S01.E01: Episode One

[ApathyMonger]

 

Hotel night manager Jonathan Pine receives a plea for help from a well-connected guest. His actions draw him into the world of Richard Roper, a businessman and arms dealer.

 

[Tarasme]

Watched this today; I'm flummoxed. I am spoiled to this kind of lackadaisical story telling. It was weird. While I'm completely transfixed by the dazzling Tom Hiddleston (So So pretty. So pretty.), the motivations of the characters were beyond me. 

 

And it's almost impossible to interpret a sku sheet from Wal-Mart, why on earth would the complete descriptions of an illegal weapons sale be available on a shipping invoice?

 

Good cast. Weird plot.

[numbnut]

Omigod. So glad they killed off Sophie the Mistress. Her performance was like a sedative (though I did feel bad for the dog that got left behind). I really like Hiddleston but ever since the trailer for "I Saw the Light," I can't look at him without seeing Hank Williams.

Edited March 13, 2016 by numbnut

[atomationage]

I had only seen Hiddleston before on Graham Norton.   From that appearance, I had no idea that he was this good.  The plot details are pretty unbelievable, but I guess it's from the book.  I enjoyed it anyway.

[halopub]

Watched this today; I'm flummoxed. I am spoiled to this kind of lackadaisical story telling. It was weird. While I'm completely transfixed by the dazzling Tom Hiddleston (So So pretty. So pretty.), the motivations of the characters were beyond me. 

 

And it's almost impossible to interpret a sku sheet from Wal-Mart, why on earth would the complete descriptions of an illegal weapons sale be available on a shipping invoice?

 

Good cast. Weird plot.

 

It sounds like I share some of your script issues with the first eppy. I'm still wrangling my thoughts together on this but I also had questions with regards to the pacing throughout the hour. Maybe it was intentional but the particular swings between languidness and heart palpitations didn't really work for me.

 

It did seem strange to have such a clear-as-day paper trail. Especially when Roper is at least technologically knowledgeable enough to dispose of chips. I haven't read the book, but I think this is a partly a result of 1) plot convenience and 2) the struggles of adapting an early 1990s plot to now.

 

Sadly, Hugh Laurie didn't seem sufficiently menacing or charming to me in the Switzerland sequence. (With maybe the exception of that quick moment Roper tested The Night Manager with the girlfriend in the tub.)  It was more Tom Hiddleston's fantastic reactions as Pine to Roper that made the danger feel palpable. I haven't gotten to the other episodes yet so fingers crossed that Hugh makes Roper more charmingly treacherous and compelling. Maybe he needs the magic of House's stubble.

 

On the other hand, I bought Olivia Coleman immediately.

 

Kudos to the cinematographer, location scouts and the folks who managed whatever CGI was used. The show definitely has its visual language down and is just stunning to look at, including that opening sequence. Should the cerebral plot fail, I can always treat the miniseries as a gorgeous travelogue/test shoot for Tom as a potential James Bond. (Sorry, le Carré).

 

 

I had only seen Hiddleston before on Graham Norton.   From that appearance, I had no idea that he was this good.  The plot details are pretty unbelievable, but I guess it's from the book.  I enjoyed it anyway.

 

I'm guessing you haven't been sucked into Marvel's Cinematic Universe, where it's evident how much fun he's had playing Loki. Hiddleston has fantastic range and is one of those actors who can convey much with an eye flick or a subtle change in his voice. He can also go full throttle, throw in some delicious camp, like with Loki and make it work. 

[atomationage]

No, I don't go in for comic book series very much.  I watched Arrow for two seasons, and gave up.  I watched one episode of The Flash.  Surprisingly though, from reading here, I found out that some other series that I've watched started out as comic books, like Lucifer. 

 

I haven't read John Le Carre's book, but I'm not impressed with the story telling either.  The actors are selling this show for me.

[formerlyfreedom]

Original aired in the UK on 21 February 2016. Airing in the US on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Entering the thread before airing WILL spoil you!

[Primetimer]

The British miniseries adapts a John le Carré spy novel, but does it crack the code?

