Series 10 - Episode 6 Discussion

[molecatcher]

(01-11-2011 11:49 PM)KnowItAll Wrote:  So I'm a bit late on the commenting - but I was dealing with my bruised soul. I don't think I've experienced so much post-character sadness since Potter days. I feel like the end of Spooks is similar to the end of Potter in so many way, not least in how badly it's divided opinion. And like with the end of Potter, despite it's flaws and the fact there are a thousand things I wish I could change... I loved it.

I would count myself as a crazy Harry/Ruth fan, but I always loved them in their small yet epic, doomed, repressed, wonderful way. Of course I day dreamed about them living in a cottage arguing over le Carré (whom Harry not-so-secretly loves and Ruth loathes) but I never thought the show would give me that. But because I'm a tragic soul, I loved them all the more for their missed chances and I don't think they ever needed to say I love you ('those three words, are said too much, they're not enough' comes to mind).

I thought the ending was utterly tragic. I've been in pieces since. I always identified with Ruth (to an absurd degree considering I'm 18 and nowhere near her brilliance), so it felt like an almost personal blow... (*reminds self it's fiction*) But it felt perfect too. The acting was superb, beyond brilliant. The dialogue was wonderfully written too; the green door was SO Ruth and her admitting to Harry she imagined where his office would be was worth a thousand 'I love yous', to me at least. Peter Firth was just incredible too. There aren't enough positive adjectives for him and Nicola Walker. Although it all broke my heart, it didn't disappoint me in the slightest.

I said this on tumblr but I'll repeat it here; what hurt more than Ruth dying without a happy ending was her dying still believing she didn’t deserve one.

“Harry, we were never meant to have those things.”

Oh beautiful, tragic wonderful Ruth. I just wanted you to realise how worthy of love and happiness you were all along. Your kindness, your selflessness, your intellect, your absolute integrity… you deserved that house by the sea with Sir Harry more than your heartbreaking insecurity would ever allow you to imagine.

But that doesn't mean I'm 'angry at the writers' that she didn't get it. I'm angry at life and the fact that mostly it is pointless and random and utterly unfair... but amongst all that Ruth and Harry found each other if only for the briefest of moments. And that's what I'll take away from Spooks...

That and ten years of awesome one-liners, terrifying plots, terrifyingly bad accents, the fact it made me want to learn Russian (which I'm now predicted an A* in for A Level), bonding with my Dad over it, heartbreak and the fact I actually feel safe on the tube when I think of Harry Pearce sat in his office. So big thanks to Kudos. And time for a re-watch, I think...

#sorryfortheramblingincoherence

Wow, that brought a tear to my eye. Nothing incoherent there at all but put beautifully so I'll just say amen, yours will be the last words written about Ruth's life and death I'll want to read.

[beatrice4ruth]

KnowitAll : Thank you for your lovely post.

Molecatcher is right. You write so touchingly about Ruth and you are so young. It is also neat that you bonded with your Dad over Spooks.

I like your interpretation of Ruth's last words which revealed her insecurity about her right to love and be loved. Some fans thought that Ruth allowed Harry to go on with his life. Your point of view is so much more poignant.

[Forever Secret]

I agree with you Silktie, it does pack a very powerful dramatic punch It's one of aspects that makes Spooks both interesting but at time heartbreaking

beatrice4ruth-the characters may be fiction but we definatly owe it to the actors and even the writers for creating such brilliant character we can talk about
I still feel it was a little cruel at the end of 9 years between then, that Harry gained and lost everything he's wanted within 10 minutes, so close yet so far, but Spooks as people have said has never been about happy endings
Harry and Ruth's happy ending has always been just out of reach, although a hint that perhaps Ruth was alive would've been nice
I actually think the writers were quite brave to kill Ruth because they knew they'd have to deal with the reaction and knew it wouldn't please everyone, they took a chance

I still expected something else from Harry's past to emerge, Elena tricking him into thinking he had a son and Harry having an affair with a Russian spy didn't really suprise me, had he betrayed the country in some way (Even an Albaby-type incident) I would've been more shocked

Gillymac also said it a few posts up, "What's done is done" even if you hated the ending, don't let 10 minutes ruin 10 years

sorry if this is in the wrong place guys but
just out of interest
A friend from Twitter posted something you might be interested in
You'll most definatly recognise this place, she went for a visit there, asked if I could post a link

Even though "the" scene in ep 6 was probably the saddest we've seen in Spooks, *still crying a little*, she went there, took some pictures, (the place where Ruth and Harry agreed to leave the Service and then Ruth's killed )
It's a pretty amazing place, very beautiful, that now holds some memories

http://s1138.photobucket.com/albums/n532...se%20Fort/

[Ceridwyn2]

Now, as a photographer, several of those shots are brilliantly done with the lighting. Just wow. Thanks for the link!

