Series 9 Episode 8 discussion

[BoHenley]

(Still reading through all your posts)

24 hours after watching it here in Oz, and enjoying the fabulous scenes between RA/NW (I thought she'd had it there for a while) and RA/PF, I still feel profoundly sad at Lucas's demise. In the end, he was a pitiable, tragic and tortured character. The final confrontation with Harry saying "I wish you'd met me first," and Lucas "So do I..." was quite heart-wrenching, and I'm not the sort who gets emotionally involved. That Lucas quietly stepped off the roof (off-camera) was so subtly and tastefully done - thank you Kudos and BBC. (Recall RA's comment "I like to go out [of the series] quietly..."). As others have said, Lucas had nothing left to live for, he couldn't go back to prison (and I understand that), and, saddest of all, he'd lost himself (Harry: "Who are you?") And yes, Lucas "won't get so much as a funeral."

I did like Alec White - wish they'd given him more to do. Then again, I can say that about Dimitri...

Like so many others, I think I'm left with more questions.

a) How on earth did Lucas suddenly acquire all that equipment, cars, bomb-that-looks-like-a-fridge, and computer knowledge that outclasses Tariq - in a matter of hours?

b) Why did Maya leave with Lucas after Alec told her what Lucas had done? And why especially after she said "You lied" (or similar - and her one and only half-decent scene) did she AGAIN get back in the car with him? If he was clinging to her to relive his past when things were "normal," then it makes a gram of sense. A gram. But really, the Maya thing was poorly done.

c) Why didn't Harry tell him Albany didn't work? They could've trapped the Chinese agents, done some diplomatic deal, and partly-redeemed Lucas.

d) So what was the point of Albany at all? Why not tie Lucas's unhinging with his torture (and add some "brainwashing") in Russia? THAT would've made more sense. "Albany" could have been a "trigger" word, and Vaughan (and Maya?) a Russian handler. I didn't dislike the Dakar story, it just meant we had to believe that Lucas was everything the other two series had shown him NOT to be.

e) And Malcolm disappears into thin air?

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f) I cannot believe that MI5's vetting process is that bad. SURELY there'd have to be fingerprints, iris-recognition, facial recognition etc etc etc. No, no, NO!
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My opinion (and it's my opinion only) is that I still feel partly cheated with this S9 storyline, mostly because of the character assassination of Lucas. But don't get me wrong, I REALLY DID enjoy it, parts of it were absolutely superb, the H/R relationship (?) frustrating, and found Lucas's self-destruction mesmerising. Brilliant acting as always by PF, NW, and RA, newcomers SM and MB, and the fella that played Alec White.

The footage I watched didn't have the "Back in 2011" bit - thanks for the update!