Series 9 Episode 8 discussion

[Hunted]

Thought it was a good finale, though the Lucas-Maya car scene did threaten to turn it a bit soap-opera'ish .
Avoiding spoilers for the last couple of weeks added to my enjoyment of it. When Harry took the Albany case in the church and set off the gas to stun Dimitri and Beth, I really had a 'WTF' moment! Please tell me he isn't a bad 'un, and this is the horrible plot twist they'd threatened to do! Before calming down & realising he was going solo to save Ruth's life. She was completely justified in saying to him after her rescue that he was wrong to save her given what Albany was (or she thought it was).
One question, was Harry sound wired up on that roof with Lucas? I was presuming Tariq and Ruth were listening in, hence Ruth's tears in reaction to what had happened, a combination of the relief that Harry is alive, finally breaking down after holding up well after 2 kidnappings, and possibly the knowledge that he did save her knowing that Albany could not be used to kill people. And hence, allowing her to love him?
The whole 'arc' about Lucas in this series was a genius idea - i.e. a person acting out a lie for 15 years; and very convincingly played by RA. I don't think it spoiled a good character for the two previous seasons. He said it himself; I was bad before M-15. It allows us to look at that Lucas now in a whole different light. It’s time to get out the season 7 & 8 box-sets over the Christmas holidays from work to see if hints in a back-story can be picked out. The only let-down about it was the whole Maya thing, and Lucas/John's involvement with yet another woman. Was dropping his mask all for her? It could have been so much better if it was for something else - maybe money or power. What he did in Dakar was despicable, and there could never be redemption for that. He didn't jump off the roof for the sake of the team; he had no other way out for himself, and he did it out of self-pity and the desire to end it all. Sorry if that offends anyone. I thought Harry was if anything too soft with him at the end, though he played it well to prevent himself being shot!
I like Alec White but I doubt he'll be Season 10's section chief. Please for Season 10 good plotlines, & good consistent writing. Maybe Kudo’s will bring back in their best writers if it’s the final season.