Yeh I forgot the "dirty bomb" spam started this series lol.

It was quite interesting to see the team break down into school-style maturity with rumors and snide remarks, Miranda certainly put the cat among the pigeons there.

I was surprised she told some of them what others had said, is that allowed?

(22-02-2010 12:29 AM)Nitrus Wrote:  I was surprised she told some of them what others had said, is that allowed?

No. There's a little thing called "confidentiality" that comes into play!

She did say to Tom that it was actually an exercise to identify any weak links among the staff, so maybe the whole point was to pit them against each other and see how they cope. So perhaps in that scenario it was allowed. Also, we don't really know whether Miranda told them the truth about what the others said. I suspect she made some of it up to ramp up the tension.

One thing isn't clear to me though. What exactly did Zoe do that Harry scolded her for? I did not hear her say the stuff he complained about anywhere in the episode. Was it something that was supposed to have happened off-screen?

As Silktie pretty much said everything I felt and thought about this episode, I will simply add that I can't wait until we hit Season 3.

But let's be honest about this: the President of the US is a greater target than most other heads of state, including the British PM, so it's not surprising that they stomp about with their acronyms and wisecracks and weapons. I don't want to talk about cause and effect, it's not relevant, but by the same token I completely agree that the leeway they were given in being on the Grid and everything else was a bit of a stretch. Then again, given what was happening in the world around the time this was written, it's really not surprising that such an anti American episode was written, especially with the image of the British simply kowtowing to their wishes.

I never really like Christine Dale - except in her "quieter" scenes. In this episode she lay it on too much and the character felt to me like the cliché of an American, saying "MY president" and all that. The reason felt for that was a bit cliche-like too: she was of course worried because this was her first big op.

Zoe and Danny sitting on the chairs as Queen and King was hilarious. QE:2 and her horn LOL Also Christine asking them "Why are you sitting there (if in reality they'd be outside greeting the people)" and Zoe answering because you put us here.

I never liked the Christine/Tom relationship previously but it really grew on me upon this re-watch. There are really layers to them. In S01 Tom disliked meeting her. It was as if he sensed there was something going on but didn't want to think about it because he was with Ellie.

In this episode I liked how Tom complained about "this woman" to Harry and she was just approaching them. And what was Tom's line about the highly complicated woman who could explain something to them? Somehow I never caught on to those before so I always thought the relationship came out of the blue but it didn't really.

Tom's handling of the Vicky situation annoys me though. It was as if just because everything was clear in his mind (for him everything was over) he never even thought of her point of view. Vicky may have been crazy but IMO she deserved a "proper" end to the relationship and not just a phone call. If I were her I'd have been very angry too. First, he kind of gives her hope by promising the dinner in ep 5, then just doesn't show and then he calls her, telling her she's selfish and he doesn't want to see her anymore. And that's that. Of course I understand where Tom's coming from having seen all that was happening in his life. But she doesn't know that, does she. And I'd have thought as a spy he was good at risk assessment. Knowing how to deal with a person so that she/he wouldn't become a risk. But it seems that he never thought about that in his personal relationship with Vicky. And then to just let Christine deal with her?!

(22-02-2010 05:41 AM)Silktie Wrote:  One thing isn't clear to me though. What exactly did Zoe do that Harry scolded her for? I did not hear her say the stuff he complained about anywhere in the episode. Was it something that was supposed to have happened off-screen?

Didn't Harry scold her for slagging off the "weirdo" helpline that members of the public could report threats to? We only saw Danny do this though so I wonder whether you are right Silktie and Mirander was deliberately pitting staff against each other. Either Mirander gave Harry false information or Harry was in on the exercise. He was seen meeting Mirander in his office at the beginning with a hand shake. They were obviously discussing what Mirander was going to do. Perhaps the exercise just got out of hand and maybe Harry was waiting to see if Tom as section chief could handle the situation.

It was about the "weirdo" line. I wish we knew what Danny and Zoe were saying and feeling sorry for really. When Danny answered the question about the public line he said "we" call it the weirdo line. Then Mirander starts taking lots of notes and he pauses and says something about "actually....." Could it be that he put the blame for this on Zoe?

I'm also wondering whether Harry was in on it as you said Tea Lady he was shaking her hand....

Funny how the psychologist storyline is often used to create tension, to say the least. Alias springs to mind. Or Bones - but he's now part of the team.

I thought it was odd that Danny and Zoe are quite comfortable lying in their jobs but when faced with Mirander they seemed complied to tell the truth. Sam's reaction was excellent, she just talked at Mirander, you wonder if Mirander even got to ask her any serious questions at all ! Also loved the idea that there was a reading room in MI5.
Loved Harry's line when he was asked 'whose side are you on', and he replied 'ours', which I think sums up Harry perfectly.

That's a good point HellsBells. If it were me, I would have given her all kinds of bs and moved on. Especially since they seemd to know her and what she was there for. Why let her get you all bolloxed up?

I wondered if, on the rewatch, Tom's break-down would work for me or whether it would feel forced. But I have to say that it is the one thing that is working well for me so far. Every episode we get a little something that indicates the man does not really have it together, so that is good continuity.

(22-02-2010 04:23 PM)HellsBells Wrote:  I thought it was odd that Danny and Zoe are quite comfortable lying in their jobs but when faced with Mirander they seemed complied to tell the truth.

I always think that in order to cope with the morally questionable things they do as spies, they probably need to distinguish between their official and personal personas. Miranda was talking to them in their personal capacities, therefore probably making it harder for them to justify lying to her face?

(22-02-2010 10:34 AM)Mia_ Wrote:  It was about the "weirdo" line. I wish we knew what Danny and Zoe were saying and feeling sorry for really. When Danny answered the question about the public line he said "we" call it the weirdo line. Then Mirander starts taking lots of notes and he pauses and says something about "actually....." Could it be that he put the blame for this on Zoe?

Ah, okay, that could explain it. Although Harry also tells her that he doesn't appreciate her criticising ongoing operations when he reprimands her. I don't think the public line counts as an operation, does it?