Episode 6 Discussion [rewatch]

[JHyde]

Big episode for Harry, so I'll probably start a separate discussion on the Harry thread over his behaviour and decisions in this episode.

For the rest of you ( ) what did you think? I stand by my assessment of the season 1 cliffhanger being one of the best for the show as a whole. Very scary.

I liked how Harry dealt with Zoe over Tessa. He quietly ignored the fact that she'd known about her deception for some time and was hanging onto a considerable bribe, and went with the fact that she made the right decision in the end. Ultimately he was very compassionate about it, I thought.

[Silktie]

Cracking episode! As a South African I had to laugh at Danny telling Tom that his windows were now as tough as those of a BMW in Joburg - right on, baby!

I liked the safe house lady, she had chutzpah.

Tessa complaining about Harry wanting to kill McCann was pretty rich, coming from someone who had just had a man killed in the previous episode to try and save her lover's political career. Tessa was sort of creepy and weird to me through this whole episode - she seemed to be saying the opposite of Harry just to be difficult and annoy him. I did it find it funny that, after Harry told them about his history with McCann, that Tessa was the only one who didn't want to say that she understood, and Harry stared at her until she did say it, very grudgingly, in the end.

I thought Tom was a little gullible to swallow McCann's promises so easily, Harry was right in that he wasn't trustworthy. Loved the scene where Harry calls them on the red carpet after the bomb in the station went off, it was beautifully filmed with Harry at one side of the room, next to the MI5 coat of arms, and Tom, Zoe and Danny opposite him and Tessa to the side. It showed clearly where everyone was at at that point. Loved Harry's long look at the coat of arms and 'Regnum Defende' before letting the team's betrayal go and getting on with the job. Also loved his 'You'll forgive me if I don't hug you all' at the end of the meeting - all was clearly not forgiven yet.

Blimey, but that kid is annoying. That's what you get for letting the kid play with the highly sophisticated keycard, Tom. Jeez!

The ending was very suspenseful, it is a great cliffhanger. Although at this stage I wouldn't be sorry to see the kid go...

[deathbymascara]

Whats wrong with Maisie? I loved her awww! I thought she was good for a child actor, most of the time they can be really rubbish!

I will return with a more constructive post later haha I have just came home and neeed sleep

[lwhite53]

I liked this ep, especially since it's the first where we've seen the professional and the personal, side by side at the same time, in the person of Harry. Though we've seen the personal side of most of these characters already, those glimpses were totally separate from their work. Now we have Harry at war with himself, professional and personal fighting for the upper hand, and it makes for great drama.

Interesting set up -- IRA splinter group selling their technical expertise to a foreign terrorist group. Apparently, a plausible scenario. I did wonder, though, why we didn't see Malcolm or Colin in this ep, given all the technobabble about weapons, etc?

And Tom, again, misses the boat in his relationship with Ellie. He kits out his house with the best security system available in order to make her feel safe and doesn't understand that all she really needs is for him to let her all the way into his life. They're over and neither realizes it yet.

Harry's skewed judgment shows almost immediately: "We set up a meeting with Patrick McCann and we kill him." Not even close to the measured and calculated responses we've come to expect from H, the man who let Johnny Marks walk away to save MI5 assets. He is clearly reacting emotionally to this situation and the self-imposed blinders keep him from seeing the bigger picture. "There will be no deals with Patrick McCann" -- H is stuck in the past and can't find a way past his prejudices.

Loved the scene with Tom and the DG -- seriousness of purpose vs. comedy of setting -- great juxtaposition.

Tom showed both his leadership ability and not a little courage in taking charge of the situation -- he realized Harry's judgment was compromised and they needed to get around him, but wouldn't let the others comment on it -- great loyalty and great insight into his boss's demons. He challenged Harry professionally, even though he clearly didn't want to: "You always taught me to keep personal issues away from judgment. You didn't. Sorry." It's a testament to the strength of their relationship that Tom got out of that exchange alive!

And once H took a step back, and a couple of deep breaths, he's back in control: "Oh well, needs must." He sucks it up, slips on his game face and they're, once again, a team at full strength. The demons are back in their dark closet and H is the inscrutable master again . . . or is he?

