Episode #9.5 (18 Oct. 2010)
"Spooks" Episode #9.5 (original title)

London is to host secret Middle East peace talks chaired by the President of the United States. The chief Israeli negotiator is Levi Cohen who is accompanied by his estranged daughter Anna.... See full summary »

Director:

Julian Holmes

Writers:

Jonathan Brackley, Oliver Brown,

Stars:

Richard Armitage, Max Brown, Peter Firth

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Richard Armitage	...	Lucas North
Max Brown	...	Dimitri Levendis
Peter Firth	...	Harry Pearce
Paul Freeman	...	Levi Cohen
Akin Gazi	...	Baltasar Jad
Iain Glen	...	Vaughan Edwards
Rob Heanley	...	Policeman 1
Shazad Latif	...	Tariq Masood
Joseph Long	...	Raed Elwan
Maya Lubinsky	...	Anna Cohen
Mounir Margoum	...	Muatt Hutri
Sophia Myles	...	Beth Bailey
Georgina Rich	...	Dana Morrison
Laila Rouass	...	Maya Lahan
Simon Russell Beale	...	Home Secretary

Storyline

London is to host secret Middle East peace talks chaired by the President of the United States. The chief Israeli negotiator is Levi Cohen who is accompanied by his estranged daughter Anna. They have not spoken for many years dating back to when Levi refused to negotiate with terrorists who had taken her captive. MI-5 is in charge of security for the talks, which have been assigned the code name "Horizon". Dimitri and Beth go in masquerading as Home Office employees, but their ruse doesn't last long. When a journalist gets hold of the story, MI-5 wants to know who her source is. They focus on Muatt Hutri, a Lebanese terrorist who has just arrived in London. It's not at all straightforward as it seems however. Meanwhile, Vaughn Edwards is increasing pressure on Lucas to get him a copy of the Albany file.

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Plot Keywords:

mi5

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Release Date:

18 October 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Tower Bridge Business Complex, Bermondsey, London, England, UK

Company Credits

User Reviews

A long shot!

It seems as if the writers wish to drip feed us the story of Lucas's past as once again it is only hinted at right at the end of this episode. This week the threat isn't to Britain directly but to secret peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are being held in London and overseen by the President of the United States. When a journalist starts threatening to publish a story about the talks it is clear that the talks aren't as secret as hoped for. Her source, a Lebanese terrorist, is in London so it is assumed that he is there to disrupt the talks until a lead takes Lucas to a flat where he discovers the President's itinerary suggesting that he may be the target of an assassination attempt. When the threat is known the talks aren't cancelled and the team must race to catch the would-be assassin before he can strike.

This was a gripping episode with a few nice twists that I won't spoil here. I was pleased that we never saw the US President, it would have been corny to use a look alike and having a president who obviously wasn't Obama might have broken the suspension of disbelief. As always there was a good balance of action, taut dialogue and sustained tension with great acting from all involved.