THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - MY REVIEW

Do you remember Avalon? One of My Blogger Buddies? She's having a Native American Celebration Month at her blog  (HERE) and asked me to write something about the themes she's dealing with this November.

This is my choice, a review of a great novel. I often read pages from this fascinating book by J. Fenimore Cooper with my students: The Last of the Mohicans. This is my tribute to this great people and their history. Per non dimenticare... In order not to forget...

"Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so express it, greater antithesis of character than the native warrior of North America. In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and commonly chaste." (from The Last of the Mohicans)

James Fenimore Cooper (1789 - 1851) and the first American "epic-hero"
 

Cooper's fame rests on The Leather-Stocking Tales and the  creation of the first American epic-hero: Natty Bumpoo, a hunter and frontiersman, who is nicknamed in several ways in the different novels: " Leather-Stocking",  Hawk-eye, "La Longue Carabine", "Pathfinder", "Deerslayer" or "Trapper".  The first 3 novels of the series are The Pioneer (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and The Prairie (1827). The other 2 novels were written after a tour in Europe and after many years, The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841).

Cooper had the idea of transporting Leather-Stocking to the Far West while he was writing The Last of the Mohicans. He had read with care Major Stephen H. Long's account of his expedition up the Platte River. During the spring of 1826 or earlier he met a young Pawnee chief who became the model for Hard-Heart in The Prairie. From the narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition he took such names as Mahtoree and Weucha for Sioux chiefs. The character of Natty, who stood about six feet in his moccasins, drew upon folk traditions of historical pioneers such as Daniel Boone. Natty's friendship with the Delaware chief Chingachgook established him as a mediating figure between the white, advancing settlers, and the threatened culture of the Native Americans. Natty himself was educated by the Delaware Indians, who gave him the name 'Hawk-eye'.

Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans 1992

 The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

(ALERT SPOILERS!)  The story is set in North-West America during the French and Indian War(1756-59) which ended with the expulsion of France from the region. The plot deals with the adventures of Alice and Cora Munro who, together with Major Heyward and their guide, the native Magua, try to reach their father, the British commander at Fort William. Magua is indeed the chief of the Hurons, a native tribe allied with the French. He captures Heyward and the 2 girls but they are saved by three people: Natty Bumpoo, here called Hawk-eye, Uncas, the last of the Mohicans, and his father Chingachgook. In the end Cora will be killed and given an Indian burial near Uncas as a sign of the friendly relationship between the English and the natives. Magua will be killed by Chingachgook, symbolising the link between the European and native cultures.

The characters and the themes
Among Cooper's characters, there are the rather stereotyped white men belonging to the high ranks of society, like the British commander Munro and his two daughters Alice and Cora; the white men of the lower rank, who live the frontier- life and speak dialect or slang; the natives, modelled on Rousseau's myth of the "noble savage". Cooper's natives are proud and brave (Uncas and Chingachgook) but also wild and brutal (Magua). Uncas, the last of the Mohicans embodies the end of wilderness and its values that are being destroyed by the colonisers.

Cooper's themes are those typical of the Romantic Age, being very much influenced by Walter Scott: he dealt with the opposition between different cultures, between the individual and society, between the individual and nature. His portraits of genuine primitive life, his description of the woods and the forests, of the prairies and vast horizons of the Wild West contributed to creation of the American myth.

Cooper's Native Americans 

While Cooper's Indians undeniably made an important impact on American fiction, they have been the subject of much literary debate. The most common charge leveled against Cooper is that the Indians did not resemble any that could be found in life; simply, they were wildly unrealistic. Indeed, Cooper did not have much first-hand knowledge of American Indians. In Savagism and Civilization, Roy Pearce states, "Cooper was interested in the Indian not for his own sake but for the sake of his relationship to the civilized men who were destroying him. So far as we can tell, Cooper had little personal contact with Indians. Rather, he read widely in the best authorities on individual tribes; in particular, we know that he read of the Delawares in Heckewelder and of the Plains Indians in Biddle's account of the expedition of Lewis and Clark..." . In fact, Cooper told his friend Sir Charles Augustus Murray, "I never was among the Indians. All I know of them is from reading, and from hearing my father speak of them".

