Series 10 - Episode 5 Discussion

[loladom]

(17-10-2011 08:31 PM)Onion Terror Wrote:  Just one question if anyone can help (apologies if this has already been raised elsewhere on the forum): how did Sasha Gavrik come to be listening in on the conversation between Harry and Ruth, where they discussed stealing Coavers laptop? Call me dense, but I couldn't work out whether one or the other of them knew he was listening in.

When Sacha met Harry in his car at the beginning he planted a bug as he got out, he was very quick, disguised by his storming off as Harry called after him. I nearly missed it, except I rewound the conversation between them.

[Silktie]

Holy shit Batman! That was tense. And brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

I still have no real idea what's going on in terms of who the bad guys are and what they want. It seems Ilya wants to scupper the agreement, but why? Is there still something bigger than the agreement at stake here?

What I loved most about this episode is that it revealed something about each of the characters, even those who were not principally involved. We were shown:
- How loyal Dimitri is, not only to Harry but also to Tariq's memory. Coaver: 'No offence.' Dimitri: 'Some taken.' You go, Dimitri!

- That Erin has a line that she won't cross, not even for the man she admires so much, and rightly so. But also that she can't resist being drawn back in by the intrigue when Ruth goes in at the US Embassy.

- That Calum likes to think of himself as the smartest in the class and a bit of a legend in his own mind ('What do you people do all day?' ) But that he's not all that brave because as soon as Ruth leans on him he squeals on Harry, and then squeals on Ruth to Erin.

- Despite what Ilya says, he resents what Harry was able to do with Elena - to turn her against him and get her to fall in love with him. And his little speech about how he didn't want to become Harry who orders others to do his killing whilst his minions are at the same time trying to kill the Home Sec... Erm, not quite truthful there, buddy. But he did enjoy rubbing in the fact that he had a tortoise and some other stuff Harry doesn't - I kept waiting for Harry to say: 'Oh yeah? Well I have a dog - at least when it fetches my paper I still get it on the same day it was delivered.' But I think his words about not having a family hit home for Harry. And I don't agree with others who said Harry does have love with Ruth. Yes, he has the idea of it, but he's never had the intimacy it comes with. Intellectual, conceptual love is okay up to a point, but is it really the same without that intimate connection normal couples have? I think not.

- Elena I'm not yet sure about - does she know Ilya knows about her spying? It didn't look like it, but maybe she's just an incredible actress. She seems to truly care for Ilya now - so in a sense she made the same mistake Harry made all those years ago - fell in love with the person she was meant to manipulate.

- Sasha is really on edge. I thought he would kill Coaver and then Harry would sacrifice himself to protect the kid, but am glad to have been wrong. What we got is better. What on earth is he going to do now he knows Harry is his daddy?

- Ruth wore her emotions on her sleeve this episode. She is definitely no longer the woman who told Harry she was 'dead inside' last season. I think she probably agreed to steal the laptop because she felt guilty for shopping Harry to the HS - although she had every right to do so, there was perhaps a bit of personal motivation involved in that decision. I'm with Erin that Ruth is wasted as a civil servant. Poor Towers must be wondering whether he made a huge mistake; whilst she'd been working there she hadn't done much other than talk to Harry on the phone, meet with Harry clandestinely, and steal a laptop from the US embassy. Her conversation with Harry after getting out of the Embassy was, I thought, brought on by the stress of that operation and in the heat of the moment. I was waiting for Harry to tell her it's 'adrenaline withdrawal', but thankfully he came up with something better this time.

- And finally Harry. I like how determined he is throughout to take responsibility for his own actions. He has sort of gone the opposite direction as Ruth. Where he started the season all over the place emotionally, he now seems to know what he feels, what he's willing to do and what he's willing to sacrifice. This episode he stoically dug himself ever deeper into a hole careerwise, and took the consequences on the chin. I do hope Bullethead Marine doesn't escort him wherever they're going to take him, because he'll probably have a few more 'falls' before he gets there. He also uses his 'last wish' to Towers to try and stop what he obviously fears is coming - he knows there's something bigger at play here and won't be there to stop it.

And we had Harry and Ruth talking to each other, and actually saying what they mean. Miracles never cease.

[JHyde]

So: wonderful episode. Silktie just covered a lot of the things I loved so I shall be brief.

Welcome back to Spooks Bharat Nalluri! The very stylish director didn't hold anything back in this and the car/van chase sequence was flashy in just the right way. He has the deft touch when it comes to the intimate, quiet scenes too. There is a beautiful symmetry to Bharat being the one to see the show out, given that he was the first of the establishing directors of the show and it is a job for which he is well qualified. Class act.

I see what is happening to Harry as being a little like what happened to Tom. Harry is at his breaking point. He has seen and done too much and the time of reckoning is near. Will he destroy his soul before he gets out? It's possible.

I don't know what to think about Elena, Sascha or Ilya.

Something bothering me - the file on the computer. Was Harry meant to get to it because it was meant to help him find out who the traitor was or to get rid of the information before the Americans found out? Because having a file with that information on it seems very stupid to me.

Thrilled for next week.

[streetlife]

Ooh, that was a bit good!!

Last week I was starting to get a bit frustrated with the whole thing, but episode 5 was so groovy, I don't really care that I still have no clue about who's the real 'baddie'.

One thing, though (that I think someone else has already mentioned somewhere) - when Harry said he had 'thoughts to follow up on' and then went off somewhere, what was he actually doing?

