Episode 3 Discussion [rewatch}

[lwhite53]

Watch and discuss!
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I like this ep a lot -- it would probably make the bottom of my top eps list!

What I appreciated most was that everyone got his/her moment -- after the drama and trauma of Tom's exit, the series' focus finally returned to the team. I especially liked Harry matching wits with, and outdoing, Mace. H finally gets a real nemesis to play off and you just know that they will cross paths and swords over and over. I thought it telling that Mace used MI6 to carry out his plan -- he clearly knew that Harry wouldn't help him, even if ordered to do so.

Bits I really enjoyed:
-Ruth calling Adam "Tom" and both their responses.
-Adam passing on Harry's words to Ruth, "Harry tells me you're the soul of discretion," and her very pleased response.
-Zoe explaining to Danny that she's with Will.
-Ruth and Harry and the cricket analogy.
-Malcolm telling Ruth his terrible joke.
-Ruth trying to peek at Adam's present for Fiona.
-Sam and Malcolm discussing postcodes: "Malcolm, has anyone ever told you you're a dreadful snob."
-Adam asking team to trust him: "I need you on my side."
-The whole counter-surveillance set up and execution.
-Zoe and Will becoming more of a couple.
-Harry screwing Mace in the tube station: "Damn you, Harry."

I think one point of the ep was to have the team re-gel around their new leader, Adam, and to have everyone buy into his ascension. Putting the focus of the ep onto Adam also helps move the plot along -- with everyone paying so much attention to what Adam is doing, Mace included, everyone forgets about Harry. It was great to have Harry be the final piece of the puzzle, the wild card as it were.

The ep also had some really terrific lines. One of my favorites was Harry's: "To me this application looks like something written by an analyst, one of those spotty MI6 mutants they keep in the dungeons of Vauxhill Bridge Road beside where C grows his magic mushrooms." In one line, you understand both the rancor and the lack of respect Harry has for MI6.

One of the through lines of the ep was, to use Mace's words, "old friends" v. "new friends" and the question of where one's loyalties lie:
Harikat v. Khordad, Tom v. Adam, Danny v. Will, MI5 v. MI6.

I really liked the inclusion of the "post 9/11 defense" to differentiate between Harry and Mace at the end of the ep. Mace uses 9/11 to justify amorality and state-sponsored assassination, while Harry sees the attack as a clarion call to vigilance and loyalty to values. These two men personify the different approaches of western intelligence agencies post 9/11.

My favorite Harry moment of the ep was his permanently stealing Adam from MI6 as quid pro quo for Harikat. He may not like what happened, but he can play the game, too!

Note: Once again, no commentary!