Read the story

[AlexPalombo]

Already watched it all through methods. Really fun. Plot holes abound, suspension of disbelief required, but really fun. Great looking. Great cast.

[Constantinople]

Just like The Honourable Woman, another respected BBC miniseries, this one uses the thrill of tradecraft to explore the dense political thicket of European involvement in the Middle East.

 

The comparison concerns me because the basic premise of The Honourable Woman was so ridiculous, it should have been classified as a comedy.

[Schlinkaboo]

You keep talking about the great suits, you didn't mention Hiddleson half naked TWICE! Little confused by the plot, totally hooked.

[AimingforYoko]

I know we needed a compelling reason for Pine to go after Roper, but man, Jonathan was dumb. What the fuck did he think was going to happen? Freddy was going to be all forgive and forget? Sophie was his problem and Roper and his family obviously expected him to clean it up.

[slothgirl]

It did seem strange to have such a clear-as-day paper trail. Especially when Roper is at least technologically knowledgeable enough to dispose of chips.

 

Sadly, Hugh Laurie didn't seem sufficiently menacing or charming to me in the Switzerland sequence

 

What were the chips? I didn't understand any of that. I thought he was putting pills in the champagne and thought Pike's reaction was because Roper was mistreating another woman (because he was supposed to take the champagne to her in the tub). But I guess it was the chips. What were they supposed to be from? 

 

I actually found HL somewhat menacing, but not at all charming.

 

Were we supposed to assume that the Brit guy that Pike gave the info to was the one who betrayed Sophia? We have a scene of the female agent saying to get him on the phone, and the next thing we know, she's calling Pike to tell him to get Sophia out of there pronto as though she's learned that the contact is the one who informed Roper.

Edited April 20, 2016 by slothgirl

[VCRTracking]

I've read and watched John LeCarre stories before like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

They're not just intellectual but manage to punch you in the gut emotionally.

 

There's a reason Loki has become so popular and still one of the best villains so far in the MCU and that's Tom Hiddleston. I like when he's chewing scenery but fantastic here being subtle.

 

Even though I know Hugh Laurie is British(having watched a lot of Jeeves and Wooster before House) he does seem like he's putting on a British accent playing the bad guy!

 

Olivia Colman's great. Still love her from Hot Fuzz. "Nothing like a bit of girl on girl!"

Edited April 20, 2016 by VCRTracking

[AimingforYoko]

What were the chips? I didn't understand any of that.

The chips were SIM cards from the burner phones Roper and his crew used. They won't contain the content of the calls made, but they will contain who was called and who called them.

[halopub]

Were we supposed to assume that the Brit guy that Pike gave the info to was the one who betrayed Sophia? We have a scene of the female agent saying to get him on the phone, and the next thing we know, she's calling Pike to tell him to get Sophia out of there pronto as though she's learned that the contact is the one who informed Roper.

 

No. Angela mentions in passing that she personally worked with Simon and so trusts the intel she received, which I think he sent directly over diplomatic pouch. Simon also warns Pine, correctly, that trying to get Sophia to London would only ensure her death.

 

Even though I know Hugh Laurie is British(having watched a lot of Jeeves and Wooster before House) he does seem like he's putting on a British accent playing the bad guy!

 

On the flipside, a lot of UK viewers have commented that they hear a lot of American in how the British arms dealer speaks. Oddly it didn't bother me either way here, as long as he used that low timbre of his to almost purr his lines. To my ear Roper doesn't sound like Laurie's natural voice, as heard in talk shows, etc., so I suspect the particular accent he chose is at least partly a creative choice. Roper doesn't need to use Received Pronunciation like say, Gary Oldman's character in Tinker Tailor. On that film Oldman had to get a dialect coach because his accent had been influenced by living Stateside for so long.

[GenieinTX]

At first I wasn't buying it because Tom Hiddleston is too much of a god to be standing behind a reception desk.  I thought for sure he was a spy the whole time just working behind the desk as part of the cover.  That man is a glorious specimen and such a damn good actor.

 

But the plot?  Yeah, not so great.  But Tom and Olivia are both so fantastic I'm totally sucked in.

