see him thrust at it with a sledgehammer that just doesn’t do the trick.

The long journey his character embarks on, which takes him to Libya three different times, leaves viewers admiring his bravery and resilience but pitying his inability to move on as the years fall back within minutes of each episode.

When we reach the conclusion of the series, 23 years have passed, several characters like journalist Murray Guthrie (played by Sam Troughton) have given up on Swire’s search and his family has grown up right under his nose. There’s a feeling like, along with Swire, we have also missed the rest of the world for the last 20 years, a world that has been changed by the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror. While the playing field is not the same, Swire’s goal persists. Like him, the ending invites the viewer to remain in this search for truth as it reveals that the British government has signed two public interest immunity certificates to prevent the disclosure of documents that might be related to the Lockerbie bombing.

Although the series’ biggest fault lies in its one-sidedness and focus on a single family affected by this insurmountable tragedy, it undoubtedly serves as an opportunity for discourse. For all the wounds it reopens about the Lockerbie tragedy, it also inescapably reopens questions surrounding its resolution, leaving viewers yearning for the long-awaited closure promised by Swire’s search for truth.