{ he told me to trust no-one; why would he say that? }

[delga]

Things that struck me the second time around:

+ An episode that is not-so-secretly about Russians and STILL no spoken Russian? Bad Spooks! Also, it bears repeating: Boris? Ugh, why.

+ I love Ros in this episode. I love her anyway, but the evolution of her character is so amazing to me sometimes - that she can be who she is here, and still recognisably be Ros is wonderful. I believe in her as a team leader, now, which - when you consider her traitorous past - is doubly ironic.

+ Ros and the bomb! Not as great as putting it in the microwave (best! detonation! ever!) but I still love watching her face-off with tech she doesn't really understand. Woman needs an equal, which is why I'd rather the showdown happen between her and Sarah/Christine 2.0 rather than with Lucas because I think the anger there is interesting. Put Ros against every traitor there is and see if there isn't some sympathy: that's what would make it tick. Plus, Ros already hates her.

+ I am disappointed that new girl is Young White Female but I want to know more about her. On the shallow end, girl is really pretty. She looks nothing like Jo, though, for serious. I guess Ros meant that her youth reminded her of Jo, but still.

+ "There's a dealer in the room next door. His name is Tom." YES, MY MIND WENT THERE TOO.

+ I still feel ecstatic about the end of the episode. Except it's less joy than real, cruel glee. It's the exact hysteria that I felt when Connie killed Ben. Like-- I think it's ridiculous and also genius! And I saw it a second before it happened (the US credit card was a big red flag) but it was still unbelievably excellent. So silent and cold. Maybe it's perverse that I care more about her now that I know she's a murderous mole but I'd take that over straight-forward love interest any day. Now she's 3D. I just wanted to see how you were. At the top of the episode that would have made me cringe; at the end it made me giddy. Oh, I can't wait for the endgame, my goodness.

+ "No idea, but I think it'll be in Latin." REAL LOL. Richard Armitage was awful in that scene (hammed-up dialogue), but his subtlety in the rest of the episode more than made up for it. When he confesses that everything is out of his hands - verbal theatrics on a level we haven't seen on the show in years. "I owe you nothing!" Fuck yes.

+ I still miss SpyGran. I miss the sense of gravitas she brought with her, even at her most dangerous/crazy. And I miss Jo. I wanted someone to survive. I wish she'd been promoted or seconded to MI6. I think she would have been fierce. Or fiercer, I guess. So that hurts.

+ Ruth. RUTH. What are you doing here? You're wasted in this no man's land. I adored that moment where she felt challenged and fulfilled by the job - just one moment, when Harry challenges her to prove her theory, but it was lovely. Oh, lady. What, oh what, oh what.

+ To conclude: THAT WAS A FUCKING CELLO DURING THE HAND-OFF. Beautiful.