[Knuckles]

I loved this. Hiddleston is really great...he does a wonderful Henry V, in a recent adaptation...different from Branagh's, but every bit as good and convincing.

Strangely, I liked Sophia/Samira...a woman who knew she was walking to her death, from the moment she approached Pine in the opening sequence. That she had the SKU is again the difficulty of adapting an early 90s book to 2016...the chips were in the empty champagne bottle...which Pine cleverly had cleared quickly from the room. Also that Hamid, her killer's family, were well entrenched on the London social and political scene, and thus protected. 

Has been a recurrent theme of LeCarre's...the intertwined corruption of the global elite.

Liked Roper's low key introduction...why should he telegraph all his moves in the opener...no shrewd operator would. 

Also interested in the woman running a side intelligence unit, allied to but separate from M16, the official spy service. Loved the casting.

Pine had me nervous from the jump...his reaction shots sold me on the fear quotient. 

[Peanut6711]

Watched this today; I'm flummoxed. I am spoiled to this kind of lackadaisical story telling. It was weird. While I'm completely transfixed by the dazzling Tom Hiddleston (So So pretty. So pretty.), the motivations of the characters were beyond me. 

 

And it's almost impossible to interpret a sku sheet from Wal-Mart, why on earth would the complete descriptions of an illegal weapons sale be available on a shipping invoice?

 

Good cast. Weird plot.

LOL--too true about the invoice and with his own letterhead attached. Talk about a paper trail. 

 

And I completely agree that the storytelling lacked as far as Pine's motivations went.  I think that fault largely falls on the "romance" they were so badly trying to sell between Pine and Sophie.  He meets her once in the hotel; for some not completely clear reason she gives him the intel; he protects her (or thinks he does); she used her body (which seems to be her main purpose); he sleeps with her....suddenly he's so in love he's still imagining her four year later. Sorry, not buying.  A better connection/relationship between Pine and Sophie needed to be made. And Pine made himself look like a moron ogling Roper's woman right in front of the whole room. Real suave, dude.   Hiddleston has a lot of potential but could they make his character, the hero, less of a desperate horn dog?

[dubbel zout]

I'm just going to go with the ridiculous plot. The casting is so good, the scenery is so pretty, and I'm that easy. Heh.

 

The book was the first post–Cold War spy novel Le Carré wrote, and I think his struggle to construct a story without that theme is clear.

 

He's an executive producer on the miniseries (along with his two sons), so he can share some of the blame for the story here.

Edited April 20, 2016 by dubbel zout

[roomtorome]

Was so hoping to enjoy this - even a little.  I was plain bored and I love pretty much anything the Brits do with shows like this. 

 

I don't care for Hiddleston at all - everything I see him in just leaves me cold and I imagine I must be one of the few females in the world that do  not find him attractive so I get nothing from him - can't even just enjoy the "pretty" so to speak.  Which is fine - but, I also don't care for his acting.  

 

Oh well.  I am pretty disappointed because I had high hopes for this.  Rats.

[sjohnson]

It seemed to me that only one or two of the documents had Roper's name on them. And those weren't the weapons list. It was the set together that was so incriminating, not just a single one. So to be honest I didn't see that as being weak plotting. We didn't see much of Freddie Hamid, but he sure struck as an incompetent who couldn't keep his business private from his girl friend. And I could see ordinary people in an extraordinary time (the overthrow of Mubarak) finding their outrage. 

 

Of course, Sophie's insistence on sleeping with Pine was melodrama. Pine could feel guilty about not figuring out an escape for her and that would be plenty of motive for taking down Roper. But I suppose guilt as a motivator isn't manly enough?

[SongbirdHollow]

LOL--too true about the invoice and with his own letterhead attached. Talk about a paper trail. 

 

And I completely agree that the storytelling lacked as far as Pine's motivations went.  I think that fault largely falls on the "romance" they were so badly trying to sell between Pine and Sophie.  He meets her once in the hotel; for some not completely clear reason she gives him the intel; he protects her (or thinks he does); she used her body (which seems to be her main purpose); he sleeps with her....suddenly he's so in love he's still imagining her four year later. Sorry, not buying.  A better connection/relationship between Pine and Sophie needed to be made. And Pine made himself look like a moron ogling Roper's woman right in front of the whole room. Real suave, dude.   Hiddleston has a lot of potential but could they make his character, the hero, less of a desperate horn dog?

