Series 8, Episode 8 (Spooks)
"Series 8, Episode 8" | |
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Spooks episode | |
Episode no. | Series 8 Episode 8 |
Directed by | Alrick Riley |
Written by | Ben Richards |
Produced by | Chris Fry |
Original air date | 23 December 2009 |
Running time | 58 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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The series eight finale of the
The episode was based on
Background
The finale continues the story-arc involving a multinational shadow organisation bent on changing the
Plot
An Indian submarine is forced into port at
Ruth meets a Chinese contact, Heng (Roger Yuan), who tells her that both countries will fail the negotiations and that war is inevitable. He is shot dead by an assassin in front of her. Tariq finds Sarah staying at a hotel under an assumed name. Lucas and Ros apprehend her after Lucas distracts her and Ros shoots her in the leg. At a hospital, Sarah reveals to Lucas that Nightingale wants India and Pakistan to go to war in order to "contain" the future, where Nightingale believes the Taliban will take over Pakistan and gain control of nuclear weapons, though the war will kill several million innocent lives in the process. As Lucas leaves the room momentarily to call Ros, an assassin kills Sarah; Lucas captures him and learns that Price arranged the hit.
To prevent negotiations from succeeding, Price rigs the Summit hotel with explosives. To prevent Pakistani President Mudasser (Nicholas Khan) and Home Secretary Andrew Lawrence (Tobias Menzies) from escaping, he paralyses both of them. Learning Price is in the hotel, Lucas and Ros arrive and capture him. Since disarming the bomb is impossible, Ros threatens to leave Price behind when the bomb explodes unless he divulges the room both politicians are held. Although Price eventually discloses the room number, Ros leaves him in the room where the bomb is anyway. Lucas is able to carry Mudasser safely out of the hotel, where he recovers and orders the release of the Indian submarine, preventing the war. However, Ros is still in the hotel, struggling to pull Lawrence to safety. As Lucas runs back to aid her, the hotel explodes, killing Lawrence, Price and Ros.
Production
Writing and pre-production
Before the episode aired there was speculation that Hermione Norris will leave the series following the "explosive finale explosive cliffhanger." When questioned whether she will leave the series, Norris would not comment.[5] In June 2010, co-star Richard Armitage confirmed that Norris has left the series, meaning the series eight finale was her final episode as Ros.[6] The producers left the episode end with a cliffhanger to have the audience debate whether or not Ros and Lawrence survived the hotel explosion. Casting an actor as Russell Price was initially a problem for the producers, but they decided to cast Mark Aiken for the role following his work in American television. An actual news reporter was cast to record a news story. The reporter runs the dialogue with the producers at 4:30 in the morning, and then record the story before 6am, the time reporters start their work on actual news stories.[7]
The episode was written by
Despite the seriousness of the episode, Richards included some wit and humour. For instance, the scene where Lucas bugs Lindemann's office and "small talks" Ros; the producers wanted the scene to be different from similar scenes from movies involving secret agents planting bugs in offices and homes. The producers also wanted to have Ruth return her confidence in her work, back to how she was before her departure. The finale also includes Lucas being confused over Sarah. The writing team wanted him to despise her as a villain, but at the same time, still maintain feelings for her. Following her death, they did not want Lucas to be calm and calculating when confronting the assassin, but instead make him "lose it" and then have him broken afterward.[7]
Filming
A scene in the pre-title sequence was filmed during the same block as episodes three and four, which were directed by Sam Miller. The rest of the finale was filmed several weeks later. The inside of a surveillance van used in a few scenes were shot at a set right next to the Grid set; using a set would be more manageable for the filming crew. A military school in Belgravia was used to film two separate locations; the Home Office and Lindemann's office. Other scenes at the Home Office were filmed in a separate building in Roehampton.[7]
The hospital Sarah was held was filmed at a new private hospital in Hammersmith that was closed down at the time. A Radisson Edwardian Hotel in the London Docklands served as the filming location for the Summit Hotel; the management of the hotel were cooperative and allowed the filming crew access to several rooms and facilities. The scene where Ruth meets Heng was filmed at Dollis Hill; it was the last scene of the episode to be shot, and was completed in one afternoon. In the fight scene between Ros and Sarah at Lindemann's office, Hermione Norris played herself, and a stunt double stood in for Genevieve O'Reilly, because her character was getting "thrown about a lot". The fight scene between Lucas and Sarah's assassin were performed by Armitage and stunt coordinator Crispin Layfield respectively.[7]
The scene where the Pakistanis take control of the Indian submarine were archival footage taken from the
Broadcast and reception
The episode originally aired on
Reviews of the episode were very positive. In a preview for the episode, Vicky Power of The Daily Telegraph said that "as usual there's a large body count and fist-fights, but these are tempered by scenes of high emotion", and if the episode were Ros' last, "it is a fitting send-off".[11] David Chater of The Times was positive towards the episode, stating "just in case you think you're having an exhausting time in the run-up to Christmas, spare a thought for Lucas North [who found out] his lover is a liar, a murderer and a traitor", and also noted that "the great thing about Spooks is that they will always stop and explain how serious things are".[12]
The Guardian published two separate reviews for the episode. Sam Wollaston started by saying "they never listen", noting the "prisoner either disappears or is killed" and that Section D "need to rethink the whole prisoner thing, or hire less rubbish guards"; however, Wollaston also noted that since it was Sarah who was killed, "mo one's really going to miss snaky Sarah much". Plot-wise, Wollaston liked the phrase "getting pretty Finding Nemo about it", and said that Ros "better had" survived the cliffhanger, claiming "Spooks without Ros would be like Christmas without presents".[13] Vicky Frost called the episode a "cracking finale", stating that after "weeks of build-up, it feels almost a relief to have the Nightingale plot finally revealed". In regards to the cliffhanger, Frost commented that Spooks has "passed its peak but not sunk so low as to be embarrassing, it still goes out on something of a high, and it's remembered as a decent example of its type". She was also receptive of Norris' portrayal as Ros in her likely final appearance, but felt the Harry and Ruth relationship was "wolly".[14]
References
- ^ Alrick Riley (director); Ben Richards (writer) (11 November 2009). "Series 8, Episode 2". Spooks. Series 8. Episode 2. BBC. BBC One.
- Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- ^ Edward Hall (director); Dennis Kelly (writer) (11 December 2009). "Series 8, Episode 6". Spooks. Series 8. Episode 6. BBC. BBC One.
- ^ Edward Hall (director); James Dormer (writer) (16 December 2009). "Series 8, Episode 7". Spooks. Series 8. Episode 7. BBC. BBC One.
- Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (28 June 2010). "'Spooks' star confirms character exit". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ E1 Entertainment.
- ^ "BBC – BBC One Programmes – Spooks – Episodes from 2009". BBC Online. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Tryhorn, Chris (24 December 2009). "TV ratings: Top of the Pops 2 charts at 3.3m viewers". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Power, Vicky (23 December 2009). "Christmas 2009: TV highlights". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- News International. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (23 December 2009). "Spooks and True Blood". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Frost, Vicky (23 December 2009). "Spooks: season eight, episode eight". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
External links
- Series 8, Episode 8 at bbc.co.uk
- "Series 8, Episode 8" at IMDb