RA FRIDAY - JAMES BOND: A POLICEMAN? A PRIVATE DETECTIVE?!? DON'T TRY TO CHEAT, I'M A SPOOKS FAN!!!

English conversation class 
Welcome to my RA Friday! I'm sure, apart from a very dear friend of mine, who perfectly knows what my nonsensical title refer to, you are all there wondering: "James Bond? . Isn't she going to talk about Richard Armitage this week"? Some optimistic fans may even have started hoping I've read somewhere about RA being the next James Bond or his nemesis. None of these . I haven't read or heard about any RA's Bond Project nor I'm going to talk about 007 instead of Spooks. I prefer MI5 Section D to MI6 adventurous Bond. 

What I was thinking about writing my weird title is a school anecdote. I wasn't such an expert of British Secret Services until I started watching Spooks and following Tom Quinn's (Matthew Macfadyen) adventures. But after 8 series and 2 episodes I've slightly improved. What happened?

By chance, one of my students  chose to read an abridged and simplified version of "007 - Casino Royale "as his summer task for English. Maybe he hoped I forgot to ask?  Or that I didn 't know anything (like him) about that book... but a Spooks addict like me can't be easily deceived! I immediately understood he was inventing a story. So I asked: "Do you know who James Bond is? What does he do? In front of his perplexity,  I went on asking:"What's his job?" After a while he came out with: "A private detective?" My stunned look must have told him more than any word so , he went on trying: " A policeman? A body guard?" Well, you know, I ignored him and started talking to the rest of the class about the British secret services, MI5 and MI6, their nickname "Spooks" and all of them were listening to their teacher who  - do you remember? - is trying to improve her knowledge about football and knows quite a lot about secret agents!So much that it is better not to try to cheat her! I think "he" understood, he got his comeuppance ... and a bad mark! Poor boy, I hate being like that but I also hate being cheated. So, thanks Spooks for making me able to defend myself from my lazy students' tricks!

 Chemistry

Please, could you look  at me like that for a fraction of a second?
I could die but, eventually, I'd die so happy!!!

Don't worry! If you -  like me -  are not very good at science , I'm not going to talk about any school experiment or teaching Chemistry in English! The chemistry I want to talk about is that meaningful eye-contact, body tension, electricity (well , maybe that's Physics not Chemistry!),  I perceived  between Lucas /John and his ex-lover. I mean, Laila Rouass and Richard Armitage together in Spooks, have you seen them?!? Do you agree with me?  There IS chemistry between these two extremely charming performers... natural or manufactured? Only they can answer this question but... they work so well as a couple. I'm ready to hugely exciting moments between them.
Laila as Maya appeared back in Lucas /John life in episode 2  and their relationship sparkled up, intriguing and involving, wrapped up in the mystery of our hero's past hidden in the mysterious suitcase he got from Vaughan Edwards at the end of episode 1.
First meeting at the hospital she works in , early in the morning (see pictures above) : they were brilliant at conveying with their facial expressions, body stillness and broken voices the tension of meeting again after all those years. She had gone on thinking he was dead, her surprise is printed in her stare. Then her rage prevails, thinking about how much she mourned for a faked death she reacts and suddenly slaps him on his (lovely, sweetly smiling) face. Brilliant! Bravo! The two of them.

Second meeting,  at night , an isolated place (meaningful to them?): John/Lucas tries to explain that, when he was in Africa 15 years before, he had to make difficult choices, he had to leave her in order to protect her, he also suffered much at parting from her.
However,  she's too angry to accept his faltering apologies. She tries to wound him: she doesn't need him, she has a boyfriend, a job, friends ... a life!
He is wounded and in a low , deep whisper asks her: "So why are you here?"
I'm completely caught in this new plot, I can't wait for next Monday. Well, Tuesday maybe. I really love this series so far. Brilliant!

Sorry I must go now ...
Now, I'd love to tell you about how much I appreciated Peter Firth's performance (How comes that I'm noticing his presence this season?), the complex well-structered plot, the multiple -point of- view technique, the suspence created with great twists and much more. I'd love to discuss  the fact that the director of this episode insisted to give us female audience so many gratuitous shots of  RA's backside ... greatly appreciated by so many fans but was it really necessary? I don't think RA could go too far if they insist on him as hunky actor. I'd love much more attention on his undeniable talent and also a bit more respect for our ... category: (female audience supporting RA)  we can appreciate other features in Spooks, I can even understand the complicated political plots!  But the showbusiness has rules ... others than my own taste.
I'd even add some strange facts I noticed, such as ... why does John / Lucas wear these jacket  and shirt outside the hospital

Jacket 1+ shirt 1. Both black. Outside the hospital

and , instead, he has got different  ones on,  once he goes inside to meet Maya?

Jacket 2+ shirt 2: both blue. After only some minutes, inside the hospital

Again, I'd love to stay here and go on with my RA Friday but ... FORTUNATELY, I have to leave. A surprise weekend, a gift from my husband. Unknown (to me) destination to celebrate something important... More important than my RA Friday?!? YEAH, even more important than that.

A very special weekend to you all! MG

P.S. Special thanks to Ali (http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/)  for all these beautiful caps !