I don't see that relationship as a romance at all. Yes, he slept with her (as you do) but he was mostly driven by guilt. And he wasn't imagining her years later. He was HAUNTED by her and how he messed things up.

[meep.meep]

No, I don't go in for comic book series very much.  I watched Arrow for two seasons, and gave up.  I watched one episode of The Flash.  Surprisingly though, from reading here, I found out that some other series that I've watched started out as comic books, like Lucifer. 

 

Fuck the comic book movies - if you want to see Hiddleston act, watch him play Prince Hal in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, opposite Jeremy Irons.

 

Isn't Pine haunted by the woman because he believes he caused her death, not because of some great love after 1 night together?  He didn't have to look in the envelope and pass the info to British intelligence right then.

[kieyra]

Watched this today; I'm flummoxed. I am spoiled to this kind of lackadaisical story telling. It was weird. While I'm completely transfixed by the dazzling Tom Hiddleston (So So pretty. So pretty.), the motivations of the characters were beyond me. 

 

And it's almost impossible to interpret a sku sheet from Wal-Mart, why on earth would the complete descriptions of an illegal weapons sale be available on a shipping invoice?

 

Good cast. Weird plot.

 

So glad this was one of the first posts. I love the cast to bits, but I spent episode one alternately tweeting stuff like "Perhaps I am just too stupid for the espionage genre" and hitting up google to try to figure out if I missed the actual pilot episode. 

 

ETA: I also thought HL's accent sounded weird and fake, but I chalked that up to having just completed a months-long rewatch of House. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by kieyra

[PaulaO]

What was Roper spitting into the champagne bottle?  I thought it was pistachio shells, but why would Pine take those out of the garbage?  Pine took the SIM cards, but what the heck was in the bottle?  I'm sure it was something major that I missed.

[kfree9]

What was Roper spitting into the champagne bottle?  I thought it was pistachio shells, but why would Pine take those out of the garbage?  Pine took the SIM cards, but what the heck was in the bottle?  I'm sure it was something major that I missed.

 

I thought it was a mixture of shells and the SIM cards in the bottle and Pine picked through them when going through the garbage (when he saw the SIM cards weren't in the phones).

[dubbel zout]

Roper was eating pistachios and putting the shells in the empty champagne bottle(s).

[Athena]

The plot and character stuff does not interest me so far. Hiddles and Laurie do. I adore them both and the rest of the cast is wonderful except I agree that Sophie was boring.

 

The scenery is nice. I like the shots of Switzerland and the restaurant even at the end.

 

Even though I know Hugh Laurie is British(having watched a lot of Jeeves and Wooster before House) he does seem like he's putting on a British accent playing the bad guy!

 

 

On the flipside, a lot of UK viewers have commented that they hear a lot of American in how the British arms dealer speaks. Oddly it didn't bother me either way here, as long as he used that low timbre of his to almost purr his lines. To my ear Roper doesn't sound like Laurie's natural voice, as heard in talk shows, etc., so I suspect the particular accent he chose is at least partly a creative choice. Roper doesn't need to use Received Pronunciation like say, Gary Oldman's character in Tinker Tailor. On that film Oldman had to get a dialect coach because his accent had been influenced by living Stateside for so long.

 

I have watched Hugh Laurie for many years since before he was in House, and he is definitely putting an extra English accent on. It's basically: toffier. Laurie himself is from an upper middle class background and had that accent, but this one is like a modern day version of the Prince George one he did in "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster". It's much more pompous and drops more syllables. It makes sense given the character.

[Peanut6711]

I don't see that relationship as a romance at all. Yes, he slept with her (as you do) but he was mostly driven by guilt. And he wasn't imagining her years later. He was HAUNTED by her and how he messed things up.

I don't think it was romantic. I'm saying that it felt like they were trying to convey it that way (by the way it was presented) when it wasn't.  

