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Claire Ivins's avatar

I love Shirley too. If you’re reading the books, there’s a very lovely little adventure involving Shirley and Claude Whelan in Bad Actors. And talking of books: the guys in the van are actually North Korean in the book of London Rules, so I too have been trying to figure out what the scriptwriters were trying to achieve by turning them into Arabic-speakers.

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Augusto A's avatar

Brilliant recap of this extraordinary episode. I would love to meet whoever writes the script for Jackson Lamb. Wittier than the three Bronte sisters and Austen together!

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Elizabeth Jones's avatar

I love Roddy Ho so much! Love to hate him, yes, but I have to admit I bought that there's no way he'd be with a hot girl unless this was somehow a set-up. I think she's in on it too. I'm v worried about where they're going with the Arab speakers, so much so that I kept trying to convince myself it wasn't Arabic they were speaking. Hmmm. As for Jackson Lamb and his trench coat, he is the beating heart of this show. I think he distrusts authority, specifically those over him, because he has no illusions about them, and that he protects his joes at all costs. We've seen enough of the shenanigans at the head of MI5 that this is believable and even logical. Claude Whelan is sure to be the weak point of the chain! You can't help but feel sorry for him, cuz he is so out of his depth!

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Crone Life's avatar

"And I get that he hates his bosses and authority figures as a general concept, that is relatable as a character trait, but what else? It’s season five and I find this becoming one of the series’ weak points: is it just a combination of stubbornness and alcohol dependence driving Jackson Lamb?" we the viewers still have A LOT to learn about Jackson Lamb but I think in this case it's a combo of hopeless romanticism and grim patriotism, plus he's been doing this so long he can't stop

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El's avatar

Also, it's clear that the service views the Slough house staff as relatively expendable so Lamb is their only protection really.

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Crone Life's avatar

And protecting his joes is deep in his dna!

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Cathy Hazelwood's avatar

You must read the books!

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Krystn Cedzidlo's avatar

🩷

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