Ruth and Harry will always live on in our hearts an minds.

[loladom]

Even though I still disagree with the chosen ending (!!!) - I cannot deny that ep 5 and 6 had some truly stunning shots, creative and beautiful. I recall NW said they shot those last scenes at the fort only once as they were losing the light. Not sure if the timing/light was intentional or just how the day's schedule fell, but it perfectly matched the scene.

As someone who has lived overseas a lot, one of Britain's truly magical characteristics is the 'twilight' experienced where the light and the dark take a fair time to meet. Not so in many other countries. At times, it provides a kind of magic hour for photography.

So well done to Baraht and the crew. I can fault nothing about the execution of those scenes (just the storyline and the words)

[Belle]

(24-10-2011 08:24 PM)WhiteSwan Wrote:  

(24-10-2011 09:00 AM)Belle Wrote:  The scene where we saw the memorial was heartbraking, but I think that it's not fair that Lucas isn't on it, he did spent 8 years of his life in prison for queen and country, no matter what his name was.

When I first read about that I was very angry and very hurt, because it was obviously meant to be a final insult to Lucas and his fans! But now I'm able to look at it from a very different point of view: for me (and I suppose for many other Lucasfans as well) that whole JB nonsense never happened. It was just too absurd to believe! So poor Lucas was only in a coma having terrible nightmares. And because he never died, there is no need to include his name in the memorial.

ok, I can live with that explanation!

[Nixie]

Wow! .... Just watched the final episode on Australian TV tonight. Such a long wait - and I studiously and religiously avoided all spoilers for months and months. So glad I did. Wow! Just wow! Brilliant. I loved it. Perfect ending for Spooks. Emotional, sad, and nothing less than I would have expected after 10 seasons. Saw my first episode in 2003 with my mother (her suggestion). She now has dementia, but we can still talk about Spooks. Missed a couple of years, then rediscovered Spooks about 2007 with my son, and together we caught up on missed episodes. Just amazing. Too full to be coherent atm. Perhaps the security services should take the Spartan motto:
ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς
Ḕ tā̀n ḕ epì tâs
"Either [with] it [your shield], or on it"
Meaning "either you will win the battle, or you will die and then be carried back home on your shield".

[Tiresias]

Me too. I've known this was to be the final episode for some time. I've even known that Harry and Ruth didn't have the happy ending many here would have liked. I downloaded the music from the series around 6 months ago! I was even in London in January, and contemplated buying the (very expensive) DVD set. Fortunately I waited patiently.

In my opinion, the final scene on the Thames Estuary, was a bit predictable and quite cheesy. But the scenes after that were OUTSTANDING. I didn't know Tom would be making a reappearance, so that was a pleasant surprise. At first I was disappointed that it was such a micro-cameo role, but then again, I appreciated the opportunity to reach my own conclusion there. The memorial scene was excellent.

[eDub1309]

I just finished the entire spooks series (in about a two month span, mind you) and I'm ready to start all over again! I heard about this show much later than I should have (thanks to top gear) and watched it as soon as I was able (ordering the dvd's immediately from amazon). All I can say is wow--I never expected a show to be as emotionally impacting as spooks was, and I loved all of the characters' ends and how the show showed just how the job would tear you up much like it would in real life. I'm American and unfortunately our television writers never write off a main character unless the actor wanted out, which is such a shame.

As for the ending of 10, I'm not sure it could have been any different or better for that matter. I thought the writing and acting was phenomenal, and I thought the Harry/Ruth ending was fantastic--honestly, could it ever have been any other way? I for one could have never imagined Ruth and Harry living in a house together and leaving the service.. it just doesn't fit. Tom's appearance was excellent and gave me chills (even though I already knew that he would return thanks to IMDB), and was a great ending to a great series.

As a side note I will be spending two weeks in London next winter with my university and am beyond excited to see some of the sites that were depicted in the show.. I hope my tv is ready for a summer filled with spooks, because I will be re-watching the entire series soon.. Already.