Episode 8 Discussion [rewatch]

[Tea Lady]

Watch and discuss.

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I do enjoy watching this episode. George Baker is great as Hugo and his onscreen chemistry with Harry. Hugo is an idealist and spends 30 years in jail for his beliefs. When he comes out he is not bitter and jail has not changed him at all. He still cares very little about all the British agents he sold out. Harry seems to accept, that was part of the Cold War, but Zaf is a little less forgiving probably because he was not in service at the time.

I am a little surprised in this episode that Juliet went along with an operation that flew in the face of a direct order from Downing Street. She also did not change sides when she and Harry were stitched up at the end, to her credit. Very unlike Juliet I thought considering her career was totally on the line.

I couldn't quite fathom why Harry was in such a strange mood this episode either. He shouted at Ruth a couple of times and even raised his voice to Malcolm when he screwed up the spike. He was quite patronising to Ruth when he told her that in this job they do not have friends, and before she could answer, he put his head phones on quite dismissively. Also when she was smiling at him at the end when he took Adam back, his face was like stone. But then he told Adam that he WAS his friend. Confusing! It didn't quite make sense to me. Maybe he was trying to put some distance between him and Ruth after what had just happened to Fiona.

Loved Malcolm in the obs van still wearing his suit and tie and also Adam calling Harry a fox. I did notice that Adam was reading Mansfied Park. Do you have to be an Austen fan to work in Section D?

I felt quite sad at the end when Hugo "died." Did he deserve it? Probably not. He was totally loyal to Russia. I guess Russia had changed so much since he was sent to jail though. 30 years is a long time.

[JHyde]

I have a strange affection for this episode. It plays off the saying that the enemy of my enemy ismy friend and in this case it's very true. I find the scene where Hugo loses his memory very sad, as well as that with Adam breaking down after the operation is complete.

I also love the scene between Adam and Diana Jewel, with Adam messing her and himself around. 'The best part about being a spy is telling lies'. Adam is addicted to danger, it's the one thread that runs through his character from beginning to end, and this episode is the start of his second phase on the show.

I also like that Ruth takes matters into her own hands on this one. She directly disobeys Harry and goes to Adam, a move for which later Harry chastises her, although without him actually 'knowing' for sure.

As to why Juliet stuck by Harry on this one, I suspect in this case part of it was wanting to stick it to lower class politicians who were telling her what to do. As well as

Series season6 Spoiler: show

it's very much in keeping with the Juliet of Yalta whom we later meet.

Juliet doesn't always make the wrong call and I think had they written her as going against Harry EVERY time, it would get old very quickly. Plus in the next episode we see her as we did in 4.5 - a fair weather friend. Remember that Juliet and Harry's dynamic is not Mace and Harry's dynamic. Juliet's role is different, even if she is as much of a politician as Mace.

[Silktie]

I too love this episode, but then I'm a sucker for any storyline that touches on the Cold War. It's great to see Harry always a few steps ahead of anyone else on this one - he plans ahead with Hugo and it pays off in the end. Every once in a while they give us a peek as to why Harry is so highly regarded, which is good. The scenes between Harry and Hugo is some of the best, and some of the most touching of the episode, but my favourite scenes remain the scenes between Adam and Ruth.

Ruth seems to understand better than anyone else what Adam needs right now, and is not afraid to cross Harry to provide him with it. This episode truly cements the bond of friendship between these two characters for me. It is interesting that, although Harry is probably quite aware that it was Ruth that blabbed to Adam, it is still with her that he discusses most things, even Adam himself. She is truly the person he trusts most, but even then he doesn't follow her suggestions all the time, which I think is a good thing. The buck ultimately stops with Harry, so I can totally understand why he follows his own instinct here. Perhaps that is why he is so dismissive of Ruth in that one scene - he doesn't want her to change his mind, which she is quite capable of doing. In fact, she does persuade him to allow Adam back on the operation later in the episode. I interpreted his little stare in that scene as a way of saying to her that she shouldn't think he'll always listen to her, even though he did so this time.

I like that they showed us how much Adam was affected by Fiona's death. Too often this issue is glazed over in TV shows. They had earlier established the very intimate relationship that Adam and Fiona had, so there is no way that Adam could just continue without being seriously affected by her death.

LOVED Malcolm in this episode, he's so funny when he gets a little stressed out. Zaf was great too.