However, Cooper's limited exposure to American Indians seems to have been enough for many readers to accept his characters. Furthermore, Cooper himself denied that they were unrealistic in the introduction to Last of the Mohicans; instead, he claimed poetic license. He asserted: "the reader who takes up these volumes in expectation of finding an imaginary and romantic picture of things which never had an existence will probably lay them aside, disappointed. The work is exactly what is professes to be in its title page--a narrative" . Cooper asserts that while his texts do not reflect historical events, they preserve historical flavor.

In Cooper's travel narratives, Notions of the Americans, he does not indulge in any fanciful ideology concerning the American Indian present or future situation. Pearce states: "In the Notions he might hope for gradual civilization of the Indians, but he was forced to admit that savage heroism, as he called it, was doomed, even in the west, to go down before civilized heroism". His chapter addressing "Indians" is an excellent contrast to his Indian characters in Last of the Mohicans.


( the photos in this post are from the movie adaptation of the book, The Last of the Mohicans, 1992)

RA FRIDAY - GOOD-BYE, MR NORTH. ADDIO, LUCAS.

Gone ... for good. Well, there are those of us who still live in hope. No body ,  hence , who knows? But I feel he's gone  for good. So good-bye, Lucas.
After watching the thrilling finale of this year's Spooks season I felt upset, moved but grateful, orphaned but gratified. I've had plenty of emotions thanks to Lucas North. I'm sad now and feel in loss but I AM grateful for what I had. 

Series 7,  October 2008. When Lucas first appeared from that black hood back from the hell of a Russian prison , bedraggled and malnourished, staggering toward Harry Pearce I thought: "Here we go, the great adventure has started"!



It was bliss: my favourite actor in my favourite series! I couldn't believe I was being that lucky. And it was great, amazing, so intriguing. Lucas 's journey in Spooks was very interesting, full of twists and turns. Complicated and,  at times,  rather incredible but not  when you have Richard Armitage playing that role. He succeeded in making every unbelievable, unpredictable, implausible twist simply possible with his heartfelt , convincing performances.

I loved Lucas's inscrutability and  vulnerability, his coldness and his fragility.  That only perceptible, yet  indecipherable,  mysteriousness was his charm. And then he was cool, smart, brave, generous, loyal, reliable, enterprising, tender, extraordinary, skillful  ...

Lucas's journey was the opposite of Guy of Gisborne's : we met the latter as the villain in  BBC latest version of Robin Hood's legend but,  peeling layer after layer,  we discovered his hidden goodness and frailty. Mr North's story was different and reverse. When I guessed what was going to happen to Lucas, long before the new series started,  I  was so angry ! Almost furious.  But then , watching the series, episode after espisode,  I just let it be... the emotions and the storyline took  hold of me ... stunning series! Gripping. Not perfect, but extremely good . Emotionally involving. After series 7, this latest one is among my best favourites. Spooks 8 , instead, had left me quite disappointed for several reasons.First of all the lack of chemistry between Lucas and that Sarah what-she-was-called. Never seen one of the episodes a second time. Some  music fanvids, yes, but never an episode again.

Lucas North in series 8 

What was I saying? Yes, Lucas's journey the reverse of Guy's in RH. Peeling layer after layer in this series we are led to discover his hidden dark side. A true Mr Hyde,  John Bateman. I still have Richard's "WHAT?"  in my ears (Watch this interview, 4:33,  if you don't remember it) . I made it mine when I first heard Vaughn Edwards calling Lucas, "John"! But then, I just let it be. And it was great. They deconstructed the character I loved, I let it be and ... enjoyed the show.

My favourite Lucas moments...

1. Yes! Lucas &  Elizabeta. Tender, protective, reassuring. He lets her go in the end (series 7, ep. 5) , apparently in order to protect her new quiet life.

2. Episode 6 series 7. Helping the teen and his mother. Wasn't he awesome in that episode? BTW, was he really the son of a minister? Who knows!

3. "Close your eyes. You'll remember". This is another unforgettable scene. Shivering moments.

