7.8 [re-watch]

[JHyde]

Silktie has already covered most of the stuff I loved. The wonderful actor who plays the bomber (Kevin Fuller), the varied emotions played magnificently by the main cast, seeing Harry in the field and doing his thing and the extraordinary suspense that builds throughout the episode, culminating once again in a magnificent climax and cliffhanger. The first time I saw this my portable DVD player kept skipping and driving me mad and this only racheted up the suspense further.

I do disagree about Connie. I always interpreted the almost Shakespearean 'me, me' line to translate not necessarily as Connie herself, but someone like her and certainly not someone like Harry. Some nameless, faceless traitor who betrayed Lucas to the Russians. Traitors have different reasons but essentially they're all the same. The ironic flip side of the the nameless, faceless army of MI5 officers who continue to die quietly and always be replaced. (As Kachimov so crassly pointed out back in 7.2.) I've never met anyone who actually agreed with me on this one - people either think she did or she didn't. My interpretation is much more that Connie is taking the blame for someone like her and trying to let Harry off the hook.

Does she gain a measure of redemption in the end? I think so. An aspect of the episode I really like. There's a ring of truth to it.

A wonderful season, my joint favourite with season 4. The gap between seasons 7 and 8 seemed to last forever and the last shot with Harry is a killer.