Season 2 of Vigil recounted the events of the infamous Dundair massacre, where one of the pilots went rogue, killed seven soldiers on British soil, and heavily wounded many Wudyani officials who had arrived in Scotland to oversee the capabilities of the R-Pas drones, which their country was to adopt soon. An alleged extremist group called Jabhat Al Huriya was blamed for stealing one of the consoles and using it to kill British soldiers. On Bilali’s suggestions, Scotland’s police sent their best, DCI Silva, who figured that the disaster was part of a bigger conspiracy and Jabhat Al Huriya might not have any part to play in this.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Chapman’s Heated Exchange With Callum Concern Sam Kader?
Sam Kader, in Season 2 of Vigil, is introduced as a part of the joint R-Pas squadron. Unlike others, Sam Kader was a Wudyani national and also one of the few pilots who knew how to pilot combat drones. Since Sam Kader had unrestricted access to the airbase’s armory, DCI Silva also suspected him of stealing the R-Pas console and giving it to Jabhat Al Huriya. DCI Silva had learned from some soldiers that before Chapman left the base and handed the command of the R-Pas unit to Eliza Russell, he’d shared a heated exchange with Callum Barker. DCI Silva suspected that this was because of the missing R-Pas console. Silva visited Kader’s friend Nader Waheed, with whom he had attended university, to learn about Callum and Kader’s relationship.
Eventually, DCI Silva found out that Chapman’s heated exchange with Callum Barker wasn’t because of the R-Pas console but pertained to his romantic relationship with Sam Kader, who was also an R-Pas pilot, stationed at the Al Shawka airbase in Wudyan. Sam and Callum had been romantically and physically involved with each other for a year. The reason why Sam Kader didn’t tell Silva about this earlier was to keep himself and Callum safe, because if the truth had gotten out, Sam would’ve been arrested, and Callum would have been kicked out of the military. Wudyan was a hostile country where homosexuality and homosexuals were frowned upon and imprisoned. Thus, Sam had no choice but to keep his relationship with Callum a secret. The only reason Sam and Callum used to visit Nader Waheed’s house was to become intimate with each other, as it was the only place where they could feel safe. The duo trusted Nader and believed that no matter what happened, he would never betray their secret to anyone. In addition, the day the R-Pas was taken, Sam and Callum were at Nader’s house. Also, the phone Silva found in Callum’s room was there not so he could talk to Jabhat Al Huriya but to his boyfriend, Sam Kader.
Why Was Sam Kader Arrested?
Kader wasn’t entirely honest with DCI Silva and left out the part where he warned Abdullah Ghazali of the drone strike. Thanks to his tip, Abdullah Ghazali was able to escape without any harm. Silva and Russell followed Kader to a remote location, where they saw him meeting Abdullah Ghazali, proving that Sam had ties with Jabhat Al Huriya. Sam met Abdullah when he was studying at the university and joined his cause, figuring it was the right thing to do. Jabhat al-Huriya wasn’t a terrorist organization but a group of people who were gathering evidence of their government’s barbaric methods to present to the English courts. Sam Kader was just helping them get the evidence, like images and videos of R-Pas drones that were being supplied to Wudyan for security purposes.
Sam Kader was also the one who was passing important information to Firas Zaman, who used to be a Wudyani journalist. Sam Kader was risking his own life so the people of Wudyan could avoid tragedies like Al Bidbiyat, where dozens of innocent men, women, and children lost their lives. Sam Kader realized that everyone blaming Jabhat Al Huriya for Dundair was part of a much larger plan, as it would justify Wudyan’s further oppressions and killings. Thus, Sam took it upon himself to find evidence that could clear Jabhat Al Huriya. Once Silva and Russell were kidnapped, Sam Kader took the latter’s security card to download the security footage Wes Harper had on his computer.
The security footage showed the real-time recording of the Dundair accident, which proved that Jabhat Al Huriya was not involved in the killing of the seven British soldiers. The footage showed the drone pilot deliberately not firing at the Wudyani nationals. If the pilot had been working with Jabhat Al Huriya, he would’ve ensured their deaths. Sam Kader downloaded the footage on the flash drive but was arrested for treason by Bilali and his men. However, before being taken away, Sam gave the flash drive to Callum Barker, believing he would do the right thing.
What Happened To Sam Kader?
As already discussed, Sam was arrested, thrown behind bars for conspiring with the extremists, and slapped with a 20-year sentence. However, given Wudyan’s take on those who oppose its tyranny, it looked like they were going to execute Sam before he completed his sentence. Fortunately, Callum did the right thing and gave the recording to Silva. After that, Silva found a few more pieces of evidence, including Grainger’s email history, that proved that Eliza Russell, Marcus Grainger, and Derek McCabe were the masterminds of the Dundair accident.
Jabhat Al Huriya was just a scapegoat to take the fall and suffer the consequences. Russell and Grainger were taken into custody, but no statements were made, as any news of this conspiracy would’ve caused massive global outrage. It’s heartbreaking and demoralizing to see what people would do in the name of serving their country and people. Silva made Ian promise her that he would do everything in his power to help Sam Kader. However, this was difficult as Wudyanis weren’t really team players when it came to forgiving prisoners. Fortunately, Ian came through on his promise, and Sam’s twenty-year prison sentence was cut down to two. Callum met Kader in prison and told him that he would wait for him, and once he was free, they would start over again.
