Acting out of character? Spooks ends with a whimper
November 9, 2010
Warning Spooks Spoilers!
So. It’s over.
Lucas is gone.
Spooks ended last night, not with a bang, but with a whimper – or rather, the dull off-stage thud of an object hitting a car, followed by a muffled yell. Then cut to Harry looking miffed.
I’ve been gripped by Spooks for many years now and with the addition of Richard Armitage the past three series have morphed into a mesmeric must-watch.
So why, a couple of weeks ago did this series begin to slip out of my grasp?
The magic disappeared down the plughole when it was announced that Richard Armitage had landed a huge (metaphorically speaking) role in the new Hobbit film as the dwarf, Thorin Oakenfield. It then became obvious he would have bigger fish to fry than Spooks. Life impinged on Art in the most obvious way.
Yet even without that news, I didn’t like the way the series was heading. Okay, I’ll admit, no one likes their hero turning out to be a villain.
I’m sorry, but I just didn’t buy the back story of Lucas and I didn’t believe that his ‘passion’ for Maya would have driven him such depths of evil. The whole back story felt tagged on. I stopped wringing my hands for him and the limp Maya and I started rooting for Harry and Ruth.
The problem, is, I fear, that people were forced to act out of character to suit the plot. And as a writer, I know where that leads – your readers will stop caring. On saying that I thought Richard, Peter Firth and the rest of the cast were acting their socks off as usual. I smell Baftas.
And as for the plunge from the rooftop…
Am I just in denial or am I right in thinking that the fat lady has sung but not hit the high notes and certainly not left the building?
Posted by Phillipa @ 5:29 am | Leave a Comment
Lesley Cookman Says:
I couldn’t agree more. There was a good deal of discussion after last week’s episode, when I was wondering if they’d completely forgotten what happened when Lucas first arrived. None of it rang true, it was a bit like a bunch of writers playing consequences. They’ve lost me.
Jenny Haddon Says:
Sadly, I’m not surprised. Over the last few weeks, I did fear that they had backed themselves down a cul de sac with Lucas North. Shame, because there was a lot of mileage in that character, if they’d given him a half decent backstory or even an interesting relationship.
Ruth’s relationship, for instance, still resonates. Lucas and whatever-her-name was never even had any punch when they were on screen.
I was hoping that the writers would reveal something devilishly ingenious to justify all the Jacobean tragedy goings on, though.
Glad that I didn’t watch it. (Had unexpected guest which was lovely.) I would have been SO annoyed. More than annoyed. Spitting mad. Quite ugly, really.
Bernadette Says:
I was disappointed too. How could Lucas turn out to be such a baddie? And what was with all the jumbled up flashbacky bits or am I just being thick? And why was Maya so willing to give Lucas up just on a stranger’s say so? (‘You finally made sense’ or whatever her reasoning was didn’t add up to me.)
Oh well, at least Ruth made it to the end of the series – quite an achievement in Spooks!
Debs Says:
Well said, Phillipa. I have to agree with all that you’ve said in this post. I also found those flashbacks confusing, and weren’t his tattoos supposed to tell a story or something? Maybe I’m a little dense (such an understatement) but I’ve no idea what that story was supposed to be.
We shall just have to wait to see him in the Hobbit, although I’m not quite sure I can picture this quite yet.
Julie Says:
Again…I agree. Lucas was such an interesting character in previous series and there was much more potential in his back story and the Russian connection, but this latest lot didn’t ring true, particularly the relationship with Maya. I also found Beth a bit of a pointless add on.
I’d had a long break from Spooks until Richard Armitage joined and I’ll just have to wait for him to appear in something else.
bccmee Says:
A lot of times I’m skeptical so I don’t get disappointed. In discussions with friends regarding Spooks, they kept saying that things were not what they seemed and that Lucas was actually still a “good guy” whereas I said “no, he’s clearly bad and will be bad in the end…no redemption.” I would have been happy to have been wrong. The writers did not really care about the audience, but about writing Lucas out of the show in a new way. On the season 7 DVD it was clear that Lucas was loyal and that was one of his core traits. While I blown away by the tour de force acting in 9.7, I was truly disappointed in the storyline of 9.8. They could at least have made him a bit more ambiguous by having Lucas’ version of his past true and Vaughn’s false. Then it would have been a lesser degree of “bad.” The reasoning for his bombing the embassy 15 years ago fell completely flat.
I felt sorry for the actors given such drivel to work with. I only watched Spooks for Richard Armitage, but if they had better writers then I would stick around. Instead I’m going to move on and enjoy the actor’s work in movies and continue to make my own delusional fanvideos with my own reality.