Zoe finally outs Tessa, spurred into action by T's blatant greed in the face of a terrorist threat and Harry's emotions, still a little too close to the surface, come roaring back into play. He ignores the unwritten code when dealing with Tessa: "You are a brilliant woman. If you wanted to get into treachery, couldn't it be something ideological, something grand? . . . I'm going to throw you to the wolves." I think he's appalled at how self-serving and corrupt she's become, how utterly banal and unoriginal her scam. He needs to make someone pay for the day he's had and, as he can't have McCann, Tessa becomes a convenient target for his rage. She certainly doesn't help herself when she challenges him and then calls him a coward! This is Harry at his scariest, ruthless, malevolent best -- "A fight. Oh goodie." Don't cross him when he's in this mood; it'll become a game a russian roulette and he's never lost. The danger and menace in H's voice and demeanor is palpable in this scene, it's almost as if there's an additional character in the room. Would he have gone after Tessa had this been just another day on the grid? I don't think so.

And it all ends with the first great spooks cliffhanger. A great ep and a terrific end to series 1. How could you not come back for s2?

[Tea Lady]

I really liked this episode. A classic. Also a classic last of the series ending. It would have you hooked for the following series.

I think the only bit I didnt like and was a bit silly was when Tom went in to see the DG. Was this supposed to be a take on the Wizard of Oz? Actually I thought the DG sounded a little like Harry, almost like there is no DG and Harry actually runs MI5, you just dont know it. I cringed a little at that scene.

I loved the way Harry put his betrayal by his team to one side to focus on the matter at hand. I am sure he had been in that position before though. I didnt agree though that his team should have focused on the power plant and not the station. I have said in the Harry thread, "as for McCann, Harry was completely right not to trust him and their efforts should have been spent on stopping the first bomb. A security cordon and special forces would have prevented anyone attacking the power plant. I wonder though whether his team wanted the glory target. Look at the way they cheered at the end. That was what they were fixated on, not the smaller train station bomb. Less glamorous."

Tessa was quite evil during this episode and clearly has no love for Harry. She didnt even try to put him at ease when he was basically asking for his team's understanding over all things Irish. I wonder whether Harry did actually have a gun and then tossed it. Even if it was untrue and a rumour was started by Tessa, Harry couldnt disprove it. The damage would be done. Dont mess with Harry Pearce is the moral of this episode. He will have his revenge. I think from what we have seen of Harry in series 1, there is nothing to suggest that he is a coward.

[lwhite53]

Geez, almost forgot to mention the set up line for the bomb in Tom's laptop and the cliff hanger (I know, it's hard to believe I forgot anything, given the length of my original post!).

When Harry says "We may dance with the Devil, Zoe, but it's always to his tune. It's never over," you know something else is going to happen before the end of the ep, both because of the line and because there's like 10 mins left. Then the Tessa scene happens and you figure, ok -- that's what that was all about. And then the bomb in the computer happens. It's a double bluff by the writer ("it's never over" should be the spooks tagline) used to great effect to lead into the cliff hanger. Loved it.

[HellsBells]

What happened to Tom and Ellie's relationship ? In episode 5 she would not even let him into the flat (after Tom terrorised her ex) then in this episode he turns up all smiles and she just lets him in and agrees to move back in. I thought she had serious issues with his job and everything, not just the security of his house.
How Maisie got in such a mess is beyond me, my 3 year old doesn't get in that much mess when she cooks !
But it was a fantastic cliff hanger and glad I only have to wait a week to see the next episode.

[lwhite53]

Apparently there had been some kind of reconciliation between Tom and Ellie between eps 5 and 6. You're right, though -- the moving into his flat is pretty sudden, given that she wouldn't even talk to him previously. Maybe his little safety (or lack thereof) talk got to her?

[Jhokur]

One of my favourite parts was when the police officer approaches Tom:

Officer: Is there a problem here at all?
Tom: I'm security services - there's a bomb in my house.
Officer: You're the fourth I've met today, mate.
Tom: My ID's inside - I'm locked out. Ring the bloody number!
Officer: And what number would that be, sir?
Tom: 7946-0001. Ellie! Come on! (turning to the officer) 7946-0001!
Officer: Right!
The look on the officer's face when Tom tells him the number is *awesome*... it's like, OK, *GULP* you're not just some nutjob

[spooksdreamer]

This is a very exciting, scary and touching episode. TOm made a big mistake and it was sad to watch it. But it was a great episode.. sorry Tom!