Series 10 - Episode 5 Discussion

[Silktie]

Holy shit Batman! That was tense. And brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

I still have no real idea what's going on in terms of who the bad guys are and what they want. It seems Ilya wants to scupper the agreement, but why? Is there still something bigger than the agreement at stake here?

What I loved most about this episode is that it revealed something about each of the characters, even those who were not principally involved. We were shown:
- How loyal Dimitri is, not only to Harry but also to Tariq's memory. Coaver: 'No offence.' Dimitri: 'Some taken.' You go, Dimitri!

- That Erin has a line that she won't cross, not even for the man she admires so much, and rightly so. But also that she can't resist being drawn back in by the intrigue when Ruth goes in at the US Embassy.

- That Calum likes to think of himself as the smartest in the class and a bit of a legend in his own mind ('What do you people do all day?' ) But that he's not all that brave because as soon as Ruth leans on him he squeals on Harry, and then squeals on Ruth to Erin.

- Despite what Ilya says, he resents what Harry was able to do with Elena - to turn her against him and get her to fall in love with him. And his little speech about how he didn't want to become Harry who orders others to do his killing whilst his minions are at the same time trying to kill the Home Sec... Erm, not quite truthful there, buddy. But he did enjoy rubbing in the fact that he had a tortoise and some other stuff Harry doesn't - I kept waiting for Harry to say: 'Oh yeah? Well I have a dog - at least when it fetches my paper I still get it on the same day it was delivered.' But I think his words about not having a family hit home for Harry. And I don't agree with others who said Harry does have love with Ruth. Yes, he has the idea of it, but he's never had the intimacy it comes with. Intellectual, conceptual love is okay up to a point, but is it really the same without that intimate connection normal couples have? I think not.

- Elena I'm not yet sure about - does she know Ilya knows about her spying? It didn't look like it, but maybe she's just an incredible actress. She seems to truly care for Ilya now - so in a sense she made the same mistake Harry made all those years ago - fell in love with the person she was meant to manipulate.

- Sasha is really on edge. I thought he would kill Coaver and then Harry would sacrifice himself to protect the kid, but am glad to have been wrong. What we got is better. What on earth is he going to do now he knows Harry is his daddy?

- Ruth wore her emotions on her sleeve this episode. She is definitely no longer the woman who told Harry she was 'dead inside' last season. I think she probably agreed to steal the laptop because she felt guilty for shopping Harry to the HS - although she had every right to do so, there was perhaps a bit of personal motivation involved in that decision. I'm with Erin that Ruth is wasted as a civil servant. Poor Towers must be wondering whether he made a huge mistake; whilst she'd been working there she hadn't done much other than talk to Harry on the phone, meet with Harry clandestinely, and steal a laptop from the US embassy. Her conversation with Harry after getting out of the Embassy was, I thought, brought on by the stress of that operation and in the heat of the moment. I was waiting for Harry to tell her it's 'adrenaline withdrawal', but thankfully he came up with something better this time.

- And finally Harry. I like how determined he is throughout to take responsibility for his own actions. He has sort of gone the opposite direction as Ruth. Where he started the season all over the place emotionally, he now seems to know what he feels, what he's willing to do and what he's willing to sacrifice. This episode he stoically dug himself ever deeper into a hole careerwise, and took the consequences on the chin. I do hope Bullethead Marine doesn't escort him wherever they're going to take him, because he'll probably have a few more 'falls' before he gets there. He also uses his 'last wish' to Towers to try and stop what he obviously fears is coming - he knows there's something bigger at play here and won't be there to stop it.

And we had Harry and Ruth talking to each other, and actually saying what they mean. Miracles never cease.