 

Edited to add: If they were going for the "haunted" angle then his visions/flashbacks of her should have been of her bruised face or bloodied body. Instead he "sees" her with a soft willowy white lit background looking all seductive. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by Peanut6711

[Peanut6711]

Isn't Pine haunted by the woman because he believes he caused her death, not because of some great love after 1 night together?  He didn't have to look in the envelope and pass the info to British intelligence right then.

But that's basically what she wanted...She insisted he be the one to make the photocopies. She inquired about his connections before she even did so. She knew (or hoped) something would come of it. She sought him out. If guilt is the motivation for the remainder of the plot that they (the producers/writers) are going for then it's pretty lame since Sophia basically set the whole thing in motion as far as Pine's involvement. She all but set herself up. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by Peanut6711

[slothgirl]

Even though I know Hugh Laurie is British(having watched a lot of Jeeves and Wooster before House) he does seem like he's putting on a British accent playing the bad guy!

 

I know! I've heard him using his own voice in interviews and it always throws me for a loop. A poster further down mentioned that he is using a fake accent here too and it seems less believable than his American "House" accent.

The chips were SIM cards from the burner phones Roper and his crew used. They won't contain the content of the calls made, but they will contain who was called and who called them.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me

 

Of course, Sophie's insistence on sleeping with Pine was melodrama. Pine could feel guilty about not figuring out an escape for her and that would be plenty of motive for taking down Roper. But I suppose guilt as a motivator isn't manly enough?

 

The way they portrayed Sophie (and later, Roper's girlfriend) I was surprised to see the show was directed by a woman. They made her so oversexed for the circumstances. We are supposed to be sympathetic to her vulnerability, but she completely missed that part of her portrayal of Jessica Rabbit (who at least did come off as vulnerable).

 

I was even wondering at one point if she would turn out to be a bad guy herself, setting up her lover for her own nefarious reasons. Yeah, I get that she is a "kept woman" and may not have any appreciation of her own value outside of sex. But she was cartoonish to me.

 

Then going back to the room knowing she wouldn't be safe, all because of what? Pike's moods? A fit of pique? Why? Yes, he backed out of getting her to London, but that didn't mean they were out of options or that she should give up. She seemed to do so mostly because of how Pike's "other side" or whatever came out again. As though she has been struggling in a relationship with him and his moods & masks for months or years.

 

I know I was supposed to care what happened to her and feel awful that she got killed, but I couldn't care at all.

 

 

But that's basically what she wanted...She insisted he be the one to make the photocopies. She inquired about his connections before she even did so. She knew (or hoped) something would come of it. She sought him out. If guilt is the motivation for the remainder of the plot that they (the producers/writers) are going for then it's pretty lame since Sophia basically set the whole thing in motion as far as Pine's involvement. She all but set herself up. 

No kidding..  He isn't at all to blame. She was in control of him through the whole process. Then when his first idea of getting her out of the country fell through, she stupidly gave him a hard time about being some sort of changeling and went back to her lover who was obviously going to hurt her.

 

It made no sense.

Edited April 20, 2016 by slothgirl

[SongbirdHollow]

But that's basically what she wanted...She insisted he be the one to make the photocopies. She inquired about his connections before she even did so. She knew (or hoped) something would come of it. She sought him out. If guilt is the motivation for the remainder of the plot that they (the producers/writers) are going for then it's pretty lame since Sophia basically set the whole thing in motion as far as Pine's involvement. She all but set herself up. 

 

She told him to send the information if something happened to her. She seemed kinda pissed that he sent it before that, but she basically forgave him because she knew she was screwed either way.

[thuganomics85]

Saw it and agree that it mainly feels like a formulaic spy show, that is elevated by it's cast.  Had this been starring a bunch of regular British actors that I've seen on TV all the time (even great ones), I might have glossed over it.  But Tom Hiddleston; someone who close to being a pretty big movie star (waiting to see if he can carry a film where he isn't Loki)?  Hugh "Dr. House" Laurie?  Yeah, I'm going to watch just to see these two heavyweights face-off.  So far, I'm intrigued, even if we haven't gotten a lot of Laure yet.  And I do have to look past his character being named Richard Roper.  Every time he was name-dropped, I start wondering when did the movie critic start selling guns on the side.

