It’s been a while since I’ve weighed in on the mad cap mayhem that is Richard Armitage fan fervor. As long-term readers of this blog will know, it’s somewhat of a fascination of mine. Why does this man attract such enthusiastic supporters? Is it the roles? The looks? The talent? RA is not the only handsome, talented actor out there to have scored a succession of wonderful roles – why all the fuss? In the past I’ve mused on the possible awakening of desire in RA’s female fans, lately it’s occurred to me that there is another aspect of the desire equation that needs pointing out. In fact it’s the precursor that makes the “awakening of desire” possible, and may go some way to answering the question that Servetus rightly pointed out was largely unanswered in my previous post: “Why does *Richard Armitage in particular* provoke this reaction of potentiating women’s acknowledgment of their inner passion?”

“God I’ve missed you..” Lucas North watches his ex-wife, Elisavieta Starkova, walk away in 7.4

When I began composing this piece it was not my initial intention to answer the “Why Richard?” question, but as it has transpired it seems that this is precisely what I’ve attempted to do, albeit in a half baked fashion! So here it goes. To my mind, there is clear common ground in three (possibly four) of RA’s most popular roles; John Thornton, Guy of Gisborne, and Lucas North (I note that John Porter is also popular, but as his appearance occurred well after the establishment of the fervorish RA fan base, he is excluded from the discussion for this reason). No, it’s not their broodiness (although one could argue it’s a recurring theme), it is their intense desire for one woman. Thornton for Margret, Guy for Marian, and Lucas for Elisavieta (I have not seen all of the productions that RA has appeared in, so I can’t address this subject in relation to some of his older roles). The deep longing that each character has, I suspect, is not only what poured fuel on the fan fervor flame to begin with (in North and South) but is also what has kept it burning. Desire has not only been a strong element in each of these characters, it has also been central to the stories in which they appear. Even Harry Kennedy, who RA played in the Vicar of Dibley, could be placed in this category as well. And needless to say, romantic desire is something that Richard Armitage portrays incredibly well. Is this what lies at the heart of RA fan fervor?

Why would this shared element among these roles be important? Well, some say (including sexologists and sex therapists), that what women want more than anything else in this world, is to be desired (incidentally I find the question of “what women want” somewhat absurd as we are not one homogeneous group who all want and think the same things.. but perhaps there are some things that rise above our diversity and are common between us in certain cultural contexts). I must clarify that being desired by a man is not necessarily the same as being loved by him. One can love another person without an intense desire for them, and conversely, one can desire someone without loving them (Did Guy really love Marian? I think that can be debated but his desire for her is indisputable). RA has embodied a number of characters who desire one woman in the way that many women would like to be desired themselves (OK, so perhaps that statement might be a bit dubious in relation to Guy of Gisborne, but taking into consideration the amount of Guy fan fic out there, perhaps it’s not!).

Before proceeding further I want to take a moment to define desire in the context of this discussion. Pi asked in response to the previous post on this subject – What kind of desire are we talking about here? While in that post I was addressing the ill-defined desire within a fan, here I am talking about the desire depicted on screen by the characters RA has played (which is connected to the fan’s desire by its resonance with her). Again, it is ill-defined, but a few adjectives will at least narrow the parameters a bit. Desire for another person is not the kind of narcissistic sexual desire of a character like Lee in Coldfeet. It’s a strong, deep and enduring longing. A craving, a yearning, a lust – that is singular, palpable, and earnest. The earnestness of the desire is probably what is most important here. If you’ve ever felt the desire of a man who is not earnest in his longing of you, you can dismiss him without a second thought. A man who is earnest in his desire of you on the other hand, if you don’t feel the same in return, it’s quite a tricky situation to contend with. Been there, done that? Then perhaps you can appreciate the fuzzy definition of desire that I’m working with here (which doesn’t particularly define what the desirer is desiring).

John Thornton is unable to hide his distress and face Mr. Bell upon mention of his unrequited love, Margret Hale.

The inclusion of Lucas North in the company of Thornton and Gisborne might not be clear to some, so let me explain. Without giving away too much of what is transpiring in series nine of Spooks (please refrain from S9 spoilers in your comments!), taking into consideration the personal story lines related to Lucas North in series seven, eight and nine, what is emerging for me about this character is that he loves deeply. In season seven he longed for his ex-wife Elisavieta. Even though they were divorced before his capture by the FSB, he claims to have thought of nothing but her during his eight year long incarceration. In series eight with Sarah Caulfield (I realise she is enemy number one among many RA fans, but I won’t be joining the chorus of condemnation of her here), even after Lucas learns that she is part of Nightingale, his strong feelings for her remain. He is conflicted, obviously, but is also grief stricken when she dies. In season 9 we learn of a love that has endured over 15 years, a love that he “can’t stay away” from.

