Series 10 - Episode 1 Discussion

[Naivety]

(19-09-2011 07:43 PM)Gazelle Wrote:  Here's a few observations... If Sasha is Harry's son then he doesn't look a bit like him - so odd casting there. Also, as others have pointed out, the boy must have been 3 or 4 when we see him leaving with Elena in the flashbacks, so that's quite a long liaison between a married Harry and his 'asset' - how come this went unnoticed? And where does Juliet fit in in this timeline? And how come there's no mentoin of any of this in Harry's diary - these revelations kind of blow its reliability as an insight on Harry's past out the water!

Didn't Coaver say he was forced to destroy the files on Tourmaline in 1984 which would account for the age of the boy. Presumably Harry would have turned/recruited Elena in 1981 during an affair - maybe he was told to do it in the 'black op' that is mentioned in Harry's Diary, and then fell in love with her. Maybe Sasha was a mistake or maybe as Tea Lady says, Elena lied.

I think Juliet was when Harry was stationed in Paris, and I seem to remember that it fizzled out while Harry was in Berlin. Maybe Juliet knew about Elena, or found out and I'm sure Harry was married at the same time (what a naughty boy!).

(19-09-2011 07:43 PM)Gazelle Wrote:  On the other hand, you can't get away from the fact they still have feelings for each other (I like the way Ruth seems softer towards him again, even smiling at times like when she took his arm at the black tie dinner). I felt so sorry for Ruth though having to learn the truth about Elena, she deserves better than that.

I love the new approach, I know there's a bit of a shift again in attitude but I can live with it. At least she hasn't gone the other way. Harry and Ruth smiles, I like very much!

(19-09-2011 07:43 PM)Gazelle Wrote:  Final thought, did anyone else get an annoying message about re-tuning their TV for digital in the scene when Harry was looking for evidence in Max Witt's flat? It seemed to stay on screen for ages and was a real distraction - great timing BBC!!

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My telly was fine, but then I'm on Virgin, not Sky.
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[Kazters]

i think tom is the one who is most likely to come back owning to the fact he isnt dead! there must be a reason for his photo (See attached) being there! also we have been told to look out for familiar face/faces!

i knew harry wasn't the best father, but a serial cheater on his ex wife with both Juliet and another child with another woman? what about his own children? i wondered if Sasha knew harry was his father!

[Gazelle]

(19-09-2011 08:13 PM)Naivety Wrote:  Didn't Coaver say he was forced to destroy the files on Tourmaline in 1984 which would account for the age of the boy. Presumably Harry would have turned/recruited Elena in 1981 during an affair - maybe he was told to do it in the 'black op' that is mentioned in Harry's Diary, and then fell in love with her. Maybe Sasha was a mistake or maybe as Tea Lady says, Elena lied.

Wow, either you've got an amazing memory for scripts or you've already watched E1 several times - or else I'm just slow on the uptake! I'll have to watch it again to check the details of the dialogue etc.!

(19-09-2011 08:13 PM)Naivety Wrote:  I think Juliet was when Harry was stationed in Paris, and I seem to remember that it fizzled out while Harry was in Berlin. Maybe Juliet knew about Elena, or found out and I'm sure Harry was married at the same time (what a naughty boy!).

According to the diary I'm sure Juliet was when Harry was stationed in Berlin - he visited her in Paris - either way he was definitely married before that so yes, I guess his eventual divorce was inevitable!

(19-09-2011 08:13 PM)Naivety Wrote:  I love the new approach, I know there's a bit of a shift again in attitude but I can live with it. At least she hasn't gone the other way. Harry and Ruth smiles, I like very much!

Me too, I enjoyed all their interactions, including the scene in the opening title sequence where Harry looks on admiringly when Ruth's sat at her desk - reminded me of the look he had when she was undercover at the lab last series and bluffed her way past security!

And for the record I'm on freeview not sky - hope they don't repeat the message next Sunday!

[redlyn]

PF was sublime as ever. NW was wonderful. Liking Dimitri more. Wanted more of Tariq. Really liking Calum because he's spiky and sarcastic. As for Erin, worst spy ever ...or is she just a BAAAAAD actor? I found her utterly unbelievable. I thought she was pretty bad in Robin Hood but here...good God!

Ros I miss you!

And seeing Lucas's wrist hanging over the car nearly finished me off. R.I.P Lucas North. John Bateman pah! It was mentioned earlier that the writing was better than last season, maybe the last lot of writers have been shot.

[neuro]

(19-09-2011 07:59 AM)Naivety Wrote:  I loved this episode, and the fact that it was slower and more crafted, to me was a bonus. The reveal that Sasha is Harry's son, was a no-brainer, but I reckon that Sasha knows it as well. There is going to be a parallel between him and Harry, and how much they give up for the sake of their country.

