Episode 2 Discussion [Rewatch]

[Silktie]

This is one of my favourite episodes too, and Khaldun is definitely one of my favourite non-regular characters. The actor had such gravitas, he really was wonderful. Like Tom said, he was a hero. For that reason I'm really sad that the scene got cut where Tom and Harry discuss Khaldun after his death, and say that they felt he could have become a friend had they known him longer. It was also good to see that they did get him that passport they promised him.

I loved the scene in the park where Tom and Harry first meet Khaldun, for some reason it felt very old school, cold war type spying to me. Khaldun's comment of 'Bring on your lions' is one of my favourite lines out of Spooks, as it tells you right off the bat what this man is made of, and he seems to immediately earn Harry's respect through that.

Another favourite quote is Harry discussing Tessa with Tom and saying 'That woman should be in gaol, not running some tin-pot thingy of her own!' Ha! Tessa's dingy office when Tom visits her makes it clear that she isn't very successful as yet, making Harry's assessment rather accurate. There really is nothing redeeming about Tessa, she clearly was in the job only for the money and personal glory, not out of a sense of duty to the country, like the rest of the gang.

I for one loved Ruth's introduction. Like others have said, she's so different from the rest and I love the fact that she's unglamorous in relation to them, therefore immediately making you focus on her intellectual ability. I loved Harry's reaction to her as well, first the stupid joke and then making it worse by being the only laughing at it, and then becoming very patronising towards her with that silly statement that they're struggling with Islamic extremism. But when she comes up with the agent they needed, you can almost see him revaluating his opinion of her though.

Tom's love life is really beginning to irritate me at this point. We get it after Ellie that spies have a hard time having real relationships, we don't need the creepy doctor or the blonde but bland CIA agent as well to rub it in. I'm sorry, but the Christine Dale character annoyed me from the start, and much of it is down to the bland performance from the actress.

I thought they did well in portraying the radical Islam vs non-radical Islam issue, but I realise that it is easy for me to say this as an outsider. It would be interesting to hear what followers of Islam thought of this episode.

[Kirayuki]

(06-02-2010 06:43 PM)Silktie Wrote:  I for one loved Ruth's introduction. Like others have said, she's so different from the rest and I love the fact that she's unglamorous in relation to them, therefore immediately making you focus on her intellectual ability. I loved Harry's reaction to her as well, first the stupid joke and then making it worse by being the only laughing at it, and then becoming very patronising towards her with that silly statement that they're struggling with Islamic extremism. But when she comes up with the agent they needed, you can almost see him revaluating his opinion of her though.

Tom's love life is really beginning to irritate me at this point. We get it after Ellie that spies have a hard time having real relationships, we don't need the creepy doctor or the blonde but bland CIA agent as well to rub it in. I'm sorry, but the Christine Dale character annoyed me from the start, and much of it is down to the bland performance from the actress.

I agree with you on pretty much everything in the above post apart from Christine Dale. I actually quite liked her. She was a bit bland admittedly but she wasn't terribly annoying and i think she suited Tom well. I didn't have a problem with the acting either.

It was a nice way to introduce Ruth to us. I agree that it was possibly a little over-done at points but it worked. You can also tell that she is really loving the transfer from GCHQ.