4. They were tough together. Unbeatable, it seemed. I loved to watch them together. Ros & Lucas. I'll miss them both.

5.  "My name isn't ... Lucas North.  My name is John ... Bateman".  The naked truth. What suffering on both faces . This long confrontation scene between Lucas and Harry is another awesome bit. Richard and Peter Firth were touching in their performances, so convincing!

Lucas: a mystery to us all. I wonder, just like Elizabeta in series 7 episode 2:

"Were you always this cold ... under the skin?

Was the man I knew just a lie?"

I  loved Lucas North. Till the very end ,  against all odds, at any cost. What about you?

(As usual, many thanks to www.richardarmitagenet.com for all these beauriful screencaps)

WAITING FOR TODAY'S RA FRIDAY - WINNER OF PHILLIPA ASHLEY'S GIVEAWAY

Last week my RA Friday event hosted Phillipa Ashley 's guest blog post about how crucial BBC North and South was for her life and , especially, for  her starting a writing career. Lots of  interesting comments, ladies! Thank you so much, Phillipa. And thanks to all of you who contributed to the discussion. It's time to announce the name of the winner of DATING MR DECEMBER! Are you ready? Random.org has chosen ...

The winner is ... I know you'd rather be given the prize by the man in person but , sorry, he's very busy at present...

The winner is ... Phylly3!!!

Congratulations!!!

Stay tuned! My new RA FRIDAY is coming soon!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY : SHERRI RABINOWITZ

Sherri Rabinowitz has been writing since she was a small child and was inspired by Ray Bradbury and Agatha Christie. She had always loved writing, but has had to make a living in a varied number of ways: she has worked as an actress, a travel agent and in several forms of customer service. Her passion, though, has always been writing. She loves and enjoys both reading and writing fan fiction. Fantasy Time Inc. is her second work of original fiction. You can follow her on her blog Ri The Bard. 

I’m glad to welcome Sherri on Fly High! and to introduce her to all of you. First of all Sherri, thanks a lot for being here today. Why don’t you tell us something more about yourself?

 Hi, it's great to be here and I am very excited to share with your readers. I started writing for fun and because I was kind of lonely. It was intoxicating that I could do anything and create any kind of person I wanted to. I enjoyed trying to write in different styles and different type of stories. I started to write fan fiction when I was in college it was different then. I was into the original Star Trek. There were clubs and fanzines. You sold them via magazines and fan letters. I was very active in both fanzines and writing stuff for newsletters. I remember sitting in the lounge in the library at my college I was suppose to writing a midterm but I was writing a Star Trek story for a zine. I was always doing that. I was majoring in Anthropology one of the requirements I take a philosophy class. I wrote my paper on the relationship between Kirk, Spock, McCoy as Peacemaker, Parent and Child, it was a 10 page paper and I got an A. I ran into my Professor 10 years later and he remembered the paper. So when the internet came along and I discovered fan fiction on the net I latched onto it with enthusiasm. In fact my pen name came from character I created for a Star Trek story.

Reading novels and watching movies and period dramas are among my favourite pastimes. What about you? 

I get into passions for different books or movies. When I get started I have to read and watch everything. When I read Jane Austen, I was inspired by the Colin Firth mini-series. I read all the novels, watched every movie or TV movie I could. I not only did that I read all the biographies and even bought a book telling about Jane Austen’s England. It’s not only classic fiction because I did that with Harry Potter too. I just love to get involved with other worlds, whether it is the past or another dimension.

What kind of reader are you? Where and when do you love to read?

I am a devoted reader, like I said I enjoy reading an author’s whole works. Right now I am re-reading all of the Lord Peter Wimsey books. I’m also restless. I will read two books at once. One I keep in my purse, one by my bedside. I usually read when I wake up at home in my bedroom or the bathroom. When I am out I read when I’m waiting at the doctor or the hair dresser.

I love reading classics, especially Jane Austen and Victorian authors like Gaskell, Dickens, the Brontes or Eliot. What is your relationship with classic literature?

