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**JHyde** · 03-01-2010, 10:08 AM

I still love that he gave her Ovid, and within a few months Ruth herself was exiled. God I hope that was deliberate, that irony is too perfect, as Ovid himself was exiled after completing the Love Poems.

almh · 03-01-2010, 10:15 AM

I didn't know that about Ovid, now that is pretty ironic. Maybe it was the writer's attempts at foreshadowing? (So, my English GCSE comes in use at last Tongue

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**JHyde** · 03-01-2010, 10:35 AM

I only said it about 5 times on various threads! It's OK, I wouldn't pay much attention to my posts either.

Ovid isn't so much for portentous statements as Virgil or other Roman writers of a similar time, he's more playful. He wasn't actually exiled for the content of the various Love Poems, but more likely for some political slight he caused Augustus. But he died in exile, and it looks like Ruth will at least escape that fate.

almh · 03-01-2010, 10:39 AM

Did you? Sorry, I have an awful memory (when it comes to life. When it comes to remembering scenes of Doctor Who off by heart, well, Blush

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**Silktie** · 03-01-2010, 10:53 AM

(03-01-2010 10:35 AM)JHyde Wrote: I only said it about 5 times on various threads! It's OK, I wouldn't pay much attention to my posts either.

Ovid isn't so much for portentous statements as Virgil or other Roman writers of a similar time, he's more playful. He wasn't actually exiled for the content of the various Love Poems, but more likely for some political slight he caused Augustus. But he died in exile, and it looks like Ruth will at least escape that fate.

Well, there's still time... Tongue

The fact that Harry knew about her love for Ovid is also an indication that they did have some personal chats that we never got to see.

lwhite53 · 04-01-2010, 08:28 PM

Which annoys me to no end -- I wan't to see ALL their chats.

**JHyde** · 04-01-2010, 08:37 PM

Harry might just have been very clever. Truthfully, I know many classics students who would pick Ovid as their favourite writer of antiquity. He's one of my favourite poets full stop. Beautiful poetry, sparkling wit, satire and romance in one....excellent choice for a present for Ruth.

**JHyde** · 14-02-2010, 05:30 PM

Nitrus made a point on the HR thread which I thought merited further discussion on Ruth's thread in its own right. He thinks that Ruth since returning from Cyprus has been all about The Harry, and not enough of what we love about her.

I'll leave aside the fact that no character really was explored that well in season 8, even though Ros and Ruth probably did better than the others.

Instead I'll argue that Ruth's best qualities and her faults were still all there for us to see. Her compassion and empathy (8.7 concerning Ashok's fate and 8.8 as she comforts Tariq), her blazing intellect (8.4 in trying to solve the riddle left her by Malcolm's asset), her stubborn flying in the face of better voices (8.2, when Jo tries to tell her about Harry), and best of all her conscience and willingness to act upon it (8.8 when she confronts Harry about the Home Secretary). I'd say she did OK.

My personal favourite is her chronic ability to understate the obvious: "deadlines are bad. " Totally deadpanned to Harry early in 8.8.

**Silktie** · 14-02-2010, 05:43 PM

Yeah, I agree with you. I think the only one that really got explored was Lucas. Even Harry had little to do this season. After 8.1, almost all the other episodes focussed on Lucas in some way, and that left little scope for the other characters. I think the writers figured that Ruth got her meaty storyline in 8.1, and for the rest she was back doing her normal stuff on the Grid. There was some progress though, as she was sent to meet some source, and also got to attend a JIC meeting with Harry. She did exactly the same things as in her previous stint on the grid, we just never got to see it.

**JHyde** · 14-02-2010, 06:58 PM

If anythng, Harry was the one we hardly got any of. I really hope he gets his chops back in season 9.