In 1981, having a love-child was still something that was swept under the carpet. The attitudes towards women having affairs and then getting pregnant were very different then. In 1982, a senior cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher's government had to resign because he got his secretary pregnant. Can you imagine the fall out for Harry if his love child with a Soviet spy's wife had become public? Both him and Elena would have had to walk away from the relationship to protect both themselves and the child.

I think Parkinson had to resign because he was a real shit about it - I know some one who met him at a tory party (FCS) do and she commented that she thought he was a slimy piece of work..

I think it was hushed up as Harry was romancing and turning the wife of his opposite number in the KGB.

[penfold]

(19-09-2011 07:43 PM)Gazelle Wrote:  Final thought, did anyone else get an annoying message about re-tuning their TV for digital in the scene when Harry was looking for evidence in Max Witt's flat? It seemed to stay on screen for ages and was a real distraction - great timing BBC!!

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The message was, I believe, only put on screens in areas about to change to digital -it didn't appear here in the NW which went digital last year.

[A Cousin]

Act I: Prologue - history and exposition. Lots of house-keeping to be done in this episode.

Love the code-names for Harry and Elena:

Peregrine - a) bird of prey, b) foreign; alien; coming from abroad, wandering, traveling, or migrating.

Tourmaline - a crystal boron silicate mineral compound that is classified as a semi-precious stone. The gem comes in a wide variety of colors.

For the record and those who asked, S10 has the same lead writers as S9: Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent. I think they found their stride with this episode. I dug it. The hour flew by. I think the budget cuts forced them to return to Spooks basics of good drama: plot and character.

General Impressions:

Harry was fab. Loved the Old School spy stuff in the beginning. I did have a bit of a chuckle at the baby-sitting crew. They didn't mind being seen! PF hit just the right note with the Sasha reveal at the end. It could so easily have tipped over into Vomitsille, but he underplayed it brilliantly. I knew it going into it so I am glad it was blown in the first episode. In fact, PF under-played everything beautifully.

Ruth seemed to shed some of her maudlin depression of S9 and was brilliant in the field. Her tears at the end of S9 were always cathartic to me, so I didn't really mind the "re-set" of their relationship. I liked seeing them work so well together without so much baggage. Favorite moment with them was comic one when Ruth tries to get a look-see at Harry's Tome to Ruth's Brilliance. They are hy-larious!

There seemed to me a little bit of a return to an ensemble feel which I have really missed. It was certainly Harry-centric, but everyone had a solid moment of development.

I liked both Erin and Calum. Esp. Calum. But I like a smart-ass. (Takes one to know one. ) Jury is still out on Coaver, Ilya, Elena and Sasha.

From a filming perspective, I freely admit that I am a fan of Alrick Riley. I love how he works with shadow and light. Which I thought, stylistically, a really good choice for the first episode which is still so shadowed with questions. And he really knows how to pace an episode.

[Silktie]

(19-09-2011 01:12 PM)Tea Lady Wrote:  As for Sasha, I'm still not 100% convinced he is Harry's. The boys got black hair and Harry is blonde and Elena, redish. The genes must have skipped a generation. What if Elena used Sasha against Harry in Berlin? Told Harry he was his? This does seem a tad far fetched but is possible. I think Harry would have worked that out by now that Elena is not who he thought she was.

Ha, TL, I had the same thought - Sasha also had blue eyes, right? And didn't former CIA buddy Jim - who helped Harry turn Elena, a nice set of blue peepers...?

Not sure Sasha will turn out not to be Harry's though. It seems more likely that we are going to at some stage get a scenario where Harry must choose between sacrificing his son and saving England, or sacrifing England and saving his son.

Interesting dynamic between Harry and Erin as well - she seems to idolise him, right down to his disdain for politicians. So how will she react to the fact that Sasha is Harry's son? Will she still trust him? She got rid of Beth for having much less dubious connections, after all.

And who was that woman at the end that phoned someone and told them it was done after the assassination attempt? Was she Russian? Or CIA?

[Tea Lady]

Interesting thought about CIA Jim, Silktie, being Sasha's father. Though I agree that would probably be one twist too many.

I have only watched the whole episode once but I did like the exchange between Harry and Jim in the pub. Was Jim trying to get one over on Harry about his younger woman? A little dig because Harry got Elena, even after all these years? Harry proved he was still on the ball though with his parting shot about his wife's age.

With regards to the photos Sasha had at the start of the episode, I think these were red-herrings but there were two of Tom for sure. A big photo of Harrys ear And was the other one where Harry had his head down, a scene from when he shot Katchimov? The car, coat, and background all seem to match.

[Tineke]

Having watched this episode for the second time I must admit it’s getting so much better.
I’m now thinking that HR have sort of an understanding that they show in a convincing and subtle way.
Calum appears to be the new joker, but the way Dimitri reacted on him was very nicely done.
Did I miss the part that the lovely blue-eyed Sasha was in the park?
It’s also nice to see that our spooks have a home to go to.
All in all a good start, apart from some tie changes on Harry that seemed strange…