My Dad was great reader and always encouraged me. I think the first one was Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. Then I got into Louisa May Alcott I think that is when I started to read everything. I needed to find out what happened to Jo after she married the professor. I do admit I bounce all over the place, I love the classics but I read Mysteries, Fantasy and Science Fiction too. I love it all. Really, I love a good story that captures me.

Is there a book that has been a turning point in your life?

Little Women, because I could really relate to Jo, I understood her.

What about writing, instead ? Have you got a special routine? Where is your favourite place to write?

I have written since I was child. I was always writing stories because even then I would want to know what happens after I finished the book. I write in long hand, I curl up on my bed or couch and just start to scribble. After I am done I have to put it into the computer because my writing is not legible to anyone but me.

How do you create your characters? Are you more inspired by real life acquaintances or previous reads?

They really come to me. I have them come out as I write a story or I come up with an idea while I am driving or shopping. My previous reads are an influence but I think its more my warped imagination. One of my best series of short stories came out from a dream.
I think dialog comes from people and composites of characters but not directly.
The two books I have written are completely different. One is Murder Mystery with a Mob boss who wants out set in a modern setting and the other is a Time Travel story set in the future with three romances. Right now I am working a young person’s story. It’s a complete fantasy story that is based on something from my childhood.

Try to present your latest publication, Fantasy Time Inc. with a twitter-sized message.

Most people dream of the future and the past, because no one romanticizes about their own time.

   

In this book you imagine future worlds and future lives. Two of my favourite books ever are Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, though science fiction is not my favourite genre. Are you anyway indebted to that tradition?

Yes, Ray Bradbury is a great influence and a wonderful person. I have met him several times. Isaac Asimov who was my Dad’s favorite and wrote many wonderful books. I think the greatest though was Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, he was a great influence on me from an episode called The City on the Edge of Forever. It is set in the thirties and Kirk falls in love with a woman he knows must die or history will change forever. It broke my heart. I am romantic and the time travel stories that got me were the romantic ones. The Time Machine, the move version because the love in that was very strong and wasn’t in the book. And my all time favorite Somewhere In Time. I cry every time I see that one. So Fantasy Time Inc comes from that tradition really.

What is your relationship with new technologies and the Net? Do you think they can help your writing and the world of books in general? Or are they more a distraction for you and a menace for the printed books?
That’s a very hard question. I think that like everything else its both good and bad. I love to read and I have to admit I read a lot of fan fiction. I came from fan fiction, though when I started to write it was in magazines and through what was called fanzines. It was so much better to go on line to write your story. Submit it to a website and gain readers. People that may have never seen it any other way, read your stuff. It is a good training ground for those of us who love to write but have no money. You can make mistakes but still write. So I like that. On the other hand I don’t like this idea that a printed book is out dated. I love books. I prefer them. It is easier on the eyes to read a book then screens whether they are big or small, they really damage your eyes. I love the smell of a book, I love the feel of book. They are special and I will be very sad if they would disappear because of these devices. The problem is kids don’t read, they play games or text but don’t know anything about books. So as I said I am very conflicted.

Now, before ending our nice chat about reading and writing books, tell us Sherri if you are writing a new novel and what are your future plans as for writing.

Yes, I still write fan fiction and I have two stories going for the romantics out there one of them is a Remington Steele story based on the last show. I am the type of writer who needs to have a few things going and then decide on one of them. I am writing a young person’s fantasy novel, A historical novel and murder mystery. Three of my favorite type of genre’s. The two that are the most likely to be next are the fantasy novel and a historical novel. I have to see which I finish first.

That's all Sherri! Thank you so much for being so kind and answering all my questions. I wish you great success with your writing. 

Now, great GIVEAWAY!!! Three copies of Fantasy Time Inc. offered by Sherri Rabinowitz, 2 copies for US and Canada, one copy for the rest of the world! So, it's your turn: leave comments or questions for Sherri and  ... good luck! As usual, don't forget to add your e-mail address, please! The giveaway ends on November 16th.

WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING - SHERLOCK (BBC ONE 2010)

Benedict Cumberbatch plays new Sherlock Holmes

What if Sherlock Holmes lived in present-day London and had the chance to support his brilliant, sharp deductive mind with technology and the Net? You can find the answer to that watching the 3 episodes of the new Sherlock BBC ONE broadcast not long ago, Masterpiece PBS  has just shown and which is already available on DVD.

Sherlock Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, John Watson by Martin Freeman ( who is going to be Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit movies and was in Love Actually) , Mrs Hudson by Una Stubbs (Eastenders), Inspector Lestrade by Rupert Graves (Maurice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) , Molly Hooper by Louise Brealey (Casualty, Bleak House), Sargeant Sally Donovan by Vinette Robinson (Between the Sheets) and Sarah, Watson's love interest,  by  Zoe Telford (The Golden Hour). Lots of familiar faces, aren't there?

Episode 1 - A Study in pink
Episode 2 -The Blind Banker
Episode 3 - The Great Game

Martin Freeman is John Watson

The world's favourite detective has emerged from the fog. With sparkling scripts and unforgettable performances from the two leads, this is Sherlock for a new generation.

Sherlock has a unique analytical mind, earning his living and staving off boredom by solving crimes. The weirder and more baffling the better ...

Across three thrilling, scary, action-packed and hugely entertaining episodes, Sherlock and John navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers to get at the truth.

Sherlock Holmes was always a modern man – it's the world that got old.

Now he's back as he should be – edgy, contemporary, difficult – and dangerous!

John Watson – Doctor, soldier, war hero. Fresh from military service in Afghanistan, a chance encounter brings him into the world of Sherlock Holmes – loner, detective, genius. The two men couldn't be more different, but Sherlock's inspired leaps of intellect coupled with John's pragmatism soon forge an unbreakable alliance.

 Mind you ... it is clear there will be a series 2! The third episode ends in a dramatic cliffhanger ...they can't leave us like that! We want to know what happens between Moriarty and Sherlock! That gun will stay aimed and still until Sherlock 0201!

Have you seen this series? Did you like it? I think this is actually a brilliant intelligent TV production. Waiting for more!

 BTW, have you heard?

Robert and Jude Return to the Set as Holmes and Watson !!!

 (most pictures and news were taken from BBC Official site  and BBC Press Pack for Sherlock)

RA FRIDAY WITH GIVEAWAY - PHILLIPA ASHLEY, NORTH AND SOUTH , AN AMERICAN RELEASE AND A FILM.

Phillipa Ashley: How my passion for N&S led to a new career in romantic fiction

Picture the scene.

November 2004.Nine pm on a dark Sunday evening three people lolling about on sofas about to watch a new BBC drama series called North & South.

Half an hour in, that was it.

Reader, I hated it.

I especially hated him: that awful Thornton character.  After the scene where JT kicks the millworker I threw up my hands in disgust.

“He’s a total thug,” I cried. “He’s horrible. I’m not bothering with the rest of this.”

Meanwhile my husband and daughter continued to watch while I leafed through the Sunday Times, with half an eye on the screen. At no point did I find JT attractive.

The family, however, really enjoyed the episode. My husband, an engineer, even went so far as to say he found the industrial setting a refreshing change (I presume from tea tables and haberdashery shops, bless him.)

Despite my indifference, we tuned in the following week something incomprehensible happened.

Many times since I’ve tried to pinpoint the exact moment when loathing turned to something entirely different. Unlike Elizabeth Bennet’s softening towards Darcy, my conversion hadn’t been coming on gradually; it just hit me like a rock from an angry millworker!

By the end of episode two, I was enthralled by the series and fighting an alarming and huge crush on a TDHCMO and unknown to me, my life had changed forever.

Cutting a very long story short, I took my passion to the BBC drama messageboard to find a growing band of likeminded fans. There I met and shared my obsession – sometimes into the night – with other Deranged Gentlewomen.

I also joined the Yahoo Richard Armitage group and decided to write a modern N&S fanfic. Another inexplicable first for me!

Although I’ve been a journalist and copywriter for 20 years, I’d never written any fiction. I had no idea how to construct a plot, develop character or any of the thousand other aspects of fiction writing craft.