Lucas North gently caresses his laptop monitor upon seeing the MI-5 file on his long lost and enduring love, Maya Lahan.

It’s one thing for these characters to want, desire and love a woman on paper, but it’s how this important aspect of these characters is brought to life by Richard Armitage on screen that matters most here. I’m not about to mount an exposition of his performances to provide evidence of his talent in this area – I’ll leave that to others who are more skilled at that kind of analysis than I. In short, however, its the earnestness that RA illuminates in his performance of his characters’ love and desire that I think his fans, in particular, are responding to. If “what a woman most wants” is to be intensely desired (sexually, physically, and emotionally) by a man who feels a longing for her, and only her, it’s not such a stretch to suggest that what they also want, (apparently!), is to watch a man who portrays this exquisitely on screen.

Is this the essence of the Armitage Army’s unparalleled enthusiasm? Is their interest in him driven by his embodiment of the desirer and their desire to be desired? One can’t be 100% sure, and one can’t assume that all his fans/supporters enjoy his work for the same reason, but still, given the common characteristic of desire in all of RA’s most popular roles, I can’t help but suspect that my proposition is not too far from the mark.

Ponder, squee and discuss…

Screencaps from Richard Armitage Net and the Spooks Fan Blog Gallery.

This is a guest post by JHyde, Spooks Forum Moderator

Sugarhorse. It’s not just American slang for cocaine and heroin. It’s code for the most successful story arc Spooks has seen in its eight seasons so far.

There are several reasons for this. We were privy to significant personal backstories for both Connie and Harry, something that Spooks writers have been stingy in doling out. Lucas’ beloved character was born in the blood of this storyline, one which gave him a reason to be and to keep fighting. But perhaps most importantly, it was the believability of this story arc that resonated with us all. The conspiracy theorist in all of us paid homage to something we recognised as plausible.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Most of us who watch Spooks are either old enough to remember the Cold War vividly or have heard our parents (and grandparents) talk of ‘duck and cover’ or ‘red under the bed’. We are drawn to the mystery of the world as it existed behind the Iron Curtain for so many decades. Not to mention the many spy stories that litter our knowledge of that time – Graham Greene and John Le Carre are as much our references on this period as the history texts now written, mostly because so much of our knowledge of that time relies on the first hand accounts of those who were there, who lived it. (Most famous English spy writers also worked for the Services at one time or another.) The history of life in the Soviet Union is bleak and dusty, but there’s still an unknown quantity to it. The mythology of life in the east was and is one of great secrecy. Spies dodging each other in side streets and alley ways with unreliable weaponry. Both sides fumbling, with traitors everywhere. Most importantly, when we think of Russia and the former Soviet Union, we generally think of spies and tradecraft. Russia and spies, like wine and cheese.

In short, classic material to mine for Spooks. In a way it’s surprising they took as long as they did to get there. No one does spy mania quite like the Brits; as Winston Churchill put it so eloquently: “There is a well-certified class of people prone to spy mania.” (And he should know!) Moreover, one of the prime responsibilities of MI-5 is to establish where conspiracy ends and fact begins – they even have a department especially allocated to it. Only in Britain would this conspiracy make sense and the reasons why lie in the history and literature of a nation. The main events of modern British history almost always have a spy story to accompany them.

When the Wall came down, the intelligence archives of East Germany were looted and many of the older operatives exposed. This is where Sugarhorse becomes a real possibility. Both sides starting from scratch and building a network for future generations. Spying habits are hard to break and this is what makes Sugarhorse sexy: it’s an old enemy waiting in the dark. No fundamentalists, no anarchists – just the unique beast that is the Russian nationalist of old. Through the stories passed on to us, and the ongoing struggles for democracy widely reported in the press, the new Russia remains something we don’t completely understand. A not so new blueprint for Spooks writers to use for season 7.

Especially given the events of the last month in uncovering the Russian spy ring in the US that was put in place up to twenty years ago, this conspiracy theory looks unlikely to die anytime soon. Let’s just hope that Britain’s answer has a less wimpy name than ‘Sugarhorse’ and that Russia’s Tiresias isn’t anywhere near as powerful or deep seated. Russia’s more recent backward slide into its own doomed history says to me that it might be sooner than we think.

Continue the discussion on the Spooks Forum Sugarhourse thread.

