Series 9 Episode 4 discussion

[Adam Carter]

Personally, this was one of the finest episodes of Spooks to date. And the reason? Teamwork.

The biggest complaint I had of Series 8 was the lack of team cooperation, largely due to the fact that there was no team. After Jo's death, Ros and Lucas were left to carry the entire show, which just didn't feel right.

But this episode brought the entire show back to one of its core ideals: a team of individuals working together to safe guard the nation.

Everyone played a part: Harry the supervisor. Ruth undercover. Tariq being Tariq. Lucas taking charge. Beth dealing with the complexities of Kai. And Dimitri (finally getting more than two lines) hopping on a bike to a defuse a bomb.

Incorporating the Chinese into the Spooks universe was a wonderful change of pace. The sharp cat and mouse game between the two sides was supremely engrossing. It wasn't your average, "Crazy idealists plant a bomb". There were genuine global poltical motivations at work here.

Oh, and the moment Lucas realized the jamming device had been online, my eyes widened. THAT was drama.

The twists. The misdirections. This was everything you could want in a Spooks plot. Sure, there were some leaps of faith from a tech standpoint. But I can forgive them when the drama is this great.

Side Notes:
- Love Beth. It took a few episodes, but I'm completely sold on the character. Love her fire and her passion, and I thought her emotional arc was believable. The way she beat herself up for failing to turn Kai reminded us that she's still a rookie. Sophia Myles is a welcome addition to the show.

- Lucas and Dimitri. Classic spy stuff, scaling the building in all black.

- I cannot say enough about how great Ruth was here. I love when they get her off the grid, and her spy craft was absolutely perfect. The "lip" bit with Harry was brief, but touching.

- Still would like a bit more of Tariq. A little back story and world view would be nice.

- I have no idea where this Lucas thing is going, so I'll save my comments for now. But I agree with the others regarding his running into Maya's arms. That felt quite random.