7.3 [re-watch]

[JHyde]

Ben goes undercover, Lucas is having flashbacks and Jo has a narrow escape.

Discuss!

[Silktie]

Harry Pearce: If there's one thing I'm thankful for in this life, it's my sunny disposition.

Hahaha! There are loads of great quotes in this episode, but this one in particular always cracks me up.

I really enjoy the threat of the week in this one. The tension is built up beautifully throughout, culminating in that explosion that almost takes out Jo. She's been put through the wringer quite a bit over the last few episodes; no wonder she's beginning to crack. I am also quite moved by the bravery of the two CO19 officers that sacrifice themselves to take the terrorist down and to limit the damage done by the bomb.

Even though Ben gets a significant storyline here, I still don't find myself investing in the character. In fact, the young suicide bomber he was with, Jawal, elicited more emotional response from me. The Ben character just doesn't work for me.

The Sugarhorse storyline is intriguing. Right from the off I am interested in it, even though at this stage we don't yet know what Sugarhorse is. But Harry's reaction to Lucas mentioning it is enough to sell the point that it is huge - what would make Harry walk out in the middle of an operation like that? It's an interesting choice to let us know from the off that the Qualtrough character is a villain. Most times such revelations are kept until later in the storyline. But it does make you fear for Harry, as you know he is putting his trust in the wrong person.

Harry/Lucas: Was Harry right to lie to Lucas about Sugarhorse? I think so. As we find out later in the episode it is the 'biggest secret the service ever had'. Harry cannot reveal such a secret just to provide Lucas with some peace of mind. Unfortunately the interests of the country takes precedence over one individual's needs. I also don't see it as a matter of Harry not trusting Lucas. We know that Harry trusts Ros, but he didn't tell her either. It is purely a matter of the need to know principle coming into play.

I think Harry trusts Lucas by this time. Would he really have allowed him back on the team if he didn't? Also, Lucas is given a very high level source to run in Marlin. If there were still trust issues, that would not have happened. Interestingly then that this episode shows that Lucas still doesn't trust Harry. I don't blame him after everything he's been through, but I have to wonder why he wanted to return to Harry's section if he doesn't trust him? I know he had nowhere else to go than MI5, but there are many other Sections in the Service he could have gone to, yet he insists on staying in the Section run by the man he doesn't trust. Strange.

And since there has been heated debate on the Forum about this, a final comment on Ros telling Lucas that Harry had sweated blood to get him back. I watched this scene very carefully, and I don't see any indication that Ros is lying just to make Lucas feel better. The show is usually good at providing us with reaction shots after someone has lied, to let us know that they have done so. Reference Harry's reaction after telling Lucas he'd never heard of Sugarhorse. But there is no such reaction from Ros, therefore I stand by my conviction that she is telling him the truth.

[A Cousin]

I kind of feel like this series reboots with 7.3. The last two episodes were all about establishing the team. This episode kicks the series into gear.

I like the filming of this episode. Peter Hoar uses the standard techniques that make Spooks what it is but with a very light touch. Which is nice. A technique that I have noticed becoming more prominent in Spooks is when they film through an object in soft focus in the foreground and the pull the focus to a character in the background. The barber shop scene is a good example of it.

One of my favorite lines ever comes from the HS, "Which part of Harry did they clone to get you?" It is a very clever way to galvanize those two characters in the viewers mind.

Ben going under-cover with Jawal reminded me too much of Zaf going under-cover with Michael.

Part of the reason I like this series so well is watching Harry walk right into the lions den with Qualtrough. I remember some DVD extra mentioning that there is always a decision that has to be made about who finds out what and when. It was a great choice to have the viewer in the loop from the very beginning and long before Harry. Have they ever done that before?

Lucas. Poor guy. I have to feel sorry for him a bit. The water-boarding sequence is incredibly difficult to watch. I greatly respect RA as an actor for actually doing it for the filming of the sequence. Interesting observation from Marlin about Lucas' distrust in human nature. Esp. from the guy who we find, in the end, gave it all up because "they" had gotten to his family. The hint was there from the beginning re: Marlin.

I don't think Lucas distrusts only Harry, he distrusts everything. Who can blame him? But it does make him rather cold. He reaches out to Ben in a very clinical way, IMO. As if it were just part of being the experience officer in attendance. Which I guess it is. And at least he does it.

Love the "colleagues are OK" conversation at the end with Ros and Lucas. They both agree to keep any relationship they may have to work. If you have no personal life, no one can get to you. But what does that make you in the end?

Ros' reaction to the possibility the they might have lost Jo is touching. She is near tears. Ros is very protective of Jo in her own cold Ros-like way. Ros and Jo are two sides of the same coin.

I also really liked the scene between Jo and Connie on the rooftop. It was very well played by MR. The ears ringing part was very well filmed. Gemma Jones experience and subtlety as an actor shows by letting MR take the scene. Connie has been very much in the background for the series thus far.

[Silktie]

(31-05-2011 02:39 PM)A Cousin Wrote:  Part of the reason I like this series so well is watching Harry walk right into the lions den with Qualtrough. I remember some DVD extra mentioning that there is always a decision that has to be made about who finds out what and when. It was a great choice to have the viewer in the loop from the very beginning and long before Harry. Have they ever done that before?

They probably took into account that we already have the main puzzle of trying to identify who told the Russians about Sugarhorse. If they'd kept the audience in the dark about Qualtrough things might have become too convoluted. The way they did it, we know Qualtrough is untrustworthy so only have to concentrate on figuring out who the mole is.

Qualtrough was right about one thing though: Dolby really is the most frightful little tit.