Vikram Bondal

In MobLand, much of Harry Da Souza’s past is left unexplained. However, in season two, the show reveals that he spent seven years in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, and that background helps explain a lot about the character. The Paras are an elite airborne infantry regiment trained to deploy quickly into dangerous situations, including by parachute or helicopter. Paras often operate in small teams under a designated leader. These teams can be deployed ahead of the main force, sometimes with limited support, placing particular emphasis on initiative and the ability to adapt when plans go wrong. They often find themselves travelling to locations by air, and fighting larger enemy forces with limited support, a situation Harry faces in both season 1 and 2 of the show. Before I go on, this post contains some spoilers for season one. I’ll avoid season two spoilers for anyone still catching up, apart from Conrad’s revelation about Harry’s past, which I’ve already mentioned. Over seven years in the Parras, Harry would have likely advanced to l corporal, commanding a section of eight to ten soldiers. And that explains a lot about how he operates in the Harrigan crime family. Conrad gives him an objective like a commanding officer, and Harry takes full responsibility for working out how to achieve it, without ever questioning orders. Kiko and Zosia work under him as a small, trusted unit, looking to him much as soldiers would their section commander, never once challenging his authority. Conrad reveals that Harry worked in private security before joining the Harrigans, leaving the details of that period vague. Harry may have recruited Zosia and Kiko through contacts from this earlier part of his career. Towards the end of episode one, there’s a moment where the team holds Richie Stevenson in their crosshairs, awaiting Conrad’s decision to “stick or twist.” Harry directs the operation, with Zosia and Kiko ready to act on his signal. Their familiarity with their roles, especially Kiko’s handling of the sniper rifle, suggests military experience. Another sign of Harry’s military training is his confidence handling grenades. In episode seven, he uses one during a gunfight with heavily armed Moroccan gangsters, and you get the impression it’s far from the first time he’s done it. In episode five, he arranges to have guns and grenades smuggled into Richie Stevenson’s home ahead of Tommy’s wake. He anticipates a possible ambush and makes sure they have weapons available if things go wrong. That kind of planning fits his background in the Paras, where operating with limited support makes preparing for unexpected problems especially important. You also see it in how quickly Harry gets people out of danger. On more than one occasion, he has to evacuate Jan and Gina from their home, much as a Para might evacuate civilians under a military threat. Harry always has a contingency plan for anything that might go wrong, as he tells Conrad in episode eight, “My job is to predict the future.” He anticipates problems and makes sure he has the necessary tools to respond: “Small tools, big tools, and in cases of real emergency, some really big fucking tools.” For Harry, working for the Harrigans is just one long, drawn out military campaign, as he says in episode six when Conrad asks, “Harry, are you ready for this war?” Harry replies, “It’s all war, Conrad.”