Episode 2 Discussion

[Beatriz]

I was going out tonight but at last I stayed at home (too much rain and cold)... and watch spooks! I may have missed some lines because I didn't have subtitles but I got most of it!

It was a great episode, the perfect one after the 8.01.

Loved the HR scenes they're so great together... I liked Harry's affected judgement and how Jo went to Ruth. They both apologised, it was very well handled.

I'm relieved that the boy had gone back home.

I still hate Sarah Cauldfield, and her relationship with Lucas, it doesn't make sense to me... I dislike the resemblance with Tom and Christine, I don't understand why they write this storyline...

I like the new tech boy, but I miss Malcolm

[almh]

The new techie is cool

[LucasNorthFan]

If I thought the last ep was good, this was even better.

Like to see more of Jo, felt bad that she had to watch Bibi kill herself. Harry's conversation with her about going behind his back was nice.

Still don't like Sarah, I don't see any chemistry between them. Anyway she's made very clear she's trouble. Maybe Lucas is underestimating her, I mean, he's no fool, he must realize what's going on and thinks he can handle it...

As much as Harry wanted to focus on the matter at hand, it was obvious for everyone he had something or someone else in mind, you could perceive him different. Once he talked to Ruth, he went back to his normal self. Yay! that Ruth's back, with no husband or child, there's an opportunity for both of them!

LNF

[Adam Carter]

Wow. The final 20 or 25 minutes of this episode left me breathless. When Spooks is at its best, there's nothing else quite like it....

- Tariq's introduction was initially way too simple and brushed under the rug, but I thought he had some nice moments towards the end with Lucas. Hopefully they build upon that chemistry going forward. All in all, though, I think they could have done better job at acknowledging the significance of him replacing Malcolm. But the character is very likable.

- What an amazing episode for Jo. She's always been the most empathetic character, and she really shined here. Her decision to overstep both Harry and Ros made perfect sense, and led to a wonderful Senior/Junior Officer lashing from Ros.

- I agree with everyone who says this Lucas/Sarah thing is definitely a rehash of that Series 2 storyline with Tom and Christine, but there's the potential here for this to be much more explosive. Christine was always genuine, in the sense that her motives were clear and we knew she could be trusted. But something tells me Sarah is not on the "up and up".

- The Harry/Ruth drama was handled exceptionally, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops once Ruth officially returns.

- Speaking of Ruth's return, I'm excited to see how she fits in with the new dynamic of the team. Ros's Section D is definitely not Adam's Section D, and we all know Ros and Ruth never really got along.

- On the subject of Ros, I became a big fan of hers during Series 7, but something is missing this year. The "cold, ruthless" leader shtick is a little bit tired right now, and she doesn't appear to have an actual storyline. I don't really know what they're trying to do with her, aside from running the team.

- I loved the added touch of irony in the strip club scene where Thumper and the hitman suspected Lucas of being FSB.

[almh]

I think that Ruth and Ros are getting on a lot better now, although it isn't really explained. They can't really start fighting on the Grid anyway - they're both professional so they'll just have to work it out.

How many times is Lucas going to end up going into a strip club? So far he's been in one per series!

[JHyde]

On the issue of Ros and Ruth. What Ros did was just a really sad mistake, and understandable given she was new to the team. Don't get me wrong, I cursed her for it then and sometimes now, but who's to say this slightly more assertive Ruth doesn't have a better chance with Harry?

I was never party to the whole Ros love fest, it's been a slow process of learning to like her as a character, although I think that fantastic scene with Zaf in 5.3 was the beginnings of it. In any case, as almh says, they are both really professional, the worst that will happen is they might rub each other the wrong way because Ruth sees things and people differently from Ros. They analyse risk and reward differently, but ultimately they're both focused on the same things. Neither has love for false prophets or, as Harry puts it, "self appointed saviours", and they don't suffer fools gladly. And Ros has ended up building a great rapport with Harry. Ultimately, they're on the same side.

[almh]

It could prove to be interesting if Ruth and Ros are both trying to persuade Harry to do different things, I wonder whose side he would take...

[JHyde]

Now see that would be awesome bickering!

[Beatriz]

That would be interesting to watch!

I forgot to write about Jo and Bibi I liked it, how they both ended up shooting the baddie, it was a pity Bibi shot herself... poor Jo, she had come to a solution to help her and in the end she commited suicide And even worse, they were discovered...

Talking about Lucas and Christine 2.0 (with the permission of the inventor), I reckon she's going to try and use him or viceversa, I don't think they trust each other; as was said before, it's stupid to repeat Tom&Christine

[JHyde]

I wish we could see a bit of Malcolm and Tariq together, that would be really funny!