[spoilers] Lucas. Just Lucas.

[Byatil]

Bloody hell Binkie, you continue to make fascinating points in your analysis!

(24-11-2010 11:09 PM)binkie Wrote:  Another, smaller, example of the extent of Lucas’ deference to his own condition of survival occurs in 8.4 when, following the meeting in his own flat with Oleg, and the confrontation in the same location with Sarah, Lucas calls The Grid to communicate the name of the Sudanese terrorist planning to bomb Central London. As he makes the call, he is agitated and struggling for control over his responses (we do not yet know the full reason for this). Having given Ros the name of the terrorist, Lucas places his ‘phone on the kitchen counter. Even as he begins to be overwhelmed by whatever it is that is he is experiencing in this moment, he still takes the time – still needs to take the time – to ensure that the edge of the ‘phone is parallel to the edge of the counter. This matters to Lucas and his survivor’s brain. It is the last chance he has to control what is happening to him, and he cannot afford not to take it.

...I really cannot fathom quite how you pick up on these tiny details. RA is such an intelligent actor, and I'm only just realising the full extent of the way he really 'becomes' his character. It's fascinating. These endless attempts to control the world around him, to try and make himself a permanent, living being who belongs there again. It's as if (as you say), he doesn't quite feel grounded in reality. He's still so emotionally caught up in these feelings of loyalty and betrayal that he's not quite sure who he is anymore. The fact that Kaleshnikov (was that his name?) spent so long trying to 'turn' him only rubs more salt into the wound; Lucas must have felt completely disassociated from his country, and indeed, from his own identity. The way he spits at Harry "If I don't have trust from MI5, from you... then I'll never really be home. Just back in England." really reiterates this sense of abandonment. He no longer has an identity outside of his job, because in Russia, all that matters is what he knows regarding his work with MI5. Through his time in prison, he has simply become a file of information. It's clear that he sees himself as someone who is undeserving of this imprisonment, as he has always been so loyal to his team and country. But when he arrives back on The Grid in 7.1... he seems to have lost this sense of patriotism because of his personal grudge against Harry. Even the way he seems so angry after Malcolm asks "Has it really been 8 years?" shows his intense frustration at his lack of worth in this new, strange world. In an episode from S9, he admits that he doesn't really have any personal interests. Films? Books? Music? Apparently nothing, aside from his coveted Blake book. He's just so void of any personality, he's allowed (or been forced to allow) his job to define him as a person. And he can no longer function correctly unless he is tasked. The fact that he apparently spends a lot of his time thinking about work (all of his time?) only further supports this. Without MI5, who is Lucas North? I don't think he ever really knows.