It didn’t matter because all I really wanted was to share my characters’ story with other people. That, I’ve since discovered, is the fundamental reason why a writer... writes. I’d stumbled across the irresistible desire to escape into another world and share that world with a reader, hopefully lots of them!

I’m so grateful to the members of the BBC, C19 and Yahoo sites who were kind enough to engage with my story. Without them – perhaps without N&S – I might never have started writing at all.

I finished my N&S fanfic around March 2005 and immediate started an original romantic novel. I also joined the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Scheme and set about seriously learning ‘the craft’.

After many revisions, I finished the novel – Decent Exposure - in March 2006. With the encouragement of other writers, notably Rosy Thornton, I sent it to a London literary agent and she sold it to Headline.

I was totally gobsmacked but more was to follow. Decent Exposure won the RNA New Writers Award 2007 and was picked up by a US TV producer from Fox. They made into a US TV movie which aired on Lifetime in 2009 and is out on DVD this month.

The novel has just been published in the USA as Dating Mr December – almost exactly five years to the day I tuned on the TV and watched the first episode of N&S.

Dating Mr December is not based on N&S, nor is the hero, Will, based on Thornton at all. In fact, I deliberately set out to make him different to my fanfic ' JT' as I needed to see if I could write my own original characters.

However, another of my novels, It Should Have Been Me is literally inspired by a pic of Richard in the Sunday Times. My US publisher, Sourcebooks, is publishing it in fall 2011.

The editorial design team always ask for detailed description of the hero and heroine and I gleefully sent off a photo to which they replied:

“Phillipa, you just made our day here. We love Richard Armitage.”

What more can I say?

Thank you, Maria, for letting me talk about my passion for N&S.

 Now, I’d love to know if anyone has any theories why N&S was the catalyst for so many fans’ creativity?

Thank you Phillipa! It's been so nice to have you here in my RA Friday.
It's your turn, now. GIVEAWAY!  Answer Phillipa's question or  leave your comment about North and South or Richard and your e-mail address. You have the chance to win a copy of DATING MR DECEMBER!!! The giveaway  is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends next Friday, 12th November. Please, I need an e-mail address to contact the winner. Remember to add it. If you don't want to give it publicly, e-mail me at learnonline.mgs@gmail.com or Phillipa Ashley at phillipa.ashley@googlemail.com.

And remember, her first novel won the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Award. and it’s now been made into a Lifetime TV movie called 12 Men of Christmas starring Kristin Chenoweth and Josh Hopkins. Read more about it here.

You'll find Phillipa Ashley at www.phillipa-ashley.com/

See you next week to cry on ..ehm...discuss about Spooks 9 final episode. What about Strike Back? Have you heard the rumors? A new John Porter? No Strike Back for me, thanks. And what about the discussion about RA's casting for The Hobbit as a heartthrob? Have these people ever seen him in action? Grrrrr!!! Better I'll stop here. Have a great weekend and ... I'll wait for all of you here next week for a new RA Friday (12th November) and ... the name of the lucky winner of DATING MR DECEMBER!

SPOOKS 9 - GETTING READY FOR ... ANYTHING!

Breaking rules is extremely exciting for a  dutiful "black self" like me! However, as things are these days, breaking rules is a necessity. What's up? Nothing so terrible. What about a bit of RA & Spooks tonight instead of Friday night?

Don't worry. You'll have your RA Friday as usual, but ... with a surprise. For now, here's my mad ramblings over watching Spooks 0907. And they are mad! With some SPOILERS.

This is what I wrote on facebook soon after watching the latest episode of Spooks.  

“Just finished watching episode 7... we are close to the end of this incredible season. Ready for ... what is ahead for us and ... John Bateman? I really can't see any hope. Can you? My friends told me I was too pessimistic when I started fearing the worst before series 9 started but this is exactly what I expected. What about being realistic now? Last but not least ... Richard was immensely convincing tonight. Awesome, brilliant, moving. WE WANT A BAFTA FOR HIM THIS TIME!”

It was  2.09 a.m. on Tuesday. And , after all that,  I could not easily fall asleep. Too excited. I went on thinking.

