I’m
Still Undecided on MI-5 Season 10
By
Kristin Battestella
I
confess. I was reluctant to watch last year’s final six-episode Tenth Season of
the British spy series MI-5, and I’m
still unsure what to make of it. Although Series 9 was less than stellar, this
finale has some fine inclusive work worthy of the franchise- a largely
wonderful program I highly recommend overall.
But do these departing high notes fulfill on entire series? Not quite.
Sir
Harry Pierce (Peter Firth), new Section D chief Erin Watts (Lara Pulver), and
Intelligence Officer Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker) have their hands full of turmoil
at Thames House after explosive evidence of Harry’s decades old relationship with
Elena Gavrik (Alice Krige) threatens to derail new Russian negotiations. Elena
is the wife of Harry’s rival and top Russian negotiator Ilya Gavrik (Jonathan
Hyde), and Home Secretary Towers (Simon Russell Beale) can only defend Harry’s
tactics for so long as pressure from CIA liaison Jim Coaver (William Hope)
mounts.
With
only six episodes in this MI-5 swansong,
the audience might expect one long plot- a connecting vein and a tying up of
loose ends to all that has gone before. However, traditional A and B action
plotting and Americanized storylines take over, pushing both new and long
brewing personal stories to the side. Why
did they ever turn away from character development in an erroneous quest for
bomb of the week ho-hum? Over these ten
series, we’ve now seen enough terror plots, global peril, and down to the wire
mayhem to last a lifetime. If these 6 episodes never left Thames House- or by
contrast never even showed The Grid- there would have at least been some form
of differentiation or reflection. Instead, it doesn’t feel like MI-5 is wrapping up at all. Some outlandish
scenarios are a blatant clinging to big ratings thrills. We’re not perfect either, but too much time is
also spent on making American bad guys and anti-USA plots. All this effort to
go out on a big scandalous bang is not only misplaced in the face of franchise
resolutions, but the action isn’t as interesting as the real, individual
stories that could be at hand-if those personal and intimate moments were ever
given their proper attention that is.
Thankfully,
Peter Firth as Harry Pierce and Nicola Walker as Ruth Evershed are simply awesome. Though some might find her accent for MI-5 tough, Alice Krige- she’s the Borg
Queen for goodness sake- can generally do no acting wrong. Together, the trio
creates a smart, unusual love triangle with enough espionage to anchor the
focus of these exiting six. After all
these years of pretty men, badass ladies, and international intensity, Harry
and Ruth have shined brightest in their ups and downs and love lost amid Her
Majesty’s Secret Service. Bringing in a high-class recurring name like Krige as
the conflicted wedge between them is practically gold. And yet, there is some
bizarre need to place these meaty relationships, past regrets, and unrealized
futures behind Russian assassination
attempts and terror troubles in Trafalgar
Square. Simply
put, this recent loss of priorities has put MI-5
in the grave. If the show adhered to its
original personal ‘people are spies, too’ dynamic and internal focus, why couldn’t
MI-5 continue for another ten years
like Law and Order? Unfortunately as it stands, we don’t even
get to spend any time with Lara Pulver’s (Robin
Hood, Sherlock) new section chief Erin Watts. Adding a boss who’s a single
mother on top of the issues at Thames House is a nice touch, but we know precious
little else.
Fairing
no better, Simon Russell Beale doesn’t get to do very much except play the
expected politician, and Jonathan Hyde’s (Titanic)
Gavrik is too broadly written as the stereotypical Russian villain of old- as
is William Hope (Aliens) as CIA thorn
Jim Coaver. The veterans, however, are
superior to the useless introduction of inept tech boy Calum Reed (Geoffrey
Streatfeild, The Other Boleyn Girl),
and Max Brown still hasn’t captured the contemporary cool weight of the
previous male leads as Dimitri Levendis.
He’s young and pretty, but perhaps too much so, with an empty clean
slate of nothing in comparison to all the crap we’ve previously put up with
from prior cast. Shazad Latif’s departure as Tariq is also absolutely useless. Why
bother to dismiss someone so poorly this late in the game? MI-5
has always made a marked point that anyone can come and go at anytime, but why
introduce new people on the grid this season at all? Where are the flashbacks and recognition? The
tacked on mention of all that we’ve loved and lost before is not nearly enough. Have we no pictures, voices, or videos of the
dead? Where are the people who got away from The Grid? If viewers unknowingly
tuned into Series 10 of MI-5, I’m not
so sure they would know it was a finale!
Though
the show still looks good, the technology and tablets are a little much. Compared
to the original state of the art gizmos from the first season, this stuff is
just ridiculously high tech, even futuristic.
I don’t recall a lot of split screens or lighting imagination, either,
but these six episodes all seem to go by too quick without MI-5’s prior attention to detail. Was this conclusion merely an
obligation to fill an episode order? Not only will the damn it to hell ending
upset long time fans, the tiny tributes fall flat. Loose ends with American and Russian
relations also mar the conclusion here- although that might be a piece of ob la
di, ob la da spy merry go round.
Apparently, you don’t escape it unless you die! Year 10 does end on a personal
emotional moment with one wonderful cameo, but it’s lost in the shuffle amid the
increasing focus towards action. I
expected more from a franchise that stood apart for the better part of eight
seasons.
New
audiences can’t jump into MI-5 with
this final Series 10. That should go
without saying, but they were clearly reaching for edgy, contemporary vibes
before appreciating longtime viewers of the franchise. Vintage audiences will
still watch, of course. More than anything, however, this year makes me want to
start MI-5 right over again from the
beginning. Perhaps that was the point? Now
that the franchise is complete, pick and choose and relive the spy glory on DVD
with MI-5.
No comments:
Post a Comment