Spooks - Episode 3

With the hottest terrorist topic in our modern world Al Qaeda were back in force on Spooks this week, with a gang preparing to detonate several bombs in and around London’s markets. Newly recruited Ben Kaplan (Alex Lanipekun) found himself this weeks victim as he solely infiltrated the bombing unit, living, breathing, praying and becoming the extremist that would truly hide his real identity from his terrorist cell. It’s a dangerous thing, nipping out for quick meetings with Lucas in the middle of the night, knowing that you’re living with a guy that’s prepared to blow up civilians and cause mass destruction and if you’re caught then you hope for the easy way out – death.

Ros, charging the Spooks unit as Harry chased a whimsical lead, was her usual cold and calculating self as the team followed the three stages that had been set out for the operation – waterfall (the deluge of terrorist specific words and threats on the internet), dry run (where they knew that the terrorist cell would act out the exact plan of the detonations) and finally the actual bombing. They wanted the big fish in all of this, and so waiting was their only game. The only problem they hadn’t foreseen was that, upon the start of the dry run and Kaplan actually managing to get a look at the bombs, they'd been thrown a red herring and the dry run was in actual fact the real run. With Spooks tailing the four bombers (3 foxes being the terrorists and hawk – Kaplan, now armed with a armed bomb capable of mass destruction) the operation was in full throttle as Ros, Connie and Malcolm waited anxiously back at head quarters. With precise decision the team manage to disarm the first 3 bombs and take out the bombers, finally freeing Kaplan from his undercover nightmare. Unfortunately for Jo, who was tailing the fourth bomber, she didn’t manage to stop an explosion in the middle of a busy market. Clearing the area, two police took down the bomber only to have him explode his bag from underneath them, the team at head quarters in an anxious strain whilst they waited for Jo to confirm that yes, she was still alive. You never quite know with Spooks, just because someone died last week does not mean it won’t happen again, anyone can die at any time. But luckily for us she did and I say that because Jo brings that one bit of humanity that is needed to the ensemble. Ros is cold, Harry, Lucas and even Ben get on with the job concerned but it is with Jo that we actually see remorse, emotion, and pure terror. Indeed, this perhaps makes her the best spook of all, she feels everything, takes time to heal, takes time to get over things, but still comes back and does it over and over again and that takes guts.

Jo Portman (Miranda Raison) provides some much needed humanity

With Jo back in the fold and the bombers averted from their mass destruction our attention is turned to a distinctively absent Harry. Reliving a moment of Russian torture Lucas remembers the words “Sugar Horse” and upon hearing these words a concerned Harry seeks out his old mentor, the Spycatcher, to find out more. Unbeknown to him his old mentor plays him, and we get the distinct feeling that even Harry is now in way over his own head. What is Sugar Horse? Why were the Russian’s trying to get information on it? And does Ros actually have a heart? I'm sure we'll get more info, at least on the former two, in next weeks compelling episode

BBC – Mondays at 21.00