Episode 4 Discussion [rewatch]

[YourFutureMuse]

omg, why have I never tried that before?! Haha oh dear Thank you for making my life now a whole lot easier! I never have to see that irritating man again

[Aria]

I remember watching this episode when it originally aired and I too naively thought that Ruth being a mole for GCHQ wasn't a big deal as they all work for the same government. It wasn't as if she was spying for the Russians or such. Spooks portrays govt deptartments as little fiefdoms all protecting their own interests. It shows how good spooks is when an episode 6 years old is relevant in today's political climate with calls for increased inter-agency cooperation.

[JHyde]

Having said that, if I'd been wrokign somewhere I hated and had the chance to move where I wanted, I'd probably report on them too, from time to time.

I think Harry and Tom understood why she did it, recognized her value and basically made her theirs for life.

[HellsBells]

I think it showed how lovely Ruth was, and how naive ( in the best possible way). It just didn't seem to occur to her that MI5 would mind her passing on secrets to other departments. That's why Ruth is such a good character because she doesn't behave like a typical spy.

[JHyde]

I think in her heart of hearts she knew what she was doing wasn't so crash hot, but she justified it on the grounds that government departments act in the best interests of the whole. Of course, this is not the case.

[lwhite53]

(11-02-2010 02:49 PM)JHyde Wrote:  I think in her heart of hearts she knew what she was doing wasn't so crash hot, but she justified it on the grounds that government departments act in the best interests of the whole. Of course, this is not the case.

I'd go along with this. She'd been at GCHQ long enough to know there were competitions/rivalries between departments and services, so somewhere in the back of her mind she had to be aware that what she was being asked to do wasn't going to go over too well if she was caught. Sharing info unreservedly may be the ideal to be aspired to, but she's not naive enough to believe that's how the world works.

[JHyde]

I've never subscribed to the theory that Ruth was or is naive. I do think that she is an optimist to the end, and it suited her ends most of the time to believe in the best possible outcome. Some characters in the series survive by believing the worst in people. Ruth could only cope with it by believing in the best, and Harry later becomes a part of that belief.

[lwhite53]

I think Harry believes in the best (like Dickie Bowman) but expects the worst

Series 7 Spoiler: show

(like Connie James),

based on his experience -- that's what keeps him in the job. Ruth's "naivete," certainly at the beginning, is more a function of being "above the fray" at GCHQ. Once she's been immersed in the action of what's really happening at street level, she gains a level of pragmatism that wasn't evident initially, imo.

[YourFutureMuse]

I watched this programme this morning about spies in fact and fiction and it actually showed the clip with Tom and Ruth on the bench talking It was talking about how interagency relations were made more dramatic and how espionage had changed since the end of the cold war... so really the perfect clip to represent it
It also described Spooks as a small team of impossibly glamourous agents saving Britain on a daily basis without our knowledge - which I liked

[Kazters]

properly feel for zoe in this ep. i mean she and the guy she slept wuith had no idea what had been done to the room! and of course she was upset and tom was actualy quite human for a change in terms of emotions.

i did feel for ruth to but for some reason each time she appeared on screen i thought (rather mean of me) that her hair needed a good wash! but loved her face when she got her 2nd chance.