Episode #9.8 (8 Nov. 2010)
"Spooks" Episode #9.8 (original title)

Lucas is on the run and has taken Ruth prisoner. He gives Harry a simple choice: the Albany file for Ruth's life. Harry is determined not to let Ruth down again and decides to make the swap... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Hall

Writers:

Jonathan Brackley, Sam Vincent

Stars:

Richard Armitage, Max Brown, Hi Ching

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Richard Armitage	...	Lucas North
Max Brown	...	Dimitri Levendis
Hi Ching	...	Yimou
Peter Firth	...	Harry Pearce
Iain Glen	...	Vaughan Edwards
Shazad Latif	...	Tariq Masood
Sophia Myles	...	Beth Bailey
Vincent Regan	...	Alec White
Laila Rouass	...	Maya Lahan
Simon Russell Beale	...	Home Secretary
Nicola Walker	...	Ruth Evershed

Storyline

Lucas is on the run and has taken Ruth prisoner. He gives Harry a simple choice: the Albany file for Ruth's life. Harry is determined not to let Ruth down again and decides to make the swap in the hopes that they can subsequently stop Lucas before he delivers the file to the purchasers. Harry approaches an ex-MI5 Internal Affairs officer, Alec White, to help them track Lucas. The nature of the super-secret Albany file is revealed as are the final pieces of Lucas' background. Not everyone will survive and for those who remain, the future is decidedly unclear.

---

Plot Keywords:

mi5

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Details

Release Date:

8 November 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Butler's Wharf, Shad Thames, Southwark, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the roof scene, the gash on Harry's head disappears and reappears.

User Reviews

A decent ending to the ninth series

As this series comes to an end it is clear that Lucas North will not be working for MI5 when the next series starts, the only question is whether he'll be working for the bad guys, on the run or dead. Having killed Vaughn he offers to provide Albany to the Chinese for a price even though he still has no idea what it is. By know Harry has told his people, and the audience, that Albany is a genetic weapon that can be programmed to attack people of a certain race; surprisingly nobody questions why such a genocidal weapon had been designed! When Lucas calls in to arrange his surrender it turns out to be a ruse so that he can kidnap Ruth. With her in Lucas's possession Harry breaks all the rules and agrees to trade Albany for Ruth… but can Lucas be trusted even then and can they get Albany back again before it can be deployed.

This episode was a good conclusion to the series and featured some nice twists that I won't spoil here, I was however a bit disappointed that there was not some large plot behind Lucas's actions nor did the Chinese appear to be a direct threat to MI5, the threat only came from the one rogue agent. Richard Armitage was good as Lucas; it will be interesting to see who replaces him as the leading field agent in the next series. Peter Firth was also good as Harry, I hope he can return next year; Spooks wouldn't be the same without him. There was a good amount of action although I was a little surprised that there were no spectacular explosions or car chases given that it was the series finale… not that that is a bad thing though.