[Spoilers] Sir Harry Pearce

[Silktie]

(22-11-2009 01:17 PM)JHyde Wrote:  You mean the old revolutionary from season 4.1/2? The implication was that he resigned/was sacked over the bombings of the same episodes. We didn't meet another until Nicholas Blake in 5.1/2.

They do seem to run through foreign secretaries though.

Anyhoo, back the man we know and love. I think that point about knowing where the bodies are buried is probably true, as with Harry threatening a coup to Mr Yalta when he was still AG. But it's more than that. I think they look at Harry and see everything they should be as politicians, and everything they wanted to be before the ugly realities of politics set in.

I've spoken about this previously, but I love that scene in 7.4 when Harry says, in response to Blake's blusterings, "with all due respect, Home Secretary, we're not in the House now". Classic Peter Firth delivery. And then hits home the closest to truth the show has ever come: "We cannot win the war on terror. Ever."

That's a good point, although, I don't think as a politician you necessarily look for the most moral man you can find to lead your security services. You're looking for the person who'll do the job - and the dirty work - and won't parade the resultant dirty laundry in public. With Harry, I think, the fact that he'd shown that he can be ruthless when necessary played a large part in him getting the job.

Or that could just be my own low opinion of politicians colouring my perception.