Spooks and WaT

[delga]

Well, the subject says it all.

I'm glad we're done with the fluff. I'm glad we're back to, you know, spying and stuff. It's about time. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the last two episodes and that it's nice that long time viewers are rewarded with character interaction but...yeh. Let's be spies again.

Poor Ruth. She doesn't exactly have it easy does she? But she is amazingly bright as well as being pretty damn sweet too. I quite liked how she and colin got soom good air time this week. It's about time that happened, especially since Danny's been moping around since the season started. (I can't believe there's only four more episodes!)

Speaking of Danny: that was a nice thing. The postcard was a lovely touch. It also cleans up that area pretty well doesn't it? Nice of them to leave the door open for a return which, whilst unlikely, would be interesting. I think Zoe's character has been a little forced through most of the series. She lost her 'Sam' status a while back but that should have made her cocky. Still, she's gone now.

Ooh, 'twas the return of Mrs. Carter! Whose own son, by the way (called Wesley?), doesn't know her real name. For her own security, according to Adam - do I sense foreshadowing? Is this the fiasco that will lead us to the end of the series with some haste? I think it was sweet that Carter was worried about the missus; I don't think it's that sweet that we're going to be subjected to 'this-is-my-wife' crap - a clip of which appeared in the previews for next week's episode. OK, you love her but you know she's a devil and you know that she's not a rule player. Stop screwing around with us and get back to your goddamn job. (Also, call her by her name and stop giving her possessives. What is the deal with having to say my wife over and over again?? If I remember correctly, Carter actually says it to her too. Doesn't she get tired of that?)

Harry? Meh. Not interested, mate. You were over the top in your showcasing episode. Just go back to being witty.

And back to Ruth. This was supposed to be, I guess, your showcase. Well, it's good that you know how to be nice and do your job and find a nice guy who then ties you up. Bravo. Put some effort into it!! You need to be subtle like Schiff!

Look, I know I'm being mean, but I did actually quite like this episode. It was a back-to-basics sort of thing and that made it good. Who knows what kind of fit I'll have next week - the previews look horrendous!

~* *~

I think the main problem here was that you had to balance plausible characterisation with emotion and with Vivian's character it's less easy to do it in a way that a lot of the audience will understand/like if only because not enough people care about her as a character.

As episodes go, I wasn't bored by this one (as I was by many of the earlier ones in the season) and the story had me going too. Vivian always come across clean cut and that's what I like about her; there's no messing. In the first season, the boxer episode was one of the first that I saw (the first I actually saw was Clare de Lune) and I still like that even though she was fairly emotionally involved with both of these cases, she's damned straight about her job. It's a job - she needs to be level headed to get it done and to get it done right. She doesn't fly off the handle like Jack; she isn't in tears through most of it like Sam. Don't get me wrong; I know Danny's been known to shed a few at the end of an episode (and yes, Sam's tears earlier in the season were, for once, well timed - but I was going through an apathy stage at the time and couldn't really care less) but I think that the direction in those episodes is just far more delicate. there's a lighter touch to them which just makes them a hell of a lot more effective.

But it also means that we didn't see enough Viv. Again. Which is ironic because this was Marianne Jean-Baptiste's day. This should have been the episode which yelled out 'Hey, I'm over here, dammit!' It's time she gets recognised. You don't have to be hysterical to portray emotion; you just need a little more information and a little more silence.

So saying that, the ending was very very good. Nicely played out, true to the character. Very satisfying.

This is also the episode (finally) when they confirm the Danny-was-an-alcoholic story. I'm only mentioning that because I was wondering how people knew. And now I know too!

I came home from school early today because I had many frees and a coursework lesson to which I don't need to go. Now I'm going to be a good girl and do homework. (I am -- hey, quit laughing at me!)

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