Plot so far
Ok, I have now seen each episode three times, and my understanding of the plot so far is below. Basically my question is, am I missing anything?
Luke Gardner and the other CMC employees committed a massacre (is that the right verb?) in Tyrgyztan that was ordered by Armitage, and the two signatures on the order are Colonel Macintyre, and Lynne Warner - now US Secretary of State for Defence. The objective was to assassinate key members of the opposition, and James Sinclair’s wife ended up getting killed. James Sinclair is the former British ambassador to Trygyztan.
Mark Brydon used to be special envoy to Tyrgyztan at the same time that Sinclair was ambassador. Whether or not he held any receptions and spoiled his guests with Ferrero Rocher has not been revealed. Ishan is the opposition leader in Trygyztan, and Mark brings him over for secret talks with Lynne Warner. He then thinks it’s a good idea to sneak out to play baseball with his nephew (?), who is James Sinclair’s son. He goes without security, despite coming from a country where his life is continually in danger because of who he is. Sinclair was married to Saida, who was Ishan’s sister. Ishan then gets shot (on Nicholas’ orders).
Mark is now British Ambassador to the US, and is somehow still ludicrously trusting.
Luke Gardner was on death row and is now dead. He left a message for Jane Lavery to go and get his ‘kit’ which turned out to be evidence about the massacre, which she took to Nicholas, which essentially guarantees it’s going to get destroyed at some point (it did). Unfortunately, she doesn’t know that. She is also rather naïve.
Nicholas is an embedded MI6 agent who knows about (almost) everything that’s going on, because if he isn’t behind it then other people bring him the information. He generally then destroys it, either to protect his boyfriend (Christopher Styles, Under Secretary of State for Defence) or Colonel Macintyre (CEO of CMC) or himself, or some combination of the above. I’m not entirely sure why he’s protecting MacIntyre.
Someone is bugging Mark’s office, and contrary to what you might think, he doesn’t bother checking it regularly for bugs or anything like that. That’s probably the first thing that’s bugged me about this show (pun not intended). So far, it seems to be Nicholas who planted the bug, because he then plants another one in Mark’s pen. Although if he did, you have to wonder who’s paying for the van with the guys continually listening in… (nb the guardian thinks it’s MacIntyre, but then he’d have had to have got someone in there to put it in…)
And for some reason, Mark suspects Phil Lonsdale, one of his aides, of being the one who planted the bug. Not sure why he thinks it’s an actual loyal, dependable bloke as opposed to Nicholas, who is a sneaky bastard.
Now, the Guardian Guide did have a little recap of the plot this weekend, but being me I left the magazine at home. I was quite pleased to discover that I did get the plot so far, though. Oh, hang on, I found it:
The FBI agent in The State Within, the BBC's classy, creepy, Washington-based conspiracy thriller, Bones/Cold Case-ish redhead George Blake certainly has her work cut out.
After Thursday's fourth episode, suddenly everything was clear. Here's a brief outline: videos left by the now-executed British death row prisoner Luke Gardner revealed that, in 1999, Gardner was one of a bunch of mercenaries employed by CMC Operations in Tyrgyztan to provide counter-insurgency training for the President.
President Usman blamed their massacre of 187 villagers on his opponent, Eshan Borisvitch - brother-in-law of the British Ambassador, Mark Brydon's best friend, James Sinclair.
Gardner's former colleagues have since been smuggling nerve gas, blowing up a plane over the Washington beltway, and knocking off numerous witnesses.
Everything Brydon (Jason Isaacs) does is being monitored and recorded - possibly by the FBI, or by the superbly sinister MacIntyre, who is, presumably, working for American secretary of defence Lynne Warner (the even-scarier Sharon Gless).
Confused? Well, this is as clear as things have been so far.
"This makes Watergate look like a parking violation!" British human rights lawyer Jane Lavery shrieked.
This was shortly before she handed over the only evidence to the Ambassador's double-crossing right-hand man, Mr Evil himself, Nicholas Brocklehurst (Ben Daniels, who has come a long way from being mean to manicurists in Cutting It).
"You didn't show it to anyone did you?" Brocklehurst dissembled.
"Do I look stupid?" Lavery bridled.
