Episode 1 Discussion

[JHyde]

I don't know about anyone else, but I never bought that whole "maybe Ruth's family refers to her mum or pets" thing. As I spoke about previously in the thread, it made perfect sense for Ruth to be where she was. The more I think about episode 1 the more sense it makes broadly speaking too. It means that Harry and Ruth don't just fall into each other's arms without the love triangle scenario that Silktie and I and others are so desperately afraid of. It makes for meaty personal drama for both Ruth and Harry.

On the issue of a return for Malcolm: if he doesn't, his exit was beautiful. And if he does, it could be just by Ruth hanging out with him by the sea, and maybe Malcolm will encourage her to give Harry a chance! that could be really lovely actually.

In terms of when Baghdad took place, I suspect it was somewhere between episodes 3 and 7 of season 4. That was really when their relationship started to grow, and Harry had that level of trust with her. There's also the bonus that Ruth speaks Arabic, so that may well be why they went together.