Spooks/MI-5 5x03-5x04
Wed, Jun. 20th, 2007 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI wrote up 5x03 before watching 5x04, in case the impressions sound somewhat disjointed.
5x03
I ended up watching this twice, because I forgot to write it up the first time, and so completely forgot all details.
My first impression is: Roz is awesome.
I was worried about her joining the team, but I am not anymore! I love her! I love how cold-blooded and occasionally amoral she is. I am sure everyone reading this is thinking how predictable I am.
I do not like Roz as a person, because she scares me to death, but I am very excited about how she will change the dynamics of the team and how she will stand up to Adam. I love Adam, but things are always more interesting when people argue with him.
One of the things I like about this show is that there are roles for older women on it. I also love that the women aren't necessarily the moral standards; some are some of the time, but you also have Tessa and Roz and Juliet. And most of the women are nicely complex. And there have been no mystical pregnancies or ovary theft! It is sad when the mere absence of these counts as a plus in TV viewing.
Also, she and Zaf really had some chemistry going in their scenes together!
I'm very glad we had a Zaf episode; I feel like the poor guy's been needing some development ever since joining around end of S4. I continue to like Jo.
And finally, oh, Ruth. Oh. All the Ruth/Harry scenes were horrificaly awkward in a very believable way, and I completely see where Ruth is coming from when she says she can't stand it. But now, I'm even more worried about her, because I am terrified that she will be killed off for maximum angst factor.
5x04
I'm not sure what to think about this episode. On the one hand, the angst! The double- and triple-crossing! The complications! The extreme greyness!
On the other hand, some of it feels like it is edging on scenes from How to Write about Africa. I do think that the show has made things ten times more complicated than that, but some parts made me feel a bit nidgy. In the beginning, I was raising doubtful eyebrows at the entire rhetoric of "saving Africa," particularly the idea that Africa could be saved by the intervention of mostly white, formerly imperialist, countries (save the presence of Japan, which is only non-white and not non-imperialist), and that it would be at a conference hosted by a white, formerly imperialist country, and that only two African leaders would be present. I am still irritated about the constant referral to "Africa," as opposed to the presence of the US, Great Britain and Japan -- individual countries, not a giant continent!
Again, I think the show did a very good job of complicating the issue, of implicating all the formerly imperialist countries, and of critiquing the "save Africa" rhetoric. I was also very glad that the assassin got backstory and personality and that she got to do something, even if it was at the request of MI:5. On the other hand... We end the episode with two dead Africans.
I feel the death rate for POC on Spooks is quite high, given that MI:5 largely deals with terrorists and not everyday people. And I am usually ok with that, because Spooks confronts issues in a fairly smart manner that shows it is thinking about things like race, but occasionally, I do feel weird. I also occasionally feel weird because the death rate of women on Spooks is also quite high, since most of the enemies they are going for are men, and they usually get to the men via the women. Again, I do think this is very realistic; on the other hand, I am not sure if Spooks comments on it or just portrays it as one of those depressing facts of life.
The show has given meaty roles to POC (Danny! Oh, Danny!) and, I think, often challenged perceptions about race and gender and power. But then, it is also still a show in which the ensemble lead remains an angsty white male, and I do think Adam and Tom were/are the leads, even if the show has a very strong ensemble.
So. I don't know. The show does interesting, challenging things, but I feel like it could go further with race and gender commentary.
Anyway, actual episode commentary coming up!
I continue to adore Roz. I loved her anger at Harry and her comment about the "old boys' club" -- even as I think Harry and Adam would have done the same to any agent, Roz's critique is still true on a larger scale. Spooks has shown again and again that the people in power are men and that women still have to rely on sex to get stuff done (contrast Zoe's assignments with Tom's, frex). And wow. Roz gets stuff done.
And, oh, the Ruth/Harry angst! The scenes are actually making me a little nervous because of the massive amounts of awkwardness involved, but I love that in the end, Ruth goes back to talk to Harry.
But oh my god, I think my favorite part was Adam completely losing it -- in front of foreign dignitaries, at that! -- and flashing back to Fiona's death, to another unarmed woman being shot in front of him, another one he can't save. And his voice when he called Wes!
I do wish that Zaf had more to do, though. I like Zaf! And I am somewhat resentful that Roz has been on for just a few episodes and already gotten more character development than Zaf, who's been there since end of S3. Also also, I saw the racial divide between the hotel employees and the foreign dignitaries, which is not surprising but is still sad. I wonder if race was a factor in making Roz the hotel liaison and Zaf a staff worker? Knowing Harry and Adam, it probably was.
Mostly though, I forget how much I love this show when I don't watch it. I revel in the grey areas and in MI:5-sanctioned assassination, and I love all the internal politics playing out.
Also: TAIWAN! WHOO! We got a mention!
5x05 promo
AAAAAAHHHHHH!!
Don't kill Ruth! OMG! Show! I knew it was going to come to this, I knew you were going to break my heart again!
Cannot wait to watch it tonight.
5x03
I ended up watching this twice, because I forgot to write it up the first time, and so completely forgot all details.
My first impression is: Roz is awesome.
I was worried about her joining the team, but I am not anymore! I love her! I love how cold-blooded and occasionally amoral she is. I am sure everyone reading this is thinking how predictable I am.
I do not like Roz as a person, because she scares me to death, but I am very excited about how she will change the dynamics of the team and how she will stand up to Adam. I love Adam, but things are always more interesting when people argue with him.
