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xRuthx · 07-03-2011, 06:05 AM

(06-03-2011 10:52 AM)binkie Wrote:
(06-03-2011 09:53 AM)DogSoSmall Wrote: I honestly think that a couple of extra minutes in a couple of the episodes (covering the why?) could have minimised the "what the *@**!!?" for most of us.

...not to mention the how? I'm still very bothered by the lack of adequate or sensible delineation of the how?

Nope, not over this yet. Trying to take it "like a man". Failing. Not clear to me why this particular incident of disagreeable plot development continues to drag on my tolerance. I think it may come down to 9.7's re-casting of torture-as-plot-device. One rhetorical compromise too far?

This is the crux of the matter for me! It's not the fact that Lucas turned out to be a baddie or that he had a double identity that bothered me, it's the fact that no explanation was given for how this "new" facet of his character worked or even an adequate explanation of the why. The John/Lucas/Maya plot only works if you assume series seven and Elizabeta didn't happen. Series seven and eight were canon before series nine was and therefore to me it is the series nine writer's responsibility to sell us this new developement in a way that tallies with what we know about Lucas in seven and eight. They didn't do this. Not by a long shot.

It also felt to me like the writers weren't sure through most of nine of where they were actually aiming to take the story. There was all of this foreshadowing between Ruth and Lucas that never went anywhere because the showdown was between Harry and Lucas. There was all of this foreshadowing (especially in seven and eight) that there would be a showdown between Harry and Lucas about Russia and prison and that never went anywhere because prison and Russia got sidelined for the completely new story of Darkar. There was indication that Lucas was a complex character but never to the extent of 9.8 where the writer's couldn't decide if he was a spineless fool or a highly organised madman, misguided and confused and atoning for past wrongs or cruel and dangerous and heartless killer.

I felt like the writer's were trying to do a 'Wicked' but without letting us know Lucas had done bad things from the outset of nine, it meant evilLucas just came out of the blue as a shock and didn't give the audience the time or the explanation to adjust.

Also, the line from Harry in 9.7 about "Betrayal is a cancer... let it eat your soul... not mine" irritated me so much in the context of Lucas having spent eight years in a Russian prison keeping silent and loyal on MI5 and by extension Harry's behalf. I mean why did you bother getting Lucas out of prison at all if you weren't even going to try to contain the situation and be such a hypocrite instead! I don't know. Maybe it's just me but that bit annoyed me so much.