I Spy With My Little Eye...
My procrastination game is 100. I’m about as on-track as this season of “American Horror Story: Hotel” which is to say I’m not on track. I’m horribly off-track but not as much as this terribly disjointed season of AHS: Hotel.
I’m watching more movies than I am television but I am jonesing on BBC’s “London Spy” starring Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent and Edward Holcroft.
It’s beyond slow-burn, it’s like sautéing over the barest flicker of a flame and for that reason the first episode was slightly pants to me but I went back to watch it a second time and now I’m in love. I’ve watched the first two episodes repeatedly because I’ve realized I missed bits and pieces or I’m realizing the call backs. It’s truly engrossing once you commit to it.
“London Spy” stars Ben Whishaw as Danny Holt a warehouse worker by day and a party boy by night whose only real connection is to an older gent, Scottie (Jim Broadbent).
Life changes for Danny when he meets and falls in love with Alex (Edward Holcroft, “Wolf Hall”, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) a painfully shy and socially and emotionally stilted investment banker.
When Alex disappears everything that Danny knows has been tossed into disarray: Alex is a spy. As Danny is implicated in what has happened to Alex he goes on to his on search to discover who is behind what has happened to the man that he loves.
Created by novelist Tom Rob Smith (“Child 44”) the series seems to have lifted its storyline from the real life story of MI6 specialist Gareth Williams (spoilers about the show’s plot) but Smith denies that influence. He says he felt it interesting to tackle that Vauxhall Bridge (where Alex and Danny meets) connects SoHo to the MI6’s offices and wanted to examine people from those different worlds falling in love.
But the love story is lingering in the background as the series is a tense, paranoia filled drama as Danny has to decide who to trust and what is the truth. Whishaw is amazing as always and portrays sorrow so beautifully real (like in “Lillting”) and Holcroft, whom I’ve only seen in “Kingsman..” is superb in this role because how he comes across in the first episode-his relationship with Danny will have to carry fans through the season. He has one episode to show why Danny would take great risks to solve the mystery of this man, why Alex is so important.
and he has great hair like Whishaw
Great turn in Eps 2 by Charlotte Rampling a woman connected to Alex.
Eps 1 and Eps 2 were winners. Here waiting for ep 3 tonight.
~Random:
My heart belongs to Jorah Mormont but dammnit Fail!King of the North I'll pledge House Stark if this is what you've got going on.
