But let’s get started…
Oh hai amazing opening sequence
That opening sequence was KILLER. We learned so much about so many people plus it was all happening in the future of where we left off. I just want to rewatch the sequence like twenty times. I mean what the what Roper has a kid? And Debicki (do we even know her name yet?) is all about taking care of the kid? I’m pretty certain it’s not her kid, but maybe it is? Plus she’s totally getting paid to be there as his lover and sending money back home to whoever is in an institution and has stopped asking about her (???!!!). So much mystery!
Hitchcock Essence
Speaking of mystery, I’ve seen a few tweets flying around about how this show is a bit like a Hitchcock film. I have to say I agree! If you’ve seen Rebecca or Rear Window, you can definitely feel that type of anxiety in it. There is a psychological thriller aspect to it all, rather than a spy thriller they’re touting it as. It’s similar to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (not surprisingly) and actually is a little like the new direction Bond is taking… All very intriguing to me.
I am really loving that there’s a development of Roper and his team as a good person with family values. It’s throwing a wrench in all of it. I feel like we absolutely don’t know who to trust, who to root for in all of this. Like the new American guy who is helping Burr… he seems good, but is he? Is Burr even good? Part of me feels like her character is so set on taking down Roper that if Pine dies in the process, she won’t even care. She’ll hardly even blink about it as long as Roper’s destroyed. I don’t trust her for Pine’s sake, but then again, I don’t even know how I feel about Pine… which brings up the big issue I have with this plot so far…
Who is Jonathan Pine?
Seriously, who the hell is Jonathan Pine? I thought maybe he was a spy in episode 1, but clearly he is not known to MI6, so if he is/was a spy then he’s a spy for someone else. And that seems highly unlikely given his predisposition to loving Engerland super hard. The problem for me is that I don’t understand Pine’s motives here. It’s hard to care about him other than he is Tom Hiddleston, who I care about. But the actual Pine guy… he’s kind of generic. We literally know NOTHING about him pre-Iraq tours, and frankly, we don’t know much about that aspect of his life either. Plus, who was his father? Was he a spy? That wasn’t clear to me in that scene in his Zermatt house.
Why, for example, would anyone give up their entire life to enter into an extremely dangerous situation. For Sophie the girl he knew for ten seconds?! No way!! How on earth could someone hate Roper so much that he needs to destroy him based on a single encounter with one woman that one time in Cairo when she was already being beaten by another man whom Pine seems to not have a desperate need to destroy? I need more than just “Roper is English and I’m English and I have a duty to stop men who are English that do shitty things to the world.” That’s not enough to go full on psychopath. To risk dying. To agree to a deal that probably can’t even be carried out (ask yourself: how the heck is Angela Burr going to re-integrate Pine into the world when Roper’s reach is global? Where could he possibly go that is safe?).
What else has happened to Jonathan Pine? What backstory are we going to get? I need more. I need to actually care what happens to him. Right now I care more about Debicki’s character because I at least has an inkling as to her motives.
Did Devon Last Longer Than a Day?
Okay, seriously, this Devon part was like… I get that he needed another identity and shit, but wtf was that even about? And why would this night manager suddenly know how to cook well enough to land a sous-chef job at an exclusive restaurant in Mallorca? You can’t just invent a sous-chef in 6 months and have that work out. Especially when the dude whose identity you stole is an epic life fail with nothing to show for himself. Sure they could invent a history for Thomas Quince, but it felt like Pine went to Devon for maybe a long weekend worth of time? Also anyone else immediately think, “That is totally the cottage they have to move into in Sense & Sensibility!”? Pretty sure it is the same location.
Really, the Devon sequence needed a montage or something. From what I could tell he:
- Told that girl he had sex with that he cooked all day
- Went for a long run and a naked shower in a freezing cold waterfall to demonstrate his strength training.
A ruthless criminal posing successfully as a sous-chef that does not make.
This guy managed a hotel for the past 5 years, maybe longer. Sure he did two tours in Iraq, but that was ages ago! When the hell is he getting back in shape to be of any use to Roper’s crew? And if he needs to be in league with Roper’s people, I didn’t see that happening in Devon. Angela Burr seemed way more ready to shiv a guy than this Jack Lyndon dude. Like Hactivsit Tom is not convincing me that he can beat up bad guys.
Tobiased Makes an Appearance
You can take Tobias Menzies out of James Bond, but you can’t take him out of MI6. Dude is back into the spy world and seemingly with a big fat DOUCHEBAG tattooed across his smug face. But at least it gives all you Outlanders a reason to watch beyond this being an incredibly awesome show! He plays a dickhead character who isn’t necessarily full stop evil, so from what I can tell from Outlander commentary, that seems right up his alley for typecasting.
The Wife of the Guy
I want to quickly discuss the character who met with the lawyer in Madrid (the one who sort of looks like Paul Bettany but isn’t him at all) and his wife. What is HER purpose in all of this? He’s clearly emotionally abusive of her, consistently putting down her worth and dancing with their nanny as if he’s having the most obvious affair with her and gives zero fucks about what it does to his wife. I don’t get their purpose. But I do feel like she’s got the capacity to kill someone and do it in a shockingly brutal way. She’s like a very patient python waiting in the trees…
The Ending
Episode 2’s ending left me wanting soooo much more. Hugh Laurie is really incredibly great in this show. You know I love Tom, but holy cow Hugh is carrying a lot and doing it so well. His return to the Mallorca estate really got me excited for next week. I already like and hate Roper, and I am constantly wondering if he’s going to kill Pine or not. His little look when they discover it’s Pine who saved his son… he was so excited looking, just like “Who is this guy?!! How fascinating!”
At the end of this episode, I truly do not know who I can trust, if anyone. I feel kind of like I’m watching Game of Thrones, to be honest. Everyone is a little bit evil or insane, and anything can happen… plus the end of the episode will make you cry out, “It’s already done?!!!”
I can’t wait for next week!!! What did you guys think?
