Watch and go!

I love this episode. Even though there isn't a Russian in sight, it feels very Cold War - spy vs spy - to me. It is all about two great proponents of their craft pitting their wits against each other. Tom eventually gets the upper hand, with a little help from his friends, but he has clearly been damaged by the whole experience and is increasingly unable to keep his emotions in check.

This episode also introduces my favourite bad guy, Oliver Mace. He is so gleefully evil that I can't help but love him. His scenes with Harry were great, the two play off each other really well.

I also like the introduction of Adam Carter. I'm not talking about his very first scene, but about everything we learn about the character over the whole of the episode. He is set up as a complex man, who seems on the surface very arrogant and happy-go-lucky, but you get the impression towards the end through that scene with Carmen Joyce that there is much more to this guy than meets the eye.

Loved Harry in this episode as well - his willingness to take on the whole of the establishment to save the Service he loves so much is wonderful. When he says: "Crucifiction it is then" it really encapsulates what Harry is all about - even if it costs him everything, he will do what he believes is right.

Also loved Ruth showing initiative with the spook taxi thing, and showing that she can operate in the field by lying very convincingly to get that note to Harry. That nurse should work on her skills a bit though, that wink wasn't the most subtle hint ever, was it?

Christine Dale annoyed me in this episode, I felt she rolled over on poor Tom way too easily. I also felt the actress struggled to deliver in the more dramatic and emotional scenes.

I liked this ep -- it introduces Oliver Mace and Adam Carter, both of whom will come to play important roles in the series. Also, it's a great ep for Harry -- we learn the lengths he'll go to to protect his organization and people, and by his matching wits with Mace, we get real insight into the differing philosophies of methodology in the intelligence world. I love that one of H's nemeses is someone on the same side. (Also loved H's longer hair -- he looks great!)

This is a Brenton script, with some of the best lines he has written for the series:
Mace: "This is going to be something of a bloodbath."
"The whole culture at Thames House is rotten and we are clearing the stables."
"I don't let people not do what I want them to do."
Harry: "I like the niceties, they protect us from tyranny."
"So we lure a United States citizen to this country and force a confession out of her. That is a totally illegal, madcap scheme -- I like it."
Adam: "Don't plan too much, Danny. Just let things crinkle out."
In each instance, the dialogue tells us an enormous amount about each of these men and defines their characters better than whole scenes could have.

There are so many great moments in the ep, it's had to single them out:
-Adam's intro as the bum/guardian angel.
-Ruth's look of concern at Harry as he leaves the conference room.
-Tom and Herman Joyce in the church.
-Tom in Zoe and Danny's flat -- "I need the dirt."
-Mace slapping Christine Dale.
-Mace and Belling in the taxi.
-Ruth's spook taxis.
-Adam pulling Carmen Joyce's story out of her.
-Tom discovering Christine's treachery.

I loved Adam moving Carmen Joyce toward suicide, "Never be taken," and Tom telling Christine, "No one resigns from what we do." So prophetic!

And the actor playing Jason Belling is great -- he does smarmy really well.

(28-03-2010 06:06 PM)lwhite53 Wrote:  (Also loved H's longer hair -- he looks great!)

I second almost everything you say lwhite53, particularly about Harry's hair. It's all a bit messy at the start, sort of "just got out of bed" hair.

Harry and Mace had some great lines. Legendary Spooks lines. You knew Mace was going to be evil before he had opened his mouth. I never actually thought that Ruth and Mace had met face to face before 5.05. It really sent a shiver down my spine seeing them together.

Yes I thought that Harry when he was meeting Hugo at the museum, didnt really think he could win this battle. He had a defeated look about him when Hugo said he was off. Harry was on his own.

-I liked Adam in this episode and I dont think you see him smiling so much again.
-Loved Malcolm wandering about in a white lab coat...why??
-Loved the whole "whoops we lost her"..."Spook taxi" scene. One of my favourites ever.
-Loved Ruth in the hospital. She really knew what she had to do.
-Hated the whole Christine "I love you too Tom Quinn" line....fetch me a vomit bag !!

Great writing for this episode.

I also like this episode very much. The introduction of Adam and Oliver Mace two great additions to the show.

Harry and Mace always play their scenes brilliantly. You have to love this baddie. It's amazing how he changes his mind about his allies, he supported Belling in the first place and as the plan didn't come out as expected he tries to be friendly with Harry in the last scene...

At the difficult times is where we see Harry true feelings and principles, he would do what ever is in his hands to defend what he believes in, very well summed up with the line Silktie's mention before: "Crucifiction it is, then".
The scene at the Natural History Museum is very well filmed, I loved it!

Ruth was great in this episode first lying to the nurse in order to get to Harry and afterwards with the Spook Taxis. I love her face of satisfaction when she tells Harry about it

Malcolm was hilarious in his white coat and his big glasses with a torch attached, I love this man!!

I didn't understand Christine in this episode, come on!! When Tom asked her if she was had a wire she could have nod and say she wasn't... She had other choice!

(30-03-2010 11:14 AM)Beatriz Wrote:  I didn't understand Christine in this episode, come on!! When Tom asked her if she was had a wire she could have nod and say she wasn't... She had other choice!

Yeh, how Tom didn't tell! She was such a bad actress anyway, and with her double "acting" in this scene, it was awful (in my opinion.)

I thought Christine was great, but in this episode she didn't seem very believable. Why did Tom tell her the truth about Carmen Joyce ? That particular scene seemed wrong.

I really liked this episode, there seemed so much going on. Loved the Oliver Mace character, great acting. I have never been that keen on Adam, but watching this episode made me appreciate him more.
The final scene between Tom and Christine was interesting as Christine can see what the job is doing to Tom, even though he can't see it himself.

There's something I don't quite understand in this episode: Right at the end when Tom is back on the Grid, why is everyone giving him such weird looks? I would've thought Danny and Zoe in particular would have been overjoyed to have him back.

It took me a while to fully appreciate this episode, but it's quickly become one of my all-time favorites.

With the team in disarray and Oliver Mace stampeding onto the scene, it really put Section D on the brink of collapse. But the introduction of Adam not only served the story well, it served the entire series well. Adam's introduction is the key to the episode, and the way in which he completely contrasts with Tom highlighted all that was wrong with Tom at that point.

The final sequence between Adam and Carmen is nothing short of brilliant, and one of the best scenes of the entire series. The way in which Adam weaves through Carmen's psyche and convinces her to kill herself is pitch perfect writing, and it was this very moment where we realized Adam wasn't your ordinary Spook.

Favorite Moments:
- This episode gives us our first real hints into Ruth's feelings for Harry.
- Keeley Hawes' acting is stellar, especially in the scene with Tom in her flat. Her burst of emotion is incredibly genuine.
- How great was Harry when he returned to the grid to save his team?

(30-03-2010 04:36 PM)Silktie Wrote:  There's something I don't quite understand in this episode: Right at the end when Tom is back on the Grid, why is everyone giving him such weird looks? I would've thought Danny and Zoe in particular would have been overjoyed to have him back.

I assumed they were still suspicious of him. Okay, he had been proved right about Herman Joyce but prior to that he had made some bad calls and had had run-ins with Harry. And maybe they knew he had told Christine about the operation to pick-up Carmen.