Episode 5 Discussion [rewatch]

[JHyde]

So here we are for episode 5. A reformed bad guy? A Defence Secretary who is also a CIA asset? Zoe and Danny kiss?

Tell all! Don't forget to try and keep this thread just to episode 5, although you can refer to other things in season 1 without spoiler tags. Please remember to use them for later seasons though.

My favourite thing about this episode was having the delectable Nicholas Farrell around as a guest star. He has to be one of the best actors going. They did well on guest stars in season 1, didn't they?

And of course, Naoko Mori's tiny cameo as Danny's paramour. You can tell she was told to ham up the Japanese accent.

Tell us how it really is!

[Silktie]

I really loved this episode. I thought it was one of the best in achieving that elusive balance between plot and character moments, as well as between lighter moments and the serious stuff. Watching it again reminded me why I loved Howard Brenton's scripts so much. Anyway, on to the episode itself.

I have to say that the opening shot looked nothing like the desert to me, as it was supposed to be. Loved the sequence right after the credits though, with Harry trying out his newfound knowledge on disorienting techniques and annoying both Danny and Tom endlessly.

Tom really is spectacularly crap at handling Ellie vs his job. He shows absolutely no emotion when he informs her about the many ways his job will impact on their lives, and when he puts it so coldly, I'm with Ellie that it sounds really ridiculous. It's interesting, as I remember getting annoyed with Ellie for whinging so much when I saw it the first time, but now I actually sympathise with her.

Tessa is an evil so-and-so in this episode! Not only is she trying to convert Zoe to her evil ways, but she also has an affair with Maynard and then has a man killed to save his career. I also found it funny how Harry asks her to 'stroke him and see if he miaauws', thinking he's being very clever and cunning, while meantime Tessa has clearly been 'stroking' Maynard for some time, and much more. At first I thought Maynard might be an innocent bystander, but in the end he was selling his country out, just not as literally as we first thought. I should have known he was dodgy when it became clear he was having an affair with evil Tessa...

Hampton Wilder was crazy, and maybe if he had been honest from that start about lying in his book about Maynard's involvement, things would have turned out differently. But then they probably would not have been able to get rid of him and would have had a CIA asset in high office.

I liked how Harry figured out the main points of the game before anyone else, from the moment he had read the manuscript and realised it was dross, he knew it was part of a plot to remove Manynard. That speech he gave to Tom about how they were the laundry to wash the officers' sins away was very telling.

Loved Jools Siviter at the opera, and later in Harry's office. Also laugh at Harry's face when Jools pulls that manuscript out of his pants every time I see it. And the scene where the whole office is reading the manuscript is priceless - they are collectively gobsmacked by it, hee!

[JHyde]

Yeah Hugh Laurie gets the best moments in this episode.

I have mixed feelings about Howard Brenton's scripts for Spooks. There's usually one or two scenes that work brilliantly but then I find others a little flat. This is one of his better ones, I think. But most of that is due to good Tessa and Siviter moments and Nicholas Farrell. Whom I adore. Have I said that yet?

[lwhite53]

Interesting ep because it gives us a new slant on what might constitute a "national emergency." MI5's remit clearly states that they are not to be involved in UK political issues, yet here they are trying to keep the govt from falling. That screams "political" in my mind! A questionable decision by Harry, I think.

Also, the ep gives us insight into the relationship between 5 and 6 -- the competitiveness (who owns Lermov), the manipulation, and the pecking order. 6 sets up both 5 and Maynard -- gotta' love being screwed by a close relative!

Great character development throughout:
-Growing relationship between Zoe and Danny -- friends, partners, flatmates and . . . tbc. Loved the intro of Danny's one-nighter and the outrageousness of the whole situation. How do you have a quick fling, at your place, when you're a spy? Not easily!
-Ellie and Tom -- job getting in the way, big time. T: "This is so unfair." E: "Do you mean to me or to you." Good question -- he means to himself, unfortunately.
-Tom using his position and co-workers to threaten Ellie's ex -- same as Danny's fixing his credit rating. They almost can't help themselves.
-The evil, manipulative Tessa -- an adrenaline junkie and extreme risk taker with Maynard in hallway. Might explain her scam with the phantom agents. Also, same as Tom and Danny using their positions -- she's taking advantage of a system that gives them great authority, autonomy and access.
-Jools Siviter -- opera loving, skinhead buggering, manipulating -- wonderful character. Best moment in ep, when he takes memoirs from pants and hands them to Harry.

Loved the idea of Hampton Wilder -- a disgraced politician writing his memoirs in prison. And it's such a believable situation -- that he got a plea deal, embezzlement rather than treason, and found God while serving time. Great acting job.

I think this is the first ep where the one liners start to come fast and furious:
"MI5 doesn't do evil, just treachery, treason and Armageddon."
"The man lies just as naturally as the rest of us breathe."
"This becomes a surprise to you, but prison is full of thieves."
"Oh, how I've missed tough women."
"Glad someone's running the country while the rest of us are at the opera."

And poor Zoe -- caught between a rock and Tessa. She's in full on "hero worship" mode and has no idea how to extricate herself from the pile she's stepped in.

General note: meant to mention in 1.1 -- seems for the first series, this group is Section B.

[JHyde]

That treachery, treason and Armegeddon line is a personal favourite.

[lwhite53]

(24-01-2010 05:17 PM)JHyde Wrote:  I have mixed feelings about Howard Brenton's scripts for Spooks. There's usually one or two scenes that work brilliantly but then I find others a little flat.

I tend to like HB scripts. Because he's first and foremost a playwright, he's concerned with character development over action, and he writes brilliant dialogue, imo. He also writes longer scenes which I think helps in understanding some of the more complex plots.

[Silktie]

I'm confused about something, though (I know, it happens quite easily with me!). In this episode Tessa suddenly mentions something about a deep cover operation to Zoe, intimating that her little money making scheme is in fact part of a secret op. But nothing like that was mentioned in the last episode, was it? Did they retro the story, or did Tessa begin to suspect that Zoe might snitch on her?

[lwhite53]

Yes, I think Tessa was worried that Zoe was beginning to act a little cool toward her and wanted to set up what sounded like a plausible explanation for the phantom agents. T was indeed worried that Zoe would out her (I got some of this idea from the dvd deleted scenes).

[Tea Lady]

Well im going against the grain slightly and saying that I thought this episode was a little slow and I didnt really get into it until the final twist towards the end. It just seemed to plod along for me and I think I cringed at the prayer bit at the start. What was that all about and why were they sitting in the car park??

I didnt quite believe that Tessa was shagging the politician Maynard. Then again maybe it was him who found her as he was CIA. How does she know all these people and not be found out? Surely MI6 would have known Tessa was his mistress so why didnt they use that to try and get him out of office?

I thought the vodka bit in Danny's room was silly but believable that they (Danny and Zoe) may have then turned to each other for comfort when the vodka had numbed their senses and inhibitions.

I liked Jools boxer shorts and the way Harry then picked up the memoirs by the corner like he was going to catch something.

[HellsBells]

I like the bit where Jools got stuck in the Pods, I don't think that has happened to anyone else in Spooks. Does anyone know what the pods are for, or why Jools was stuck ?

The speed reading scene was so funny, and of course Jools revealing the manuscript. Loved the way he didn't even stop talking while undid his trousers ! The funnier, light moments in series 1 are a definite plus !