JHyde is a moderator at Spooks Forum and Spooks fan fiction writer – see her latest fan fic here.

It’s high stakes time! Harry is arrested, Lucas returns to Moscow, Connie is revealed as the mole and Ben meets a grizzly end. This episode is totally riveting in that lots of significant things happen, we’re kept on edge as to how it will all unfold, and the tension starts to build to the climax of the series – but on the other hand my nit picky radar got a bit too much of a work out over plausibility issues and the shear number of neat conveniences. For this reason I’m not sure that 7.7 is one of those episodes that benefits from a rewatch. This is one of the downfalls of watching some episodes multiple times, you start to notice stuff.

All of the scenes off grid were great, much of the stuff on grid wasn’t as great. I’m curious to hear what you think. I’m really in two minds about this episode… and how to write it up. I’ll keep it relatively brief. We can flesh this all out in the comments.

Some fans think that the manner in which Harry was arrested was over the top. Choppers and commandos probably was a bit over the top, but as a fellow Spooks fanatic said – “its Harry Fucking Pearce!” – meaning that the ultimate betrayal warrants an ultimate response.

How cool is the soundtrack to Lucas in Moscow? I’m forever getting music stuck in my head. Usually its the last thing I’ve listened to. Sometimes the Lucas/Moscow music automatically starts playing in my head when I’m out for a walk. Because so much is going on in this episode there’s little time to dwell on the fact that returning to Moscow must be a big deal for Lucas. Harry apologises to him in their conversation on the phone.

It was a nice touch with Maria being an old flame of Harry’s – although given that she was recruited as an asset, it could have been that Harry seduced Maria for this purpose. Was she a genuine love interest? I’d like to think so. When Lucas and Maria met, Lucas says that Harry told him she was “formidable” – but Harry did not say that in their phone conversation (sorry, being nit picky again!).

How gnarley is this dude!? Have I seen him somewhere before?

The Home Secretary gets a good outing in this episode. He comes out from behind his desk to reveal that HE HAS LEGS! The Home Sec leaves his den to visit the grid and the interrogation suite where Harry is being held. Robert Glenister is always solid but was brilliant in this episode, particularly in this scene with Harry.

Lucas takes one for the team… this is a fun scene (nice work if you can get it!). I can’t help but wonder about what was effectively eight years of celibacy for Lucas, locked up in a Russian cell. Is this the closest contact he’s had with a woman since being arrested? I always giggle when she calls Lucas her “kitten” – especially considering that this cute kitten kills some KGB ass moments later (I’m not much into fanfic but one with these two running into each other again would be fun… Hey don’t I know you from some where… oh right! your the gal from Moscow who stuck her tongue in my ear).

As I’ve said previously, Connie was seriously under utilised in Spooks, and this episode once again reminds me of this and the lost opportunity to have her play a bigger role on and off grid. She is brilliant and ruthless, surely that could have been put to better use. Her “background” status as a character, though, means that her emergence as a traitor is all the more compelling. We’ve not had cause to think too much about Connie up until now.

It was absolutely stunning how Connie killed Ben. One of the more shocking deaths I can remember on Spooks. By this stage we realise something is up with Connie and she will attempt to stop Ben from finding the evidence that will implicate her…. but I didn’t expect this!

What did you think of Connie’s motives? Without giving a story line from season six away for those who have not seen it… there are echoes of Ros in Connie’s motivation for her actions. As she says to Ros in the next episode – they are alike.

When I watched 7.7 the first time I was on the edge of my seat. The high drama and the revelation about Connie overshadowed its weaker points. Rewatching it with the knowledge of what is going to happen leaves ones mind to wonder and focus on other aspects of the story. I don’t want to dwell on the issues in 7.7 too much because I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I dig this episode, but there were three or four things that irked me. Namely..
- The lead up to Ben’s death. It made no sense that the team were asking if anyone had heard from Ben when it was obvious that Connie had checked on him moments prior.
- The scene with Connie on the wires starting to become paranoid. The way it was shot with Ros speaking to Jo and Malcolm gave the impression that they were talking about Connie. It seems we were meant to be seeing things through Connie’s paranoid eyes. But it gave the viewer the impression that the team were onto Connie.. when at this stage they were actually still ignorant of her treachery. Basically, the sequence sent mixed messages.
- The apparent inevitability / predictability that the list of Sugar Horse assets would end up in Connie’s possession.
- Harry’s lightening fast return to the grid

This cap has no plot relevance… its just funny.. (sorry Miranda!)… It’s ZOMBIE JO!