Series 9 Episode 3 discussion

[lwhite53]

I'm with Skully on this one -- the idea of an FSB agent on the grid (even such a thing being ordered by a British HS) is highly improbable, imo. Also, who in hell lets a foreign intelligence agent run about on their patch with a weapon? C'mon now!! (And as a total aside, Viktor was wearing kneepads under his costume in the final roof scene -- could clearly see their outline when he knelt down. The costume folks needed to give the guy looser trouser legs, for pity sake.)

Speaking of costumes, Ruth was in black again. That makes three eps now. What's that about?

Really liked the scenes with Harry and the HS -- sets up a clear power struggle between the two. The HS was positively rude to H: "I'm not interested in your old-fashioned beliefs. Either do the job or get out of the way and let someone do it for you." And the HS going directly to Ruth is certain to spell trouble for the man -- Harry could easily "dispose" of him without leaving a trace. Just ask Blake!

The H and R scenes were quite something -- more interaction between them in this ep than I can ever remember before. Harry was really shirty with Ruth at the beginning of the ep -- the whole "doubting my judgment," "I know you want to tell me 'I told you so,'" "I don't need you to fight my battles for me," "In future I'd appreciate" your not going behind my back," and "We are working together, this is what it looks like" shows a man deeply emotionally off balance. He's like a child who didn't get the toy and he wants her to know she's to blame. Although H has been wrong-footed by Ruth before, he's never carried their differences into the workplace.

I really loved the scene between them where he says, "It appears I've allowed us to be played by Moscow right from the start" and she decides it was "A mistake of judgment, maybe, but not of decency. Sometimes you have to do what's necessary, Harry." And immediately thereafter, they go together to lie to Kirby and get the location of the paroxocybin. At that moment, they reach some kind of a detente. And H's "Sometimes you have to give a man a chance, Ruth. To show you who he really is" was a heartbreaker.

Thought Beth was terrific in this ep -- first when she opened Azis' rucksack on the tube station (very gutsy) and then when she murdered Viktor without blinking. This is one tough lady!

And then there's Lucas who swore to Maya that he was going to tell her everything. Well, he told her that part of "everything" that we already know -- he was in prison for eight years. He conveniently forgot to tell her that he had been married and also left out the five years prior to his being locked away in Russia. So much for the truth. And, of course, he jumps into a relationship with her -- this plot line is getting to be very predictable and seriously boring.

Loved Viktor's line about the FSB having a ghost account at Clardige's -- nice touch!

Vaughan's "Albany" file -- will that turn out to be this season's thread??