Anyway, I thought it was a great episode. Some great lines, too, especially from Towers (as usual!). And I may have had a little weep at the end. It was lovely.

Off to torture myself with insane and most likely wrong speculation until next Sunday now...

[Silktie]

(18-10-2011 07:44 AM)JHyde Wrote:  Something bothering me - the file on the computer. Was Harry meant to get to it because it was meant to help him find out who the traitor was or to get rid of the information before the Americans found out? Because having a file with that information on it seems very stupid to me.

Yeah, I'm baffled by that too. I thought there'd be some clue as to the bad guys, but apparently it was just a plot device to let Sasha realise who his real father is.

(18-10-2011 07:51 AM)streetlife Wrote:  One thing, though (that I think someone else has already mentioned somewhere) - when Harry said he had 'thoughts to follow up on' and then went off somewhere, what was he actually doing?

I thought he said that to the team on the Grid because he wanted to go home and look at the laptop there without anyone else nosing around. So he was probably driving to his house when Ruth called him after procuring the laptop.

[lazyme63]

Just rewatched 10.5

God it was good.

I usually sit in front of the tv from about lunchtime on Sundays waiting for it to be on. What am I going to be like this week?!

Did notice one thing though - In the trailer at the end of 10.4 the home secretary says to Ruth (I think) 'Has he gone absolutely stark staring mad?' - He didn't say this line in the episode! Unless I missed it?

[A Cousin]

(18-10-2011 07:44 AM)JHyde Wrote:  Welcome back to Spooks Bharat Nalluri! The very stylish director didn't hold anything back in this and the car/van chase sequence was flashy in just the right way. He has the deft touch when it comes to the intimate, quiet scenes too. There is a beautiful symmetry to Bharat being the one to see the show out, given that he was the first of the establishing directors of the show and it is a job for which he is well qualified. Class act.

Hear, hear! If we have to go out I am very glad we are going out with Mr. Nalluri. Almost makes it worth it. Almost. I am in awe of his work in this episode. It started with the teaser clip the BBC released of Ruth challenging Harry's decision to lift Coaver and that exquisite puddle reflection of the car. The subtlety and attention to detail is sublime and it only gets better on repeat viewings. And it isn't just the cinematography, it's his work with the actors as well. They all fit. It looks like they are doing it all by themselves.

---

(18-10-2011 11:56 AM)Silktie Wrote:  

(18-10-2011 07:44 AM)JHyde Wrote:  Something bothering me - the file on the computer. Was Harry meant to get to it because it was meant to help him find out who the traitor was or to get rid of the information before the Americans found out? Because having a file with that information on it seems very stupid to me.

Yeah, I'm baffled by that too. I thought there'd be some clue as to the bad guys, but apparently it was just a plot device to let Sasha realise who his real father is.

Me too. I thought there would be more and then Sasha went all Rock Star on it and I thought, "Oh, well. That's that then. OK." Maybe there was and we just don't know it yet? Maybe Sasha's destroying of the laptop sends things spinning downhill a bit faster than they already are?

Good work from TWJ though. He really committed and let it rip there.

[loladom]

In reality of course a file like that would never be on the laptop but I suppose they needed a plot device to enable Sacha to discover his parentage. I thought there was more than that, perhaps Callum recovers the HD and there is indeed more.

Agree about the director. In a whole different league to the previous 2 episodes. His article about the Russian Arm and how they shot the car chase was interesting. But he also does the intimate scenes so well.

Nothing disappointed me in this ep and I have now sat through it and rewatched beginning to end 4 times without any fast forwarding at all. I cannot wait for ep6 now.

[Scarlet]

(18-10-2011 07:44 AM)JHyde Wrote:  So: wonderful episode. Silktie just covered a lot of the things I loved so I shall be brief.

Welcome back to Spooks Bharat Nalluri! The very stylish director didn't hold anything back in this and the car/van chase sequence was flashy in just the right way. He has the deft touch when it comes to the intimate, quiet scenes too. There is a beautiful symmetry to Bharat being the one to see the show out, given that he was the first of the establishing directors of the show and it is a job for which he is well qualified. Class act.

I completely agree with you! Bharat Nalluri is one of my favourite spooks directors and I can always tell when it is him directing. I love his style! I hope he is directing the last ep too?
Btw, did anyone else notice the car chase scene was filmed near the St Alban Tower in the City - (scene of the dead drop in 5.5 -Ruth's last episode?) I love that area.

[Naivety]

(18-10-2011 02:14 PM)A Cousin Wrote:  Hear, hear! If we have to go out I am very glad we are going out with Mr. Nalluri. Almost makes it worth it. Almost. I am in awe of his work in this episode. It started with the teaser clip the BBC released of Ruth challenging Harry's decision to lift Coaver and that exquisite puddle reflection of the car. The subtlety and attention to detail is sublime and it only gets better on repeat viewings. And it isn't just the cinematography, it's his work with the actors as well. They all fit. It looks like they are doing it all by themselves.

Yes I thought the puddle was poignant. Especially with Ruth trying to get Harry to 'reflect' on his reasons. I did worry about how they were going to get through the puddle though, and no one was leaving soggy footprints on that shiny floor!!

I also loved the whole scene between Harry and Elena. The faded grandeur of the room they were in, with the only light coming from the open shutter.

I was quite taken with Elena's reaction to Ilya being the only possible candidate for the attempted shooting. They seem to genuinely love each other. I'm starting to think that maybe Ilya and Elena are both victims of something even bigger.