[Spoilers] Beth Bailey/Sophia Myles

[A Cousin]

(18-11-2010 02:42 PM)lwhite53 Wrote:  Beth's problem, as series 9 went on, is that the writers pushed her to the periphery as the Lucas/John story took center stage. RA, PF and NW have been playing their characters for a long time and know them well enough to stay in character even when they don't really have anything much to do in a scene. SM is new to the spooks experience (last minute scripts, shooting multiple eps simultaneously, non-sequential filming) and I'm sure there were moments towards the end of the series (when her character didn't get a lot of time or lines) where she just had no clue what was going on. She'll probably be better in the next series.

Agreed. I also think the character was put there as a device to ultimately serve the Lucas plot and not her own arc. When that purpose was completed, her character development stopped. I don't think SM is a bad actress because Beth showed such promise in the first two episodes.

Just a thought: We, as an audience, also have much more "history" with SHB, Ruth and Lucas that we can fill in the blanks, as it were. Not so with Beth. We are still looking to her to fill in the blanks for us. Another one for the S10 Wish List, I guess.