Spooks 8 - 6 Lucas/Sarah

Part 2: Lucas/Sarah

(Spoilers - This is the continuation of an earlier post)

Their climactic scene in her apartment was so thrilling some of my mind blew away from the shockwave, but there was a distracting nasal voice in my head muttering "Lucas is looking more supersap than superspy". The tug of war between boo and yay was driving me bipolar, and when I get like this there's only one thing for it: a session with Nugget the shrink in my head.

How do you feel about Lucas after this episode?

I've been through a whole daisychain of reactions to Lucas. After watching the climax my broken heart jumped so high up I had to swallowed it back down again. After I took a few deep calming breaths, I then thought 'What a needy lovesick idiot'! Which became 'Maybe I'm overreacting'. After all, he's not Mr Thornton or Guy anymore, and I should stop expecting such things from Spooks. But as blown away as I was by Richard Armitage kneeling and pleading, Lucas' reactions felt a little off.

I miss her shellfish breath *Mope*

A needy lovesick idiot? What makes you think that?

He's supposed to be buffer than Bourne. His memory backs up every glance for later weaseling, and he's got that MacGuyver thing going where he can make booby traps out of any old junk. Lucas knows what her dark roots did to Walker but despite the last episode when those dooming brooders promised some serious backlash, he's done nothing about it. How can he be spooky when his human judgement is so poor? Whenever she says 'Honey' I feel like I'm being slapped in the face. Ughh, that stuff can't be unsaid. It reminds me of my friend who's dating someone so wrong for her. We have long talks where she tells me their latest disaster, but she always forgives him, makes excuses for him, and even if she's miserable she can't let go.

 His face of thunder foretold a big confrontation smack down.

Didn't deliver.

Actually it reminds me of what happened when you were -

Let's stick to Lucas ok?

Alright, are Lucas and 'She' in love?

No I don't think so, but the storyline thinks they are. It started out as a sex game then somewhere along it's decided to become a tragic love story. He knows she's a murderous harpy, and he's still surprised when she pulls a gun on him. "No, not you!" he said. As if she were Darth Vadar saying "Lucas, I am..." He may wish the bug in her handbag was a figment of his rose petal dream, and that she thought Walker wanted help bungy jumping but wishing doesn't make the noodles. Then just before she was going to pull the trigger he whispers "Take me with you" as if nothing should stand in the way of their love. It felt a bit Whitney Houston.

What if he was just playing her by saying that, so she'd not kill him?

I'd love to think that, but I'm still reeling from the old Kevin Kostner imagery. After she leaves and before the team Harry sent got there, Lucas just sits there moping. At best, it's not moping but him replaying the scene over in his mind thinking 'I'm such an ass'. Either way, he didn't try to stop her getting away.

So they're not in love. Yet the scene was still heartbreaking, but you mock most of his poignant lines. 

Yeah, it's totally possible! On its own it's beautiful and heart pounding; Richard does a spectacular job with what he's given. The scene just doesn't fit in with everything that led up to it, so as long as you quarantine it in your mind you can still enjoy it. I can mock HER lines too, not just his. She tells him at gunpoint "You deserve more than this, you really do". You don't say! Christmas has come early, and here's my list: A more consistently written relationship, or at least a better edited one. A better edit of her American accent or at least a more consistent one. Better wardrobe would be nice. I think he's had the same shirt on since Malcolm left. In an earlier scene she says "This is bad, Lucas!" and I burst out laughing. Now that's a line with great replay value.

Indeed! On so many levels.

I think you're overreacting. You've built up Richard Armitage to be this hunkalicious loverboy and anything less than Thorton thud just doesn't cut it. When will you just accept that Spooks is an action-packed spy thriller not a period drama? 

Nugget, you're not helping! Lucas has let me down because in the earlier episodes he showed lots of promise. He was strong enough to get one over Oleg his old torturer, but with Sarah he's regressing. How many lightbulbs does it take for Lucas to see he's being screwed? In the same episode even Ros managed a deep and meaningful meanwhile he's moping around falling behind.

It's not my unrealistic expectations. Ok, I'll admit I get a LITTLE worked up about small things, but there's gotta be something wrong first before I pounce. No their affair didn't convince me but I'm such a big Richard Armitage fan that I can mentally cut out the scene in her flat and paste it into the storyboard I've made up in my mind where things work out how I'd like. Up until this episode they'd done a good job painting her as the sneaky evil we love to hate. That climax would have worked better if she hadn't been torn pink about killing him, and played it with an icy cold stranger voice instead. That would have fit in with the prior lack of relationship cred. Alternatively, they could have built her up to be more sympathetic and tragic earlier on so that we'd understand why Lucas has gone operatic about her. There's a moment in her flat where they had that chance:

Sarah: What I am doing is so far undercover I woulda killed him if he was snow white. Nobody can know what i'm doing.
Lucas: And me?
Sarah: What do you think, Honey?

She says this last line from the other side of the room. It would have been more poignant if at this point she walks over and hugs him, saying that line really tenderly like 'how could you doubt my feelings about our tragic shellfish love'. Instead, it sounds like the reply to "Should I get the low-fat cheese?"

 I think your ass is spreading. Low fat it is.

But if it was anyone else playing Lucas you wouldn't have cared if the relationship was lost in space.

Yes and no. I'd still be unconvinced but I wouldn't blog about it, and my mind wouldn't have played musical chairs with all the reasons it did or didn't work. The character Lucas has a very interesting back story, so I'd find him interesting no matter who played him. This scene would have tanked in the hands of lesser actors. It's got problems, but still shocked and awed.

Maybe they'll show her redeeming qualities later?
Perhaps. There's still a chance she'll end up saving the day by sacrificing herself Connie-style, but I'd rather bomb-strapped Ros and Sarah hug for an explosive finale. In my mental storyboard, she'd whisper "Take me with you". Ros would say "Hold on tight".