Another Sliding Puzzle

I made another sliding puzzle today (meaning of course that I uploaded the picture to a puzzle making website and they made it for me 😉 ). This time I opted for a picture of Lucas North/John Bateman. You’ll forgive me, I’m sure, since this is the image I went with:

Hope you enjoy the puzzle or if that fails, staring at the picture! 🙂

http://www.proprofs.com/games/puzzle/sliding/northbateman/

Warning, John Bateman Alert: Watch at your own risk!

Welcome the the final day of FanstRAvaganza 3! I hope you’ve all had as much fun as I have. If you haven’t already done so make sure to have a look at yesterday’s post in the Free Form Chain from Fabo, C.S. Winchester and Gratiana. Also, check out today’s contributions from Ana Cris and Agzy.

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Now, I know you’re wondering about the title of this blog post. I was listening to Pandora one day, and the song Last Resort by Papa Roach came on. This isn’t a normal occurrence for me, but I immediately thought, “That’s the perfect song for a John Bateman fanvid!” So, I went ahead and made the vid. For those of you who pretend that John Bateman never existed–that season 9 simply didn’t happen–you should probably just skip past this post. But, if you can stomach a little JB, enjoy the vid! (That’s not really the right sentiment for the downfall of our beloved Lucas, but you get the idea.)

It didn’t really turn out like I wanted, but my computer has been acting up. Maybe I’ll go back and edited in the future. 🙂

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If you have missed any posts throughout the week, I would urge you check out this link. CDoart has done a fabulous job of organizing all of the F3 links in one location for ease of access.

John Bateman: Error in judgement or classic Spooks?

Lucas North is one of the characters loved most by Richard Armitage fans. What’s not to love? He was the spy that remained loyal to Queen and Country throughout eight years of imprisonment and torture in a Russian prison. The man who thought of his wife the entire time he was away, only to return home and discover that she had moved on. Lucas immediately returned to the fold of MI-5 and continued on with the work he loved–even at the risk of personal injury and death. I understand the cries of betrayal that emanate from many an RA fan. How could TBTB do that to Lucas??? However, as a fan of not only RA, but a Spooks fan since season 1, I tend to be of the opinion that this was less an error in judgement on the part of the writers and more a classic Spooks story line. Don’t mistake me, there were absolutely flaws and gaps in the storyline. But, the plot–Lucas not really being Lucas at all–fits well into the list of those who betrayed their co-workers, MI-5, and country. So let’s take a look at those who came before John Bateman:

 

 

Let’s go all the way back to season 1 with Tessa Phillips. In the first season she was discovered to be running non-existent informants for financial gain. By the second season she was running her own private security fund–which she used to sabotage an MI-5 mission, resulting in the death of an asset.

 

 

 

 

Then there was Ruth Evershed. That’s right,when Ruth was placed in Section D, in season 2 it was for the purpose of spying for the GCHQ. While she did sort out her loyalties quickly, it doesn’t change the fact that for a brief time Ruth was a double agent.

 

 

 

 

We can’t forget about Ros Myers  who arrived on the scene as part of daddy’s plot to overthrow the government. There was also that whole Yalta debacle..aiding in a plot to bring down the United States of America’s defense satellites is a major problem. It wasn’t until season 7 that Ros really became a loyal member of the Section D team.

 

 

 

Then of course there was Connie James–I really love to hate her. A double agent for the Russians, Connie slit poor Ben’s throat in a bid to escape before being discovered. And betrayal of all betrayals (at least for RA fans)–it was Connie’s actions that landed Lucas in that Russian prison for eight years. At least she went out with a bang (pun intended).

 

It wasn’t only the spies who had wavering allegiances.

 

 

Remember Juliet Shaw? She was a former spy, friend and lover of Harry who was the National Security Coordinator. It turned out that she was the head of Yalta–she even attempted to kill Ros.

 

 

 

Home Secretary Nicholas Blake–who was always a friend to Harry and Section D–met his end thanks to Harry and some poisoned booze, after it was discovered that he was right at the heart of Nightingale.

 

 

So now we come to Lucas who isn’t really Lucas North at all, but John Bateman. Bombings, murder, identity theft…he really did turn out to be a bad egg. But boy did Richard Armitage do some fine acting with a less than stellar script. When he returned to Malcolm’s home with his gun drawn, I was on the edge of my seat. Abducting Ruth, aaahhh! If only there had been more time, and better scripts–this really could have been one of the best stories of betrayal in the entirety of the shows run.

 

30 Days of Richard Armitage-Day 18

Your favorite platonic pairing:

This is such an easy choice. Lucas and Ros–hands down. The camaraderie and banter between these two was fantastic. You also always knew that they would always have the other’s back–he did attempt to go back for Ros and the Home Secretary.

 

30 Days of Richard Armitage-Day 13

A favorite character quote:

I don’t know that I actually have a favorite character quote. Sure, there are the lines that make me go a bit gooey inside, but I still don’t know that they are what I would call favorites. I do rather like how Lucas North occasionally makes cheeky remarks (often accompanied by a cheeky smile or smirk). So, I thought I would play with my video editing software and make a compilation (I haven’t done much of this so forgive the rough, choppiness).