Series 10 - Episode 6 Discussion

[A Cousin]

Wow! Such impassioned responses. I am still writing from a rather impassioned POV myself. I am not yet ready to really jump in with any kind of deep analysis. I am still just just working through my general impressions. I find the only way I can really face it is to be a bit cold about it. So forgive me when I say, for me, that episode is what great theater is all about. It evoked every emotion I have to the nth degree and I am still drained by it. It will be a while before I can re-watch it. It is going to take a lot of Jane Austen adaptations to counter-act that one episode!

Brilliant twists and turns with Elena and Ilya particularly. Perhaps some of it was predictable, but since I was not inclined to speculate nor seek out spoilers, I just let the wave take me where it will. I liked that Elena didn't do it for love but Ilya did. Plain and simple. I thought they were going to go the other way with that. I would have hated her being an innocent. And Ilya was true to what he said to Harry, when the time came for him to kill someone, he not only did it himself, he did it with his bare hands. Very brutal! And I suppose that I should have known that both Harry and Ilya were going to lose the woman they love pretty much by their own hands: Ilya literally and Harry figuratively.

I suppose I also should have known that once Ruth said, "I know that he has given up more than I thought possible" that it was far from over. I suppose it's time for me to turn in my harryandruth membership card, but I have said from the beginning that I did not need Harry and Ruth walking away together, I just wanted them to truly, honestly and forth-rightly acknowledge what they mean to each other (and they did) as not be ret-conned (and they weren't). They were true to their characters to the end, sacrificing everything for the job and for each other.

I adored Ruth. I am gutted that she died. But I thought Ruth died reconciled to her sacrifice for her love of Harry because it meant that she did not lose herself completely. The very human and humane Ruth we knew in 2.2 is still in there, right down to her quirkiness of loving the green chipped paint door. I wonder if that is what NW was trying to convey to the fans?

I am very glad that they put this episode in the hands of Mr. Nalurri. In any other, it would have turned into pastiche. Well done, Mr. Nalurri. Once I can view it without dissolving into tears, I'll probably be back to talk more about the production. Suffice it to say that his touch was very respectful.

The Memorial Wall was where I completely lost it. One glance of Danny's name and I was a gonner. And then, and then, we get PF's reaction to Ruth's name. An incredible homage to those that came before and the one that really made it all hit home for Harry. The line, "Do you ever think about the lives you have ruined" made more sense than ever. I think for the very first time, I really felt and internalized who Harry really is. Not just intellectually understood, but really felt the pain, guilt, anger, despair, conviction, honour, and bravery that makes Harry Pearce who he is. And PF being able to convey all that with no words at all just illustrates what a brilliant actor he is.

Question: Do you think that that is the first time Harry had been to the Memorial? His reaction tells me that it is the first time he has faced Ruth's name on it at least. But, do you think that he had been to it prior to Ruth's death?