[spoilers] How Did You Rate Season 8?

[The Grid]

Well I have to say I loved this series. For me, Spooks just keeps going from strength to strength. When I watch Series 2 and compare it to the latest series, I think it demonstrates how well Spooks has matured and developed over time.

For me, there were many strengths to this series. Ruth's return was superb and she really acted out the anguish over the loss of her new life tremendously well. Her relationship with Harry continues to be very understated as well, e.g. Ruth's slight touching of his hand in 8.8. This is just how they used to be with each other in earlier series, so I'm glad the writers haven't lost touch over how they used to interact with one another. Great continuity.

Malcolm's exit was also extremely well done, I thought. I liked the fact that there was no action or tragedy involved. His exit was very low key which was really nice, I thought. Malcolm didn't deserve to die or anything like that. His exit of retirement was really fitting. I liked his final scene with Harry too. Considering they had worked together for so long, it was very touching. I like his replacement, Tariq too based on first impressions. I am not too bothered, if I'm honest that the writers haven't developed him yet. He's only been in it for seven episodes. There's plenty of time to know more about him next series and I hope the writers seize that opportunity.

The last two episodes are the stand out episodes for me. I agree that 8.7 really has the re-watchability factor. Lucas going into the sixth form building to take control of the hostage situation was so intense and nailbiting. I was on the edge of my seat! I also cared so much for the teenager who was involved undercover. I was really hoping he wouldn't die at the last minute, which just goes to show how well his character was acted in just the space of an hour, for me to care so much about him.

The final episode too, was brilliant. Full of action that kept me glued. I liked how the backstory of Nightingale just simmered and eventually built up to a climax, to something massive. Like the characters, we the viewers were left feeling uncertainty over what was truly going on and I liked that we were in the dark, just like the team were. I loved the doubt and paranoia throughout.

Ros really excelled this series, so I was truly gutted by the series finale, now it looks like she is dead. She was a fantastic team leader, motivating the Grid with brilliance. It was refreshing to see a female leader, as it was Adam and Tom that took charge in earlier series. I thought Lucas's relationship with Sarah also allowed him to develop as a character, as we seen how he could be caught off guard and we should hopefully see him learn from his mistakes next series. Moreover, we learnt more of his past when he was tortured,though I felt this was handled better with Adam in Series 3. Despite this, he's grown on me a lot and dare I say it, I think I am starting to prefer him to Adam and Tom! In some ways, Lucas's relationship with Sarah reminded me of Tom's relationship with Christine Dale, except I found the Lucas/Sarah storyline better. The truly shocking moment of the series was when Sarah Caulfield pushed that man over the balcony. My mouth literally dropped open and it was a superb shock moment. One of the best Spooks has done. Some truly great stunts this series that kept me glued.

Jo's death also impressed me. For me, it was the fact that it happened so totally out of the blue that was effective. Similar to Adam's death, it represented that we can lose somebody close to us at the most unexpected time and this is what happened with Jo. I was truly shocked and saddened when it happened, as I didn't read any spoilers or anything.

Onto the negatives and whilst I liked the way Jo's death was handled, I thought the aftermath was poor. The team did express some sadness but we didn't really see clearly enough the way Ros was effected (after all, she did take the shot!) so I would have liked to have seen some more emotional scenes. I agree with others that there was a lack of emotion this series really. We need to see that the spooks are human sometimes, so we can relate to their emotions and how they're feeling. There wasn't enough interaction between characters, only between Harry and Ruth really. For example, I would have liked to have seen more scenes between Lucas and Ros. I felt they made a great team but they could have been even better as a pairing, if the writers exploited the opportunity of giving them some scenes where we seen more of a professional relationship and friendship blossom. It was a wasted opportunity and if I'm being honest, I was very disappointed by this. I would have liked to have seen Lucas comfort Ros over Jo's death for instance and to have seen them get closer. That's probably my main criticism overall.

When I watch the series back at some point, I'll be interested to see how my opinions change (if they do).