I felt I had been too hard at criticizing the script writers. I had to be honest: they were doing a great job this time.  Apart from the Lucas/John journey in Spooks 9,  so intense and intriguing,  so many other things in this series were better than what we saw in the previous one. There are flaws here and there this time too, but the good things overshadow the tiny holes. Poor script writers! We are often too demanding and harsh to them. We should be grateful,  instead! They’ve provided RA with extraordinary occasions to prove his talent. And he did it. He took the chance and performed an awesome troubled spook. I can’t say I’m happy for what has happened so far, nor for what I fear I’ll have to see next time, but I’m totally hooked by this series.  I’ve already pre-booked the DVD at Amazon UK. I want to have it, whatever happens to Lucas at the end. These moments will be unforgettable. Nicola Walker and Peter Firth are giving brilliant performances too. The new ones, Beth and Dimitri,  are fairly good,  though I can’t get into them. I’m completely absorbed by what is happening to Lucas.

My favourite scenes this time were the very beginning and Harry’s interrogation of his man under suspicion. Richard was incredibly good - and Peter Firth as well -  in both scenes. In the first one,  John’s astonishment and anxiety ,  being trapped between Harry and Vaughn,  was actually depicted on RA’s pale face. He was on the brink of a cliff and going to fall down but he couldn’t even scream. 

Then Lucas/John goes totally nuts in a park among cheerful children playing all around. I had one hand on my mouth all the time and startled when he aimed his gun at Beth as if it was at me. I had to cover my eyes at his cruelty to cruel Vaughn.  Silly me! When watching action movies,  I’m dangerously carried away … dangerously. BTW, was Lucas/John so angry because of those pictures Vaughn had shown him? At last we had glimpses of what it could have been but wasn’t.  It can still be, you know? …  I’ve booked my copy of Spooks 9 DVD+ extras , I told you , so … still in hope!

Things rolled down one after the other till the heart of the episode: Harry and Lucas 's confrontation. Stuff of legend! An attempt to my nails, actually, to the bits of them left from previous episodes! What can I say on that interrogation scene? I’ve already seen it a few times. Those layers peeled one after the other down to the dark  soul of our man. But we are shown an even darker shade later on in the episode.  I studied RA’s voice and facial expressions accurately but, don’t worry, it was for my personal pleasure  only, I’m not going to bother you with a detailed analysis nor to spoil your own pleasure of watching it. Because,  there can be pleasure even in this suffering. And, mind you, I am not a masochist,  I was so angry till two episodes ago! I didn’t want to face all this.  Then I started rationalizing the situation and trying to simply enjoy the dreadful but  thrilling emotions I was experiencing. This excitement reminds  me of similar sensations : it was  during series 1, waiting to know what would be of Tom Quinn’s partner and her little daughter trapped inside that house going to burst. 

 Maya. I had liked her more in the first episodes. Dramatic scenes are not Layla's best achievements, it seems.  Let’s see how Maya sides with John now, if she can support him in these terrible, tragic moments. Doubtful smirk.

Have you read  Ian Wylie's blog about the final episodes? “Be Ready for Anything”  I know, I know… spoilers! You want to avoid spoilers. In fact, there are some , but nothing unexpected and , as I said so many times now, I don’t mind them.  I was only literally panicking at Wylie's closing sentence:

“Spooks being Spooks, there is a postscript.

Giving us something to think about on the long wait until series 10 next year”.

Does this mean we will only actually know the truth in a year? I bet they’ve planned something like that. I.just.can’t bear it! This is sadism! Have you  seen the promo clip for final episode? Are you ready for … Anything?

Meanwhile, see you on Friday.* Hugs * MG

(Finished writing on Wednesday night, November 3rd)

Thanks to Alicat at www.richardarmitagenet.com for the beautiful screencaps !

THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN BY SYRIE JAMES - MY REVIEW

My latest review, my latest Austenesque read: Syrie James, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. A really beautiful one! Click HERE to read my post on My Jane Austen Book Club. Never was a gift more appreciated! Thanks to my mates of the reading club.