Series 9 Episode 1 discussion

[Adam Carter]

Fantastic opener. Such a promising start to the season. A few things of note:

I thought it was refreshingly realistic to see the deaths starting to take their toll on Harry. With all of the officers who have come and gone, you finally got to see Harry reflect on the sheer body count that's built up around him. Double points for this being sparked by Ros's death, specifically. I really think Harry saw Ros as something of a daughter.

I really don't know what to make of the Lucas situation. Clearly, being thrust into the role of leader represents a new challenge for him, but now that his past is being put into question again I'm not sure I fully understand what they're trying to do with him. Though, it does offer a nice change of pace to have a Section Chief whose moral standing isn't so clear.

Nice to see Tariq still humming along. We still have no real sense of his character, though.

Ruth was outstanding as usual, and I'm glad to see they're digging deeper into the relationship. Again, Harry's proposal was sudden, yet realistic, and Ruth's hesitation was perfectly captured by Nicola.

One of the big concerns heading into the season had to be the introduction of Dmitri and Beth. But both shined admirably in their debuts. I would've liked to have seen Dmitri again after leaving the ship, but he came across as a strong, determined officer. A nice addition.

I love what Beth brings to the show. In many ways, she's the huge wildcard Ros was when she first arrived. But I loved her sense of humor, and she's already got a terrific chemistry with Lucas.

All in all, a rock solid first hour. A lot of questions to be answered, and it'll be interesting to see how the team comes together in their first operation as a unit. But the fact that we have an actual TEAM this year, and not the Ros and Lucas show of Series 8, leaves me a happy Spooks fan.