Spooks Series Ten Meta
Oct. 20th, 2011 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dweomeroflightI just rewatched 10.5 with my brother (BY THE WAY THIS IS AN AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT SEEINGS AS HE HASN'T WATCHED A FULL EPISODE OF SPOOKS SINCE 8.3: his verdict- "well that was um... pretty good really!") and noticed something about the Gavrik's that I hadn't thought about before:
It was only on a rewatch that I realised that maybe the point of the Gavrik's is to show Harry what he could have had with Ruth if he would have retired, if he would have told her not to go in 5.5, if they went off together and abandoned Queen and country and had allowed themselves to be selfish and happy.
For all Harry's years of service what does he have other than an empty house that's too big for him, as Ilya astutely asks? For Ilya ideaology isn't enough, and it isn't enough for Harry either- we know this because he still loves Ruth. Ilya no longer wanted to be the man behind the desk giving the kill order, he didn't want to be lonely and secretive and cold anymore. Nor does Harry but he hasn't acted upon this instinct as Ilya did. He always shied away from getting what he really wanted.
Ilya finds out about Elena but he doesn't care because he loves her. In this case, the betrayal hurts of course (interesting link to Lucas and Harry s9 "betrayal is a cancer let it eat your soul not mine," well now the shoe is on the other foot), but it would hurt Ilya more to lose Elena. He chooses forgiveness. It is for this reason that he has what he has; a family.
And what does Harry have? A box of secrets in the garden, buried deep. And Ilya? He has "a house, a wife, a son... and a tortoise in the garden." The all encompassing life of spy vs. diplomacy and domesticity.
There is only one choice that will fufill Harry but will he be brave enough in 10.6 to make it?
And yet despite the Ruth/Harry story of terrible sadness, in many ways, the Gavrik's could be the saddest story of all; because they are slowly being torn apart by secrets and Ilya himself does not realise it. Because of Harry's secrets, because of Elena's, because of Sasha's, this family will potentially never be the same again.
What we have here is a parallel story between Ilya/Elena and Harry/Ruth. And at last I understand the Greek Tragedy. Because I care dreadfully about the Gavrik's and their silly tortoise in the garden. They are real. Their motivations make sense to me. And it's terribly sad that one man's mistakes could tear that all apart.
It was only on a rewatch that I realised that maybe the point of the Gavrik's is to show Harry what he could have had with Ruth if he would have retired, if he would have told her not to go in 5.5, if they went off together and abandoned Queen and country and had allowed themselves to be selfish and happy.
For all Harry's years of service what does he have other than an empty house that's too big for him, as Ilya astutely asks? For Ilya ideaology isn't enough, and it isn't enough for Harry either- we know this because he still loves Ruth. Ilya no longer wanted to be the man behind the desk giving the kill order, he didn't want to be lonely and secretive and cold anymore. Nor does Harry but he hasn't acted upon this instinct as Ilya did. He always shied away from getting what he really wanted.
Ilya finds out about Elena but he doesn't care because he loves her. In this case, the betrayal hurts of course (interesting link to Lucas and Harry s9 "betrayal is a cancer let it eat your soul not mine," well now the shoe is on the other foot), but it would hurt Ilya more to lose Elena. He chooses forgiveness. It is for this reason that he has what he has; a family.
And what does Harry have? A box of secrets in the garden, buried deep. And Ilya? He has "a house, a wife, a son... and a tortoise in the garden." The all encompassing life of spy vs. diplomacy and domesticity.
There is only one choice that will fufill Harry but will he be brave enough in 10.6 to make it?
And yet despite the Ruth/Harry story of terrible sadness, in many ways, the Gavrik's could be the saddest story of all; because they are slowly being torn apart by secrets and Ilya himself does not realise it. Because of Harry's secrets, because of Elena's, because of Sasha's, this family will potentially never be the same again.
What we have here is a parallel story between Ilya/Elena and Harry/Ruth. And at last I understand the Greek Tragedy. Because I care dreadfully about the Gavrik's and their silly tortoise in the garden. They are real. Their motivations make sense to me. And it's terribly sad that one man's mistakes could tear that all apart.
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Date: 2011-10-24 02:15 pm (UTC)And I'm highly traumatised by Spooks right now (though plot-wise it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I'm actually satisfied with a good number of things)! Still traumatised!!!
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Date: 2011-10-24 08:59 pm (UTC)ps: If they royally f**k over Ruth I will really never forgive Kudos.
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Date: 2011-10-24 09:10 pm (UTC)Erm, prepare lots of tissues! I still haven't recovered from it!
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Date: 2011-10-24 09:27 pm (UTC)