[spoilers] Sir Harry Pearce - Return of the Jedi (#3)

[Silktie]

Now that Harry's big secret has been revealed, have we really learnt anything about him as a person we didn't know before?

I'm not sure. We already knew he was unfaithful to his wife when he started out as a spy (with Juliet) and this liaison with Elena takes place in more or less the same era of his career. The difference this time is that he has a son with her that he's not had any contact with (although it would have been difficult to do so without blowing Elena).

I agree with others that this is not an attractive part of Harry, but he has never been perfect. And I think that is good character-wise. I also like that we know these infidelities cost him a lot: his marriage and the fact that he has no significant relationship with his children, legitimate or otherwise. We have been shown that this is a source of great sorrow to him, in this latest episode as well as in the season 3 one with his daughter.

So, thirty years later, has he changed and learned from these mistakes? The rest of the season will tell. For me these revelations don't ruin his character, as we already knew these things about him, and because in the ten years we've known him, he has shown us who he now really is.

We'll have to wait and see whether the past coming back to bite him in the behind changes that.

But he was in fine form this episode. Great to see the cutting wit back, and looked mighty fine in that dinner jacket. And he got a bit of action too - nicely timed elbow there, Sir Harry.