[spoilers] Sir Harry Pearce 2.0

[Obsession]

AGREED

[Lizzieworth]

I too love the parallel experiences between Levi and Harry. I love episodes that shed more light on Harry's character and past. I think there should be a spin-off show just about Harry

On another note, has anyone else noticed that with each passing episode Peter is getting thinner and more younger looking? I'm having trouble taking my eyes off him... hahaha

[Silktie]

Re Harry and friends: We did see one of his friends in a season 2 episode, that guy who owned the bank the Russians wanted to use to launder money. Dickie something, who in the end suffered a stroke due to the stress. Harry was much softer with him too, one of my favourite Harry moments is when he returns the Russian icon to Dickie at the end.

I also found Harry very pensive this episode. He seems to be still pondering whether he has already lost his soul due to the things he's had to do to safeguard Britain. I had thought he'd gotten through that after he was able to help the scientist in 9.3, but it seems I was wrong. As dearly as I would like to see Ruth giving a relationship with Harry a chance, I'm not sure I'm going to like it if that appears to be the cure of all Harry's ills. Things are much more complex than that.

[Tea Lady]

I agree that Ruth is not a complete cure but she would put him on the right track and help stop the rott getting so deep that it can not be removed. Yes Harry wants/needs someone to love but he also needs a close friend. How many of us have a really bad day and don't have someone to turn to if we needed to. Whether they are physically there or at the end of a phone or broadband connection. Levi was Harry's friend but it sounded like he hadn't seen him for years and he didn't seem to know anything about Ruth. Ruth can help Harry by stopping him falling off that cliff.

[A Cousin]

Well, he has had time to read Kierkegaard hasn't he? That'll make anyone regress...

I'm kidding.

I think there are a couple of reasons he seemed to back track a bit. The first is that these things happen in spits and spurts. One moment you are fine and then something reminds you. His personal connection with Levi was a big reminder.

In addition, from the get-go, Harry was none too sure the talks would be successful at all which proved to be correct in the end. They either collapse spectacularly (side note: I love how PF says that word!) or fizzle out. Levin was so confident about them and they collapsed. So Harry just put a whole lot into something he guessed would fail in the end. Is it really worth the trouble?

[Silktie]

So, we've finally seen Harry read something through glasses...

Okay, it was only one, but still. Great scene, that. Harry's snark was on full-blast this episode. I laughed out loud when he stared into the computer to talk directly to the cyber terrorists, and then started yanking out all the wires. Funny, that's usually my solution to any computer-related problems too...

He had a rather strange reaction to Ruth's revelations about Lucas, though. I don't think it's that he didn't believe her, but he seems rather unwilling to believe anything bad about Lucas. Will this loyalty to Lucas come back to bite him, I wonder?

[BravoNine]

(26-10-2010 09:43 AM)Silktie Wrote:  Harry's snark was on full-blast this episode. I laughed out loud when he stared into the computer to talk directly to the cyber terrorists, and then started yanking out all the wires. Funny, that's usually my solution to any computer-related problems too...

He had a rather strange reaction to Ruth's revelations about Lucas, though. I don't think it's that he didn't believe her, but he seems rather unwilling to believe anything bad about Lucas. Will this loyalty to Lucas come back to bite him, I wonder?

Harry's dry sarcasm never ceases to make me smile, I can always count on his cheery deposition to brighten my day!

I wonder if the ripping-out-wires was for dramatic effect, practical solution purpose, or just him venting frustration! LOL!

Harry does seem to have a hard time when it comes to disciplining Lucas, but his reactions to Ruth's accusations is even more strange than usual. Under normal circumstances, Harry was always the first one to want to make sure that Lucas is loyal to them, and never really put his trust in Lucas. He has shown many times when he questions Lucas's loyalty or his judgment. To flatly deny Lucas's strange behavior is strange for Harry, which makes me wonder if he really knows what's going on......

[Tea Lady]

I think he did believe Ruth, it was just that she didn't have enough information to actually state what he was up to and whether it was serious or not. Perhaps Harry was a little hurt that Ruth didn't turn to him in the first place, plus this will reflect badly on Harry. He has only just promoted Lucas and it was Harry who took him back into the Service in the first place.

[Silktie]

So here's something I've been pondering:

Is Harry's loyalty to his officers a weakness rather than a strength?

Thus far it's brought him nothing but grief: Tom actually shot Harry and allowed Mace to nearly engineer the fall of MI5 ; Adam caused him and his whole team to be set up for assassination, and endangered the attempts to prevent Iran's nuclear ambitions; Ros betrayed him more than once and allowed Yalta to endanger the safety of both the US and UK; and now Lucas' whole life is apparently one huge deception to hide something horrible he did way back when, whose secrets is allowing a shadowy bad guy to blackmail him into giving him highly sensitive classified information, which said bad guy could use to endager the UK in some way probably, otherwise why would he want it?

Harry's loyalty to these officers in most instances probably blinded him to what they were doing, and thus endangered the country.

[BravoNine]

One could certainly argue that Harry's belief and loyalty to his people can be a weakness, but if you don't trust the people around you, if you aren't loyal, then your people will no longer trust you, be loyal to you, and then the whole unit falls.

I'd say that Harry's loyalty is both a strength and a weakness, it's a double-edge sword. Yes the officers he trusted have endangered Queen and Country and made mistakes, they are human after all, but his trust in his officers have also allowed the team to save many lives as well.

It's a complicated issue and one that people can argue both ways, but I think ultimately Harry's loyalty to his people is a strength, at least in my eyes. If leaders don't inspire trust, admiration, respect, and loyalty, then when the going gets tough, the followers will leave. At least for Harry, whatever mistakes have been made, his people trust him, his people admire him, and because of that bond, missions have been completed and been successful, lives have been saved and country protected. Tom, Adam, Ros, and Lucas have all placed their lives in Harry's hand at one point or time and trusted in him to get them through moments of crisis, and just as well, all four of them have been more than willing to walk through fire for Harry too. If Harry's life is in danger right now, I can see all four of them risking their lives without hesitation to save him as they have done on numerous occasions before.

That strong loyalty and trust can be a weakness used by enemies, but it's also a strength that has made MI5/Section D a strong unit whose people trust their leader to get them through anything. Sure it has caused Harry much grief and put the country in danger on more than one occasion, but that same loyalty and trust has also made Section D a functioning unit who has saved this country and defeated its enemies at every turn.

Harry's officers trust, respect, and admire him, and I think that is a strength.