 

Even the supporting cast is filled-up pretty well, with Elizabeth Debecki, Tom Hollander, and especially Olivia Coleman, who is already becoming one of my favorite here, just like she was on Broadchurch.  And I'm pretty sure I 

spotted Dave Harewood in the upcoming previews.

 

But, yeah, the story itself isn't quite gripping me.  I knew Sophia was going to be die, and this was going to set Jonathan off on a quest to take down Roper, do to guilt.  And he, of course, just slept with her too, so that made him feel extra shitty.  Also I couldn't make heads or tails of the Jonathan character at first.  I thought he was some kind of undercover agent, but instead he just saw what was going on, and felt he needed to help MI:6?  And it was certainly a lucky coincident that he ended up transferring to another hotel that Roper ends up going too.

 

Hearing the book was set post-Cold War does explain a few things, because I do think I would buy some of this if that around that era, instead of the modern times.

 

Still, it's only six episodes, and I'm curious to see how it plays out.  And, again, a Tom Hiddleston/Hugh Laurie showdown is way too intriguing to pass up. 

[halopub]

I have watched Hugh Laurie for many years since before he was in House, and he is definitely putting an extra English accent on. It's basically: toffier. Laurie himself is from an upper middle class background and had that accent, but this one is like a modern day version of the Prince George one he did in "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster". It's much more pompous and drops more syllables. It makes sense given the character.

 

I agree that the accent Laurie chose lends the character some pomposity.

 

In its review of the series finale, The Guardian characterized Roper's accent as mid-Atlantic. I presume they mean the transatlantic accent and not Mid-Atlantic American English.

[DHDancer]

Mid Atlantic, as in the middle of the Atlantic.  And mid atlantic would suggest "not American, not English but somewhere in the middle" .....  Transatlantic is an ok substitute I guess.

[Peanut6711]

The way they portrayed Sophie (and later, Roper's girlfriend) I was surprised to see the show was directed by a woman. They made her so oversexed for the circumstances. We are supposed to be sympathetic to her vulnerability, but she completely missed that part of her portrayal of Jessica Rabbit (who at least did come off as vulnerable).

 

I was even wondering at one point if she would turn out to be a bad guy herself, setting up her lover for her own nefarious reasons. Yeah, I get that she is a "kept woman" and may not have any appreciation of her own value outside of sex. But she was cartoonish to me.

 

Then going back to the room knowing she wouldn't be safe, all because of what? Pike's moods? A fit of pique? Why? Yes, he backed out of getting her to London, but that didn't mean they were out of options or that she should give up. She seemed to do so mostly because of how Pike's "other side" or whatever came out again. As though she has been struggling in a relationship with him and his moods & masks for months or years.

 

I know I was supposed to care what happened to her and feel awful that she got killed, but I couldn't care at all.

 

 

No kidding..  He isn't at all to blame. She was in control of him through the whole process. Then when his first idea of getting her out of the country fell through, she stupidly gave him a hard time about being some sort of changeling and went back to her lover who was obviously going to hurt her.

 

It made no sense.

I so agree. It was hard to care what happened to her by the way she was presented--basically as the stereotypical literature troupe "whore." (And I don't mean that in a slut shaming way.)  She certainly didn't strike me as someone who was taking a chance with her own life to save the well being of other innocent victims or prevent further political unrest. Her characterization came across as more of someone who was an opportunist. She's a mistress, all expenses paid, to a rich, corrupt man of a prominent, albeit shady, family who sexes up her perceived "protector"(a basic stranger) even in the face of danger, clings to him, and then throws a hissy fit when he's not instantly her white knight. There wasn't much depth to her character and yet the majority of the plot is hindered on her very role in the story. 

 

She told him to send the information if something happened to her. She seemed kinda pissed that he sent it before that, but she basically forgave him because she knew she was screwed either way.

