Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

**JHyde** · 16-11-2009, 05:32 PM

lwhite53 wrote:

You don't see contradictions in the beginning R/H scenes and the final one?
[/quote]

Hindering their prospective romance, Ruth and Harry have at least 2 years' absence, the ghost of a (barely) dead man, Her Majesty's Secret Service, a complete lack of personal time and the ugliness of dating one's boss (which, if you've been there, done that, you know is hardly ideal).

I would argue that taking one step forward, two steps back is completely in character for both of them. Harry plays his few emotional cards very close to his chest, and Ruth is crippled romantically by a lack of confidence and experience.

lwhite53 · (This post was last modified: 16-11-2009 06:26 PM by lwhite53.)

(16-11-2009 05:32 PM)JHyde Wrote: lwhite53 wrote:
You don't see contradictions in the beginning R/H scenes and the final one?

I would argue that taking one step forward, two steps back is completely in character for both of them. Harry plays his few emotional cards very close to his chest, and Ruth is crippled romantically by a lack of confidence and experience.
[/quote]

Agree with the forward/backward movement being in character. But imho it's Harry who's the emotional cripple here. Ruth's been in a relationship for the past couple of years and has been happy. I think her "lack of confidence and experience" has gone by the wayside. Harry, on the other hand, can't or won't move forward -- he's still stuck in the relationship of two years ago.

Maybe I'll amend the "emotional cripple" tag to "emotional coward." Harry knows what he wants and he knows how to get it, but he's afraid to take the chance.

Congrats on your new status, btw.

Alpha One · (This post was last modified: 16-11-2009 06:36 PM by Alpha One.)

(15-11-2009 11:12 PM)Adam Carter Wrote: I have no idea what to make of this episode. The writing was all over the place. There was just not enough focus on Ros, Lucas, and Jo. There was a huge chunk of this episode where Lucas and Jo just completely disappeared. The pacing was incredibly off.

And the ending? Well, needless to say I'm numb. I think this episode was definitely momentum killer for the series. I think the show's unpredictability is starting to hurt it a bit. There's absolutely zero sense of consistency, and I'm starting to miss the days of Series 4 and 5, where we had a strong, plentiful grid. The lack of a strong, clear leader like Tom or Adam is starting to creep up.

I agree with you.

Its predictable unpredictablity, shocking for the sake of it and to create a dramatic episode. It's as if the writing team are creating scripts like a recipe (a death here, a fight there, a bit of Harry/Ruth on the grid, romance for Lucas, clever lines for Ros, some techy stuff) and sometimes (as in 8.3) the ingredients don't mix well together. Confused

Ros was a strong leader in S7 but her leadership has lessened in S8. Her silence in episode 3 was one of the reasons for the episode missing the spot by miles. Was the fact that Ros was outside the communications loop meant to be the reason why Jo got into her deadly situation?

The grid scenes are different too, this season. The grid is smaller and looks less like a busy working office. Harry, Ruth and Tariq in a small space - no-one else in visibility.

almh · 16-11-2009, 06:43 PM

Ok, I haven't read all the previous posts (5 pages!) so sorry if I repeat anything. I've just watched it and it is actually seriously depressing. I vaguely guessed that Jo was going to die, but Harry ordering her to go in was actually horrible, the decision he had to make knowing that she was likely to die. Ruth's face as well just after he said that was amazing acting. I feel so sorry for Ruth and Harry, their relationship is hardly going well, just about chugging along, he finally gets Ruth back at work, first day back Jo dies and they once again see someone getting shot. They must need some serious counselling by the end of this episode.

I agree - it is numbing. Not quite as numbing as 8.1 but, to be honest, that made me feel REALLY numb. I did think that it was a good episode though, but I do still want to know why Nina did it - was it all love? That seems to be a theme for male and female terrorists working together. And also - Ros and Nina's conversation, why didn't the other people overhear???

Ros has certainly got a lot quieter - has she got a sore throat?

I did enjoy the Harry/Ruth scenes. They were just awkward enough with the right amount of tension to work. And the bit at the end when Ruth leaves is amazing - that was a brilliant idea by the script writers to get them so close, but so far. I do feel sorry for Harry though - all his guilt about Ruth is just accumulating by the episode.

Nothing else to say (I don't think!) but I'm going to rewatch it again this evening hopefully (after I've caught up on all my other tv Sad

Trips are good, but next time if they could occur when I had less tv/work to do, it would be appreciated.)

YourFutureMuse · 16-11-2009, 07:36 PM

Can I also say thank you to the person that changed my hideous spelling mistake on the title of this thread! Hahaha I am usually a spelling and grammar freak so that was killing me everytime I saw it!!! I must have been very excited making this thread straight after watching the episode!