One of the things I like about this show is that there are roles for older women on it. I also love that the women aren't necessarily the moral standards; some are some of the time, but you also have Tessa and Roz and Juliet. And most of the women are nicely complex. And there have been no mystical pregnancies or ovary theft! It is sad when the mere absence of these counts as a plus in TV viewing.
Also, she and Zaf really had some chemistry going in their scenes together!
I'm very glad we had a Zaf episode; I feel like the poor guy's been needing some development ever since joining around end of S4. I continue to like Jo.
And finally, oh, Ruth. Oh. All the Ruth/Harry scenes were horrificaly awkward in a very believable way, and I completely see where Ruth is coming from when she says she can't stand it. But now, I'm even more worried about her, because I am terrified that she will be killed off for maximum angst factor.
5x04
I'm not sure what to think about this episode. On the one hand, the angst! The double- and triple-crossing! The complications! The extreme greyness!
On the other hand, some of it feels like it is edging on scenes from How to Write about Africa. I do think that the show has made things ten times more complicated than that, but some parts made me feel a bit nidgy. In the beginning, I was raising doubtful eyebrows at the entire rhetoric of "saving Africa," particularly the idea that Africa could be saved by the intervention of mostly white, formerly imperialist, countries (save the presence of Japan, which is only non-white and not non-imperialist), and that it would be at a conference hosted by a white, formerly imperialist country, and that only two African leaders would be present. I am still irritated about the constant referral to "Africa," as opposed to the presence of the US, Great Britain and Japan -- individual countries, not a giant continent!
Again, I think the show did a very good job of complicating the issue, of implicating all the formerly imperialist countries, and of critiquing the "save Africa" rhetoric. I was also very glad that the assassin got backstory and personality and that she got to do something, even if it was at the request of MI:5. On the other hand... We end the episode with two dead Africans.
I feel the death rate for POC on Spooks is quite high, given that MI:5 largely deals with terrorists and not everyday people. And I am usually ok with that, because Spooks confronts issues in a fairly smart manner that shows it is thinking about things like race, but occasionally, I do feel weird. I also occasionally feel weird because the death rate of women on Spooks is also quite high, since most of the enemies they are going for are men, and they usually get to the men via the women. Again, I do think this is very realistic; on the other hand, I am not sure if Spooks comments on it or just portrays it as one of those depressing facts of life.
The show has given meaty roles to POC (Danny! Oh, Danny!) and, I think, often challenged perceptions about race and gender and power. But then, it is also still a show in which the ensemble lead remains an angsty white male, and I do think Adam and Tom were/are the leads, even if the show has a very strong ensemble.
So. I don't know. The show does interesting, challenging things, but I feel like it could go further with race and gender commentary.
Anyway, actual episode commentary coming up!
I continue to adore Roz. I loved her anger at Harry and her comment about the "old boys' club" -- even as I think Harry and Adam would have done the same to any agent, Roz's critique is still true on a larger scale. Spooks has shown again and again that the people in power are men and that women still have to rely on sex to get stuff done (contrast Zoe's assignments with Tom's, frex). And wow. Roz gets stuff done.
And, oh, the Ruth/Harry angst! The scenes are actually making me a little nervous because of the massive amounts of awkwardness involved, but I love that in the end, Ruth goes back to talk to Harry.
But oh my god, I think my favorite part was Adam completely losing it -- in front of foreign dignitaries, at that! -- and flashing back to Fiona's death, to another unarmed woman being shot in front of him, another one he can't save. And his voice when he called Wes!
I do wish that Zaf had more to do, though. I like Zaf! And I am somewhat resentful that Roz has been on for just a few episodes and already gotten more character development than Zaf, who's been there since end of S3. Also also, I saw the racial divide between the hotel employees and the foreign dignitaries, which is not surprising but is still sad. I wonder if race was a factor in making Roz the hotel liaison and Zaf a staff worker? Knowing Harry and Adam, it probably was.
Mostly though, I forget how much I love this show when I don't watch it. I revel in the grey areas and in MI:5-sanctioned assassination, and I love all the internal politics playing out.
Also: TAIWAN! WHOO! We got a mention!
5x05 promo
AAAAAAHHHHHH!!
Don't kill Ruth! OMG! Show! I knew it was going to come to this, I knew you were going to break my heart again!
Cannot wait to watch it tonight.
Tags:
(no subject)
Wed, Jun. 20th, 2007 06:19 pm (UTC)I was annoyed in the episode in season four when they had Adam infiltrate the Arabic-speaking human smugglers in the truck instead of the way more plausible Zaf, even though it did kind of crack me up that he was impersonating a Circassian. (Because Circassians turn up occasionally in dated pulp novels as "Circassian slaves," with clear gay implications, and that was my only prior association with the word.)
We don't even know Zaf's exact ethnicity, do we? I feel like they should do way more with it, letting him use it to infiltrate various groups, having people accuse him of betraying his own kind, the angst of being suspected of being a terrorist when his job is to bust terrorists, etc.
By the way, with one exception that you'll probably notice, Adam's PTSD strikes me as one of the most realistic depictions I've ever seen.
(no subject)
Wed, Jun. 20th, 2007 07:47 pm (UTC)Yeah, that didn't really make sense!
I don't think we do know Zaf's ethnicity... He's been pointed out a few times (namely by racist guy in the S5 opener) to look Arabic, but yeah. No confirmation.
Clearly Zaf needs lots and lots of fic exploring his angst! He is in MI-5; he must have oodles and oodles of tragic angst!