Well now you do, yes.
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/tvradio/story/0,,1955054,00.html
Luke Gardner and the other CMC employees committed a massacre (is that the right verb?) in Tyrgyztan that was ordered by Armitage, and the two signatures on the order are Colonel Macintyre, and Lynne Warner - now US Secretary of State for Defence. The objective was to assassinate key members of the opposition, and James Sinclair’s wife ended up getting killed. James Sinclair is the former British ambassador to Trygyztan.
Mark Brydon used to be special envoy to Tyrgyztan at the same time that Sinclair was ambassador. Whether or not he held any receptions and spoiled his guests with Ferrero Rocher has not been revealed. Ishan is the opposition leader in Trygyztan, and Mark brings him over for secret talks with Lynne Warner. He then thinks it’s a good idea to sneak out to play baseball with his nephew (?), who is James Sinclair’s son. He goes without security, despite coming from a country where his life is continually in danger because of who he is. Sinclair was married to Saida, who was Ishan’s sister. Ishan then gets shot (on Nicholas’ orders).
Mark is now British Ambassador to the US, and is somehow still ludicrously trusting.
Luke Gardner was on death row and is now dead. He left a message for Jane Lavery to go and get his ‘kit’ which turned out to be evidence about the massacre, which she took to Nicholas, which essentially guarantees it’s going to get destroyed at some point (it did). Unfortunately, she doesn’t know that. She is also rather naïve.
Nicholas is an embedded MI6 agent who knows about (almost) everything that’s going on, because if he isn’t behind it then other people bring him the information. He generally then destroys it, either to protect his boyfriend (Christopher Styles, Under Secretary of State for Defence) or Colonel Macintyre (CEO of CMC) or himself, or some combination of the above. I’m not entirely sure why he’s protecting MacIntyre.
Someone is bugging Mark’s office, and contrary to what you might think, he doesn’t bother checking it regularly for bugs or anything like that. That’s probably the first thing that’s bugged me about this show (pun not intended). So far, it seems to be Nicholas who planted the bug, because he then plants another one in Mark’s pen. Although if he did, you have to wonder who’s paying for the van with the guys continually listening in… (nb the guardian thinks it’s MacIntyre, but then he’d have had to have got someone in there to put it in…)
And for some reason, Mark suspects Phil Lonsdale, one of his aides, of being the one who planted the bug. Not sure why he thinks it’s an actual loyal, dependable bloke as opposed to Nicholas, who is a sneaky bastard.
Now, the Guardian Guide did have a little recap of the plot this weekend, but being me I left the magazine at home. I was quite pleased to discover that I did get the plot so far, though. Oh, hang on, I found it:
The FBI agent in The State Within, the BBC's classy, creepy, Washington-based conspiracy thriller, Bones/Cold Case-ish redhead George Blake certainly has her work cut out.
After Thursday's fourth episode, suddenly everything was clear. Here's a brief outline: videos left by the now-executed British death row prisoner Luke Gardner revealed that, in 1999, Gardner was one of a bunch of mercenaries employed by CMC Operations in Tyrgyztan to provide counter-insurgency training for the President.
President Usman blamed their massacre of 187 villagers on his opponent, Eshan Borisvitch - brother-in-law of the British Ambassador, Mark Brydon's best friend, James Sinclair.
Gardner's former colleagues have since been smuggling nerve gas, blowing up a plane over the Washington beltway, and knocking off numerous witnesses.
Everything Brydon (Jason Isaacs) does is being monitored and recorded - possibly by the FBI, or by the superbly sinister MacIntyre, who is, presumably, working for American secretary of defence Lynne Warner (the even-scarier Sharon Gless).
Confused? Well, this is as clear as things have been so far.
"This makes Watergate look like a parking violation!" British human rights lawyer Jane Lavery shrieked.
This was shortly before she handed over the only evidence to the Ambassador's double-crossing right-hand man, Mr Evil himself, Nicholas Brocklehurst (Ben Daniels, who has come a long way from being mean to manicurists in Cutting It).
"You didn't show it to anyone did you?" Brocklehurst dissembled.
"Do I look stupid?" Lavery bridled.
Well now you do, yes.
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/tvradio/story/0,,1955054,00.html