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**Silktie** · 27-03-2011, 09:14 AM

Watch and discuss.

HellsBells · 28-03-2011, 01:24 PM

I found this episode rather confusing and a bit hard to follow.
Loved Bob Hogan, he is so bad. And good old Connie finding out all that information on him, real old school spy stuff. I like the idea of Harry going to see the Iranian Special Consul, Harry at his most dangerous when he has these 'friendly chats'.
Not sure about the bomb in the boot/trunk of one car being able to kill someone sat in a car behind though, and surely Darious' car would have some sort of protection.
Yalta actually seems to be a force for good.

**Silktie** · 28-03-2011, 03:37 PM

I confess that it's by this episode that season 6 became really hard work for me. The whole Yalta thing loses me completely. I know it's just a story and one has to suspend disbelief, but I simply cannot take any global conspiracies seriously. Am I supposed to believe that the mysterious Yalta is suddenly better able to gather information than the combined intelligence capabilities of the US and UK?

And then Ros, who is now so angry with the Americans that even though Harry instigates Operation Zebra to get to the bottom of Zaf's disappearance, she still chooses to betray her team by helping Yalta.

There's an interesting contrast between Adam and Ros in this episode: Adam stays focussed on the job despite his personal feelings for Anna, while Ros loses hers and is so focussed on getting at the Americans that she lets the terrorist get away.

I did enjoy the old-timers trying to outfox each other, though. Like HellsBells said, Harry, Connie and Bob Hogan are consummate old school spies and I enjoyed seeing them at work.

I wonder if part of Adam's attachment to Anna is that she looks a bit like Fiona with the dark hair and eyes?

HellsBells · 29-03-2011, 01:20 PM

I definitely feel as though I'm missing something with Ros and Yalta, why is she working for them, Ros is usually so focused and suspicious of everyone why is she so trusting of Yalta? I guess Yalta ability to obtain information is based upon the idea that they have operatives in every intelligence agency in the world, which I find hard to believe.
It is hard to think that Connie has only been in the series since 6.2, she fits in so well and seems well settled into the team.

(28-03-2011 03:37 PM)Silktie Wrote: I wonder if part of Adam's attachment to Anna is that she looks a bit like Fiona with the dark hair and eyes?

Oh.....interesting idea Silktie, I hadn't thought of that before. It is possible as there doesn't seem to be a lot else to their relationship.

**Kazters** · 29-03-2011, 05:50 PM

ros does admit that she agrees with some of there aims and objectives later on in the series - i really think its the fact she wants to find Zaf thats driving her they are dangeling him like a carrot to her.

**Silktie** · 30-03-2011, 06:26 AM

I agree that was the hook they used to catch her, but last episode the Yalta leader explicitly tells her they don't know where Zaf is, but that they think the Americans are involved. In this episode Harry initiates Operation Zebra to find out what happened to Zaf, so Ros no longer has the excuse that she had to take matters into her own hands because no-one else was doing anything to find out what happened to Zaf. I have no problem with her trying to use Yalta to find Zaf, but she could have reached those objectives by becoming a triple agent - by telling Harry and the team what was going on and using Yalta to get information - instead she hides Yalta from the team and actively betrays MI5 by giving Yalta the documents they copied from Bob Hogan earlier.

HellsBells · 30-03-2011, 01:29 PM

Surely Ros can see that her actions are a clear betrayal of MI5, so I'm not quite sure why she does it. As Silktie said Yalta do not know where Zaf is, so does Ros believe in Yalta's ideological aims?

**Kazters** · 30-03-2011, 06:09 PM

ros tells harry and adam that she does - they do initialy make her think they know where zaf is and of course she gets in so far and gets scared and dosnt want to let harry and the rest of section D down - but there is no doubt she agrees with some of there aims

**A Cousin** · 04-04-2011, 03:13 AM

(28-03-2011 01:24 PM)HellsBells Wrote: I found this episode rather confusing and a bit hard to follow.

Thank goodness! Its not just me. I thought I was just being stupid. Blush

I'm late to the party, but I'll put in my two cents worth anyway.

Yalta feels clunky to me. Structurally speaking. Almost deus ex machina-esque.

Still not sure what is motivating Ana to do what she is doing? She says that she will eavesdrop on her husbands meeting to prove Adam wrong which she ultimately does. But it's not like she has an abusive or even neglectful husband. And yet she keeps going back to Adam. Is she doing it for the thrill? Is Adam just that good in bed? For a higher cause? I actually thought the actor was rather good in this episode, it's the characters motivation that still confuses me.

Quick thinking on Jo's part changing her call sign. Just goes to show you that Malcolm was right: call signs save lives! Wink

I did like how they utilized the known canon and brought back the Michael Johnson character from 5.3. The last thing they say about him in 5.3 is that they were going to set him up as an asset in his local mosque. It might be the only time they have done that? It is not something that could be done often without running the risk of it looking like there are only 50 people living in London and they are all either agents or assets or politicians.

For me, the filming was less annoying than the last episode.

In addition to Harry, Connie and Bob Hogan - I'd like to shout out to Simon Abkarian as Dariush Bakhshi. I think he is really good in this series too. He walks the line between devoted husband and implacable envoy very well. He is down right frightening in that last scene when he tells Ana that he knows she is a mole. The four of them are the best thing about this series so far.

**Silktie** · 04-04-2011, 06:18 AM

(04-04-2011 03:13 AM)A Cousin Wrote: Quick thinking on Jo's part changing her call sign. Just goes to show you that Malcolm was right: call signs save lives!

Haha! Good catch. I'd forgotten about Malcolm harping on about the call signs.

I definitely agree about the performances from the actors playing Anna and Bakshi. Those two roles had the potential to become almost caricaturish (?), but they have handled it very well.