[Tea Lady]

(26-07-2010 04:25 AM)JHyde Wrote:  As to why Juliet stuck by Harry on this one, I suspect in this case part of it was wanting to stick it to lower class politicians who were telling her what to do. As well as

Series season6 Spoiler: show

it's very much in keeping with the Juliet of Yalta whom we later meet.

I see what you are saying about Juliet but how does that fit with her actions in the last episode then? She was quite content for an innocent man to sit in jail for the greater good. I appreciate she is no Mace but at least you knew Mace was against you, always. With Juliet, you have no idea.

[Silktie]

Maybe that's exactly it, though: Juliet was willing to go against orders because she realised that the Russian billionaire would destroy the NHS, not save it, and thus be very harmful to the greater good. Whilst previously it was only one insignificant man's rights that were the issue. It illustrates nicely the difference between her and Harry - Harry still has enough empathy to want to protect the single man's rights as well.

[lwhite53]

I really like this ep -- love the old Russia vs. new Russia politics, the terrific relationship between Harry and Hugo Ross, the Ruth/Adam cabal (I love it when Ruth bucks Harry in the interest of the other officers). I thought Malcolm was absolutely great here -- he takes it personally when he can't beat Korsakov's electronic defenses: "This is the worst day of my life." And you really believe he means it.

Pairing the Russia theme with the NHS issue ("The great unspeakable truth at the heart of British politics is that the NHS is collapsing") is politically prescient -- Russian moguls moving westward with their boatloads of ready cash is certainly presenting a security services nightmare in free-market countries. And the idea of MI5 working against direct orders from the govt in order to save the govt is an all-too-possible scenario. Trust Ruth to get to the heart of the matter succinctly: "So illegal it's very nearly treason."

The story of Adam's grief that undercuts the entire ep was very well done -- subtly written and sensitively acted by RPJ. And having Ruth be the person who intercedes with Harry for Adam reinforces her emotional connection with both men and the trust placed in her by both of them.

[JHyde]

To be honest, I'm not sure Juliet was out to destroy the NHS. I think she was fairly on side for this one, motivations be damned.

Series season 6 Spoiler: show

That's hardly in keeping with what we later learn about Yalta, destroying the NHS.

I completely forgot to mention Malcolm in this one. He's terrific and you really understand why Malcolm is so prematurely grey. He lives and dies with those guys in the field - can you imagine if Zaf had been hurt? He knows what he does really matters.

[A Cousin]

There is a lot of old vs. new in this episode some more subtly presented than others.

As lwhite mentions, there is the over all old Russia/new Russia thread: old enemies working together against an new enemy.

This episode is also a turning point for Adam from one kind of spy to another. Once Adam crys, he is able to let go of his old life with Fiona and accept his new life and tell Wes and Fiona's parents about her death.

Then there is Hugo as the epitome old school spy and Zaf as the new school bourgeois spy - with Harry stuck somewhere in the middle. I think it is much more symbolic to have Hugo just fade away.

And lastly there is Harry's handling of Adams mental state (shut him out and ship him off) and Ruth's handling of Adam mental state (keep him involved and help him heal through gratifying work.)

I am still trying to figure out how the Faraday Cage was created in the hotel room and what Malcolm did to override it. But I will move that to another thread.

I too love it when Malcolm gets pissy. I thought Harry's goading of Malcolm was interesting. I think Harry is purposefully trying to piss Malcolm off, but I also think Harry knows Malcolm will understand the intent. It is a very old school managerial tactic though. There is nothing "positive reinforcement" about it. And Malcolm doesn't not respond to that kind of managing. That teensy-tiny exchange says a lot about both of them.

[JHyde]

The thing about Harry and Malcolm is that when they are in others' company, they have a very straight up and down manager/employee relationship. But I love the moments when it's just them, it feels much more balanced, that Harry and Malcolm have a much more collegial dynamic.

It's very interesting and quite true to life, I find. They're on a very even keel intellectually and there's genuine respect on both sides. Plus their characters are meant to be of comparable age.

[Silktie]

You make some good points about the Harry/Malcolm dynamic, JHyde. My impression is also that we see much more of Harry and Malcolm interacting on a less official level once

Spoiler: show

Ruth leaves.

I'll be interested to see during the rewatch whether that impression is accurate.

Harry does tend to demand the impossible from his officers sometimes, especially when he is under serious pressure, and he does this with everyone except, perhaps, Ruth. So it was probably just Malcolm's misfortune that he was the one in range when Harry went looking for miracles to happen during this particular operation.