I interpreted her statement there to basically be code to alert him to the severity of the info she just had him copy and keep rather than actually be literal although I'll admit it was weird that she later acted surprised that he passed the info along. If she simply wanted a copy kept for "insurance purposes" she could have done the same with the other hotel administrator that he offered to her make the photocopies, but instead she insisted that he do it.  I can only hope that down the road we get some kind of reveal that she was put up to do this. It would make a lot more sense if a third party was involved. It would also have been helpful to know if she simply stumbled upon this info or if it was shared with her. 

[meep.meep]

She told him to send the information if something happened to her. She seemed kinda pissed that he sent it before that, but she basically forgave him because she knew she was screwed either way.

 

Yeah.  The part that I wrote about guilt, you guys missed the part about giving the envelope to the Brits right then.  He could have waited a week and then it wouldn't have been obvious that it was her who gave it away.  

[zxy556575]

I was bothered by the unnecessary way Sophie dragged Pine into it. She could easily have mailed the copies anonymously to the British Embassy or to MI6. Okay, there wouldn't have been a story otherwise, but I imagine IRL, whistleblowers try to avoid dragging complete strangers into their deceptions.

 

Is there no notion of witness protection programs in the UK, or was Ogilvey's reluctance to aid Sophie because he knew the government in England wasn't about to take on the Hamid family and/or Roper?

Edited April 21, 2016 by lordonia

[Athena]

In its review of the series finale, The Guardian characterized Roper's accent as mid-Atlantic. I presume they mean the transatlantic accent and not Mid-Atlantic American English.

 

Mid Atlantic, as in the middle of the Atlantic.  And mid atlantic would suggest "not American, not English but somewhere in the middle" .....  Transatlantic is an ok substitute I guess.

 

I don't think it's a Mid-Atlantic accent. Many Brits can't see past their American accent bias. Once they know you are American or have lived there the way Laurie has, it's all they can hear. To be fair, most English speakers on both sides of the pond detect that kind of "wrongness" in people's accents when they realize you are not one of them.

[DHDancer]

The point of my earlier comment is that "we're" not talking about an American region when "we" talk about mid-atlantic -- we're saying the accent is not quite American, not quite English -- it's in the middle.  I don't think the use of the term "mid-atlantic" has anything whatsoever to do with any perceived bias...

 

Frankly I don't let accents get in the way anymore -- ever since Jean Luc Picard used a very British Accent on STNG it's obvious we have to suspend disbelief :)  (PS I adore Patrick Stewart, nothing against him but the producers obviously condescended to believe Americans wouldn't know a real french accent if they tripped over it so let's just use something not American)

[Athena]

The point of my earlier comment is that "we're" not talking about an American region when "we" talk about mid-atlantic -- we're saying the accent is not quite American, not quite English -- it's in the middle.  I don't think the use of the term "mid-atlantic" has anything whatsoever to do with any perceived bias...

 

I was disagreeing with the Guardian's use Mid-Atlantic and their perception about Laurie. In this show, he's not employing his natural accent which has possibly evolved to be more Mid-Atlantic due to him being in America so long, but he's actually being particularly English or a certain class of English at least.

 

The Mid-Atlantic accent is real in the sense that it's a term for a hodgepodge of accents that are not quite either. It's also often found in older films with American actors or British actors. It's also easy to put on and evolve into if you live in one country long enough.

[slothgirl]

Yeah.  The part that I wrote about guilt, you guys missed the part about giving the envelope to the Brits right then.  He could have waited a week and then it wouldn't have been obvious that it was her who gave it away.  

I recall there was some urgency because something was going to go down very soon. That was the whole point.

 

I don't know that it would have made any difference to whether she was suspected. If no one knew she had the info, then it wouldn't matter when it got leaked. If they did know she had access to the info, waiting wouldn't have left her in the clear; she's a throwaway-person to them.. they would still suspect her enough to harm her even if they weren't sure. Why not beat the crap out of her? She's nothing to them.

 

And frankly, I wasn't exactly imbued with trust for her in the 10 minutes she spent getting Pike (Pine? I've already forgotten) to "help" her. I'm pretty sure her lover didn't trust her at all... which begs the question.. how did she get her hands on the papers in the first place? Cause if you don't trust someone, you don't leave stuff lying around.

 

They should have spent less time on her slow walk to the concierge and more time developing a story and character for her.

