This is quite possibly one of the most frustrating shows I have ever watched. For every interesting scene, there’s a clunky moment that has me shouting at the screen. For every smart plot twist, there’s a gaping plot hole. Most galling of all are the glimpses of what this drama might have been: the confrontation between Emma and Sir Alastair was tense and compelling, the brief moments with the scheming Wilds intriguing, and the scenes with Linda’s parents were well handled reminders of the aftershocks of death. Yet there’s always the sense that if you pulled on one loose thread the whole tapestry would unravel, leaving us with nothing to see.
The conspiracy
That said, this penultimate episode was pretty enjoyable. Emma was sprung from her detention on a US military base by the super team of Olivia, Monty and Dominic, then promptly set about instigating one final push to uncover the truth. It helped that prior to her release Logan had managed to convince his commanding officer to black out the base so he and Emma could meet. His tale was simple: 17-year-old boy serving abroad meets 15-year-old girl. They fall in love and plan to get married (apparently). On the night of Linda’s death, they arrange to meet but the base is in lockdown and Logan never makes it. When he hears of Linda’s death, he tells his superior officer they were dating – and finds himself on the next plane to Iraq.
Where things really get interesting, however, concerns who Linda was with that night, why the base was locked down and how she got there. The last question proved the easiest to answer – and a big hand to those below the line who called it – her uncle Phil, who procured drugs, alcohol and girls for the base, drove her. The rest too was slowly revealed. The base was on lockdown because of a visit between Sir Alastair, Jack Krechmer (now Heather’s boss, then the US under secretary for defence) and a now-discredited Iraqi defector who claimed to have evidence of Saddam Hussein’s infamous weapons of mass destruction. Their meeting was to shore up British support for the Iraq war. However, at some point Linda was hit by one or all of them in a car and everything else has been about the cover-up. So far, so straightforward. But there are still a number of dangling threads, the main one being: who is Rachel Lee, why did she lie and where is she now? (My bet is that she is Matthew’s wife, the super-smooth and secretive Laura.)
Our heroine
She might finally be close to blowing the whole conspiracy apart, but Emma’s personal life was somewhat less satisfying. Her time in the US made her think about love lost and the life she might have had – “All these things I thought I was over, I’m so not”. Unfortunately, just as she was on the verge of spilling all to Dominic, the unutterably loathsome Steve returned. I hope commenters below the line are right that Steve is an undercover cop, because if we’re expected to believe that his refusal to leave was a romantic declaration of love then frankly I worry about this show’s understanding of relationships. Steve isn’t simply lazy, he’s quite clearly a terrible person – and no amount of wheedling attempts at charm can disguise that.
The rest
Poor Emma’s victory will clearly prove a bittersweet one, given that Kevin sadly died from his injuries. I would say at least he and Jason reconciled at the end, but given that Jason is likely to spend the rest of his life guilt-ridden over his initial rejection of his dad, I’m not sure how much that will have helped. Kevin wasn’t the only one suffering from the fallout: Olivia found herself suspended from work after helping Emma; Miriam was detained for the foreseeable; and the Sims family turned on each other. The only people who seem to be gliding away from this mess are the Wilds, which makes them very suspicious indeed.
Additional notes
• I loved Emma’s incredulous face as Sir Alastair basically admitted to everything.
• In fact the whole scene between them was a joy, particularly the confrontation about patriotism which I thought was very well done.
• How innocent is Miriam? I’m intrigued by the way she’s written/acted because even now I’m not sure how much she really knew. Was her statement to Dominic a threat or simply the passing on of important information?
• Of course the Canadians demanded to see the list of passengers. That was a nice touch.
• I found Logan’s line about Guantanamo a little ungainly – although the dates do match (the prison was established in 2002 and war declared with Iraq in 2003).
• I increasingly admire Heather’s capacity for evil meddling for the hell of it – although I agree with Sir Alastair that all the conspiring does only seem to make everything worse.
• Heather implied it was Sir Alastair who was driving the car that hit Linda, but Matthew did talk about American mistakes last week, so the jury is still out.
• Slippery Blair-lite golden boy Matthew Wild wins Labour Party leadership contest over “Trotskyite” rival – wishful thinking or terrible warning? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
Most rebel with a cause moment of the week
Step forward Olivia “I hate subterfuge” Greenwood, who lied to American intelligence, busted Emma out of military jail then agreed to help uncover the conspiracy. Oh Olivia, I hope your career can be salvaged.
Quote of the week
“Don’t be too righteous. Mistakes were made and nobody denies that but if you want to add a few more details to the record and embarrass some once-public figures, well, you have at it.” Sir Alastair hits Emma where it hurts.
So what did you think? Is everything coming together nicely or are there still too many holes? Is Laura Wild really Rachel Lee? What is Matthew’s role in all of this? And above all, where do you stand on Steve: loveable loser or dreadful human being? As ever all speculation is welcome below …
