[spoilers] Lucas. Just Lucas.

[Byatil]

(25-11-2010 03:28 PM)WhiteSwan Wrote:  Thanks for some very interesting and fascinating analyses!
There are a few points, though, I disagree with.
First of all I can't remember Lucas ever blaming his country for his ordeal in Russia, in fact I can't even remember him blaming MI5 - it's Harry who gets all the blame. It's a theme that runs throughout series 7, from some of Lucas' hints in 7.2 to his answer to Connie's question in 7.8. As we were told that Lucas had been Harry's protégé, someone he had always promoted, I think it's safe to assume that they had a rather close relationship, that Lucas may have always admired Harry. And so it's quite understandable to what a large extent Lucas is affected by the feeling that Harry may have betrayed him and/or that he didn't do anything to get him out of Russia. So I see the problem he has with Harry, but I've never seen that Lucas has a problem with his country or that he is lacking patriotism. He might be critical of current politics, but of course that's not the same as being unpatriotic.

Hm, maybe that's just the impression I got... I'm not quite sure where I got it from though, rofl. I kind of got the impression he wasn't bothered about his country anymore, per se, because of the way he said "Home isn't where you live, it's where people understand you"... which to me, implied he felt more at home in Russia. But yes, I do agree that his issues are largely in his personal relationships (or lack thereof) with others.

(25-11-2010 03:28 PM)WhiteSwan Wrote:  Thoughout series 7 and 8 I can't see any kind of "abnormal" behaviour in Lucas. We know that during his time in prison he read a lot of books and had discussions about literature with Darshavin. And apparently he owns a lot of books, as we can see in 7.2.. So that's an interest he has, which may have helped him a lot in Russia, especially in those 4 years of solitary confinement, and there really isn't any reason at all why he should suddenly stop reading books about 2 years after his release. And as apparently his Russian his so good that he could pass as a native he must be musical as well. To really pick up the intonation and accent of a foreign language usually has something to do with a talent for music. So it would be just normal to assume he is interested in music. Unlike his interest in literature it's not something we are specifically told about, but we're not told about the contrary, either. Did we ever learn about Ros' or Adam's or Jo's interest in music? Probably not, because Spooks doesn't dwell too much on the private lives of the agents, but it certainly was not supposed to mean they never listened to any music. That remark Lucas makes to Danielle about not having any interests seems to me very much out of character. It's meant to prepare us for the notion that Lucas in fact is JB who in fact is a psychopath. So I just can't take it serious!

Yes, however as the series' progress, Lucas seems to have fewer and fewer personal possessions in his flat, up until the point in S9 where he tells Danielle he has no real interests. If we discount S9, then yes, you're correct. Am I making this up, or wasn't he have supposed to have done A-levels in Music and English Literature...? Which makes perfect sense with the way his character is portrayed as having a natural flair for Language and Literature. I agree that it seemed very out of character, but it could be explained by his lack of personal-identity outside of MI5? If he isn't quite sure who he is anymore, then surely he can't be quite sure what he believes in anymore. That's how I would explain it anyway, even though his passions/interests are apparently what kept him sane for 8 years... but that's shoddy writing for you

(25-11-2010 03:28 PM)WhiteSwan Wrote:  My impression is that Lucas has probably always been very meticulous, careful, methodical and controlled. For 8 years he had no control whatsoever over his life and this may well explain those little things like the way he prepared the tea etc.. Very well observed! But again I think it's nothing abnormal, it's nothing which would hint at severe psychological problems. The fact that for 8 years others had control over him can also explain why he normally tries to control his emotions, even though from time to time you can still tell how vulnerable he his (that's one of the reasons why I have fallen in love with him, so of course I'm not very objective about it ).

Eh, I would have to disagree with you there. I don't think it's possible to be tortured and abused for so long without any real external stimulus or conversation and not end up a little psychologically damaged. We don't know how Lucas behaved prior to his stint in Russia, but in S7, Elizabeta remarks to him "Were you always this cold?", which implies that in the time he's been away he has changed rather significantly, personality-wise.

(25-11-2010 03:28 PM)WhiteSwan Wrote:  Additional to that MI5 seems to be almost like a family for him with Harry being some sort of father figure. That's why he so desperately wants his trust and approval and that's why he is willing to risk his life and his freedom to personally help him in 7.7. But again this isn't really "abnormal" behaviour - people who are devoted to the kind of work they are doing often don't have a lot of private life (Ros would be another example for that). Besides, it's not that he isn't interested in anybody outside MI5: he would have loved to get his ex-wife back and he started an affair with SC. Not the best choice in women, but still great compared to Maya. What he really needs is someone who loves him just as he is, whom he can trust and who trusts him, who tries to understand him and chases all those nightmares away and then everthing will be fine.

Ros has lost almost everything that matters to her (from what the audience has seen anyway) though, so to an extent you could say that she continued with her job because it was all she had left. The way Ruth comments on her funeral "I think this is what she wanted us to realise, that this is what we're missing out on" (or words to that effect) really said to me that Ros felt trapped. She might have liked a quiet life in the country, but it seems that after you've involved yourself with MI5, there's no going back. We also see this in the relationship between Harry and Ruth - as much as they'd both like to go away and live happily ever after, as Ruth says "What would we talk to the neighbours about?".
His interests outside of work seem rather superficial though, and they are indeed related to his work. SC was an agent whom he dealt with. Elizabeta ended up working with the FSB. There's always a link to his job somewhere, apart from with Maya... but I'm not even going to try and go down that path, their entire relationship is so nonsensical!

Thanks for the alternative insight