7.8 [re-watch]

[Silktie]

Yep, this is a fantastic episode and a worthy end to one of the best seasons of Spooks. The reason I enjoy it so much is that each member of the team is a hero in his or her own right. Lucas is the action man that literally puts his life on the line to save London; Ros with her calm assurance steering Connie to deliver their salvation; Harry who offers himself up to directly save the lives of his officers, and thus indirectly to save London; Malcolm who has to watch all his friends and colleagues put themselves in danger and not being able to do anything to help them - yet doesn't deviate from the instructions, and doesn't disturb his Mother's peace of mind; and Jo who after all that she has suffered, still is able to show enormous compassion and poise throughout, especially during her phone conversation with the HS.

Gemma Jones steals this episode for me, though. It is a great performance, from her belligerence and the disturbing 'tick, tick, tick' during the confrontation in the safe house to her final sacrifice, she doesn't miss a beat. I felt kinda sorry for her, having to spend so much time running around at her age - she must have been knackered at the end of shooting.

Of the minor characters I enjoyed the HS and Victor Sarkissian a lot. Both have small but significant parts to play. And not forgetting the sleeper guy - I forget his name. One thing I don't understand though, is why he stayed after planting the bomb. Why didn't he plant it a bit earlier and hightail it out of the danger zone? That would have been my plan.

Lots of symbolism and significant little moments in this one as well. Kudos to A Cousin for that analysis of the meaning of Tiresias. I've read The Iliad, but have to admit that I don't even remember the Tiresias story from it. The quiet moment between Malcolm and Harry is touching, and shows how much these two men have come to depend on and admire each other. Then there is the little beat when Harry tells the HS about Tiresias - first he asks him whether the phrase Rain From Heaven means anything to him. It's a great character moment. Harry doesn't know who could be sleeper agents, and this is his way of checking whether the HS is in the clear. And also the HS' reaction after ordering the evacuation of parliament - he stays in his office, putting his life in his trust that Harry and his team will pull it out of the fire.

Re Connie's confession to Lucas that she was the one who sold him out, I believe her, and here's why: Throughout the episode she remains defiant about her betrayal, justifying her actions and acting snotty towards Harry, Ros and Lucas. She even tries to tell Ros they're the same, once again trying to legitimise her actions by aligning herself with Ros. It is only when she realises that she is unable to deactivate the bomb without killing herself, that her attitude changes. She says 'Some things that were lost can be refound' and I believe she is talking about the self-respect she lost by betraying her country. She knows then that the only way she can save everyone is to sacrifice herself, and in the process win back her self-respect. Her confession to Lucas is another step in this evolution - it is the equivalent of the religious act of confessing your sins before you die, so you can die with a clear conscience.

I also think Lucas did believe her. If he didn't, we would have seen this storyline taken up in season 8, but it never comes up again. And regarding season 9

Series 9 Spoiler: show

and the use of the flashbacks to the torture during the showdown on the roof, my impression was that it was aimed at showing the Lucas and John personalities warring with each other, in other words it was meant to show the confusion of the character as to which of the two represented the real man, rather than an attempt to show he still blamed Harry for his capture in Russia. The whole scene on the roof is really about Lucas' confusion about who he was - hence him saying 'I'm no-one' when Harry asked him that exact question. If it was meant to be about all the things he still blamed Harry for, would he not have shot him then before throwing himself off the roof?