Fooks...

Right, I've had a monster of a day so today's series blog is going to be, what I believe is known in the trade as, 'concise' (i.e. shorter than it should be).

Harry and the Home Sec were given a quick blast of a dangerous computer hijacking program (a bit like a Firefox add-on, right kids? Hey? Eh? Ah, my satire is wasted on you...). Tariq finally snapped, clearly furious at having no lines that weren't clunky technological exposition... except that, it was a cunning ruse to secretly tell Ruth that the grid had been compromised, which she then conveyed to Harry through a glass of water and a note. Magic. This is why I love Spooks. Reading a note by pretending to drink water. The very best Her Majesty's Military Intelligence has by way of covert note passing.

Lucas had agreed to meet Vaughn in Battersea Park, taking with him reliable Mr. Gunny. Vaughn demanded the Albany file in a sneery, evil way... oh Boo! Boo! Hiss! Fantastically Dimitri was showing off a disarmed bomb he just had lying around. Dimitri is fast becoming a cult hero, bombs lying around, working out people weren't using chemical explosives to treat Diabetes... an all-round genius. There was a quick 2 minute* window in which for Harry to give the team the low-down on the surveillance. Lucas picked up a sassy American cryptographer Danielle Ortiz (and by 'picked up' I don't mean that. For god's sake, grow up! I mean he was handling... hold on... why are there no spy terms that aren't synonymous with sex?) and began ferrying her around the capital. She seemed familiar. Perhaps because she's been in something else or perhaps because she was basically the Spooks' version of Lisbeth Salander.

Dimitri cracked out the Nikon and started snapping the cyberterrorists ("oh yeah, grr, you're a tiger, pout more" etc.) before returning to the grid and slipping the memory card to Beth to take into the ladies toilets (because these are cyberterrorists, not your average perverts) and run face recog on. In truth, the device of confinement and the rising tension in the office as everyone had to 'keep calm and carry on' made for a terrific episode. Tariq gave the game away by a split second glance at the camera after the classic 'pretend to drop your important documents so that Beth can help you pick them up and slip you some classified intel' trick.

Lucas fobbed Ortiz/Salander off with some lies and went to the location Vaughn had tasked him with investigating. And who should open the door but MALCOLM!! (Fanboy yay!). Meanwhile, ex-SBS man Dimitri attempted to shoot his way out of the now locked down building before declaring it 'useless'. No? Because MI5 wouldn't bother bulletproofing their perspex doors and walls, would they? After retrieving a parcel from Malcolm, Lucas returned to the car to find that Ortiz had given him the slip. After some brooding and manhandling he forced her back into the car.

Using crazy voice synthesomething technology, the hackers were able to use a robotic Harry to order Lucas to 'neutralise' Ortiz. Dimitri formulated some terrible plan involving - yes, you guessed it - bombs... Lucas' moral code might be a little off-kilter these days, but he knows when he's being played and phoned up the faux-Harry to ask him his favourite opera. He quickly sped away in the car, having a tire blown out in the process and Ortiz taking a bullet graze to the neck. Lucas then beat an armed man to a bloody pulp. Ortiz was in bad shape but promised that she wouldnt' tell anyone about Lucas' trip to Malcolm's house or Albany, at which point we were reminded just how off-kilter his moral code was when he pretended to phone and ambulance and let her die.

Harry made a bold phone call to the terrorists (because we do negotiate with terrorists) except that was all a cunning ruse too and Dimitri had in fact blown the communications to hell, allowing a loop of faces and Harry on the phone to be played (somehow). Armed Met burst into the building and apprehended the cyber terrorists. Hooray!

It would seem however that Malcolm handed Lucas a fake Albany file, prompting him to break into Malcolm's house (Lucas has done a mighty heel turn in these last few episodes...) only to find it stripped out. Spooky.

Welcome Returns
Colin Salmon's comedy American accent.
Malcolm.

Tariq's Tank Tops
Green.

Quote of the Week
'I've got a terrible crick in my neck, you see' Harry (you probably had to be there)
Oh, and
'Oi, Evershed, stop being nosy' Dimitri

NEXT WEEK
Lucas! Ruth and Harry! Ruth and Lucas! Lucas with a gun! Schoolchildren!