Edited April 21, 2016 by slothgirl

[Quilt Fairy]

I so agree. It was hard to care what happened to her by the way she was presented--basically as the stereotypical literature troupe "whore." (And I don't mean that in a slut shaming way.)  She certainly didn't strike me as someone who was taking a chance with her own life to save the well being of other innocent victims or prevent further political unrest. Her characterization came across as more of someone who was an opportunist. She's a mistress, all expenses paid, to a rich, corrupt man of a prominent, albeit shady, family who sexes up her perceived "protector"(a basic stranger) even in the face of danger, clings to him, and then throws a hissy fit when he's not instantly her white knight. There wasn't much depth to her character and yet the majority of the plot is hindered on her very role in the story. 

 

I interpreted her statement there to basically be code to alert him to the severity of the info she just had him copy and keep rather than actually be literal although I'll admit it was weird that she later acted surprised that he passed the info along. If she simply wanted a copy kept for "insurance purposes" she could have done the same with the other hotel administrator that he offered to her make the photocopies, but instead she insisted that he do it.  I can only hope that down the road we get some kind of reveal that she was put up to do this. It would make a lot more sense if a third party was involved. It would also have been helpful to know if she simply stumbled upon this info or if it was shared with her. 

"...a basic stranger..." is right. The first meeting seems totally random, and yet it just so happens that the night manager of the hotel she's staying at is the old Army buddy of someone at the British Embassy. I was just so confused by the WTFedness of this that it spoiled the rest of episode for me, although I did catch a lot more WTF moments in the parts I didn't FF through.

 

Not familiar with Tom Hiddleston until now, but yes, he definitely brings the pretty.

 

And a side note to the PTV reviewer: Roger Ebert's original sidekick was Gene Siskel, which I guess only us old farts remember.  Although Siskel probably considered Ebert to be his sidekick, not the other way round. In any case, Richard Roeper came onto the scene much later.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[La Tortuga]

LOL--too true about the invoice and with his own letterhead attached. Talk about a paper trail. 

 

And Pine made himself look like a moron ogling Roper's woman right in front of the whole room. Real suave, dude.   Hiddleston has a lot of potential but could they make his character, the hero, less of a desperate horn dog?

 

I interpreted that as Pine attempting to gather as much information as he could by eavesdropping on the multiple conversations going on around him and watching what everyone was doing with their hands, while simultaneously having to compete with the distraction of a beautiful woman intentionally stripping down right in front of him, being haunted by memories of Sophie (whose death he feels responsible for), pouring champagne properly, and carrying on a conversation with Roper without tipping him off that he's spying on him. It's probably better that Pine looked like he was simply distracted by a naked woman; that's a plausible explanation for his awkwardly long silences when Roper was trying to ask him questions about his package.

[slothgirl]

when Roper was trying to ask him questions about his package.

Ok.. I know what you meant here, but I snorted tea all over my keyboard when I read that.

[La Tortuga]

Ok.. I know what you meant here, but I snorted tea all over my keyboard when I read that.

 

Maybe that's why they started referring to it as a parcel instead. Couldn't get through the scene without cracking up every time someone said "package."

[Peanut6711]

And a side note to the PTV reviewer: Roger Ebert's original sidekick was Gene Siskel, which I guess only us old farts remember.  Although Siskel probably considered Ebert to be his sidekick, not the other way round. In any case, Richard Roeper came onto the scene much later.

I'm definitely an old fart too. :)  Not only do I remember Siskel & Ebert but when they call Laurie "Mr. Roper" it brings to mind the old episodes of Three's Company where the landlords were the old fart the Ropers! LOL

[dubbel zout]

Sophia is the McGuffin—the thing that gets the plot started. I understand why some people want a fuller picture of her, but for me, she's done her duty.

 

I do hope Jonathan doesn't pine (heh; sorry) for her for the rest of the episodes. I've never thought of Le Carré as a soppy romantic.

[kieyra]

While we're on WTF moments, WHY was there a bathtub out in the middle of a ... hotel room? Is bathing in mixed company a normal Switzerland thing? That whole scene was so weird.