There’s trouble afoot as the threat level is raised at the British Embassy. The arrival of an MI6 officer throws forces John to reassess where his true loyalties lie, and Harriet has a difficult decision to make about the interests of a friend.

About

The sixth episode of series one of The Ambassador, ‘Playing God’, aired on the 8th February 1998 on BBC One. It was filmed on location in Ireland, and was a production of Ecosse Films & Irish Screen. Written by Christopher Russell and directed by Ken Grieve, it stars Pauline Collins as ‘Harriet Smith’, Denis Lawson as ‘John Stone’, and Alison McKenna as ‘Jennifer’. Additional guest stars this episode include Tom Connolly as ‘Sam Smith’, Sara Markland as ‘Becky’, Philip Jackson as ‘Douglas Milburn’ and Frederick Treves as ‘Sir Robert Beauchamp’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD—currently in print from Simply Media as of 2016. Available digitally from Amazon in the United States—both series are included in Prime and are additionally available for purchase separately.

Playing God

An MI6 bigwig, Douglas Milburn, arrives at the Embassy. There’s a pressing security threat; the Brits are expecting an attack. John is the one to greet him and is instantly on the defensive. It’s not helped by the fact that Milburn clearly doesn’t have a high opinion of Harriet—in fact, he’s a bit of a misogynistic dick about the matter.

John introduces him to Harriet anyway. Harriet complains about the loud roadworks happening outside the Embassy, but they’ve been cleared by security. Milburn has come to Ireland because he needs a favour from Harriet; a former Ambassador to Ireland, Sir Robert Beauchamp, is currently writing his memoirs and MI6 are concerned about possible security disclosures. Harriet, a close personal friend of Beauchamp’s, is charged with meeting him, getting the manuscript, and attempting to dissuade him from publishing.

Beauchamp lives in the beautiful Irish countryside. When Harriet meets him, he’s pleased to see her—though less keen on the security delegation she’s brought with her. He reveals to her that he’s dying of cancer, a fact that is making him re-evaluate his life choices. Milburn is likely right to be concerned that secrets will be revealed in this book.

The raised terror threat necessitates a meeting between the Embassy security forces to assess the risks. General security is unimpressed that Harriet’s gone gadding about in the mountains and seems to lay the blame at John’s feet—as if he has any power to control Harriet’s movements.

Beauchamp gives Harriet a chapter of his book, deciding to leave it up to her to make the choice about the worth of his book. He will honour the decision she makes.

Back at the Embassy, John and Jennifer are having a fight in the Embassy corridors. It’s a bit more than a fight; it’s a break up. It’s unclear exactly what happened between them, but John appears to have not taken something seriously enough.

After Jennifer storms off, Harriet calls John into her office. She wants his judgement on Beauchamp’s book. Beauchamp has directly implicated Milburn in making decisions about who lived and died ten years ago. One specific incident is cited; a car bomb in Armagh that killed and man, his wife, and three children under the age of five. John confirms the details and notes that Milburn and Beauchamp were both working in Northern Ireland at the time. Harriet is not impressed by John’s indifferent reaction to the killing of three innocent children.

The raised security concerns mean that Sam is being kept home from school. He’s obviously concerned about the additional threat level; after all, his father was killed by a car bomb in Beirut when security failed to protect Harriet and her family. Harriet says that could never happen in Ireland.

Milburn arrives at the Residency to try and get Harriet to turn over the manuscript. She refuses. She’s far more concerned about the reception being held that evening for a theatre troupe—and one rather persistent waiter. When Harriet chooses to retire for the night, she is greeted by Sam screaming in a panic. Luckily, it’s only a bad dream. Nate steps in to help, offering to stay with Sam tomorrow. In private though, he makes his feelings clear: neither Sam nor Harriet should be in Ireland while the threat level is so high.

Harriet returns to her room, only to discover that someone’s been there. What’s more, the book is missing. She confronts Milburn about it the next morning, and he denies taking it. John also has some information Harriet should know; Milburn has an affair with Beauchamp’s wife a little over ten years ago.

Harriet decides to entrust Milburn with the contents of the book, and how it implicates Milburn for the Armagh car bomb. Milburn admits to it—but he makes no apologies for it. In his mind, by not burning that source, he was only looking out for the greater good.

At a theatre performance that afternoon, Harriet discovers that it wasn’t in fact Milburn who was in her room; it was a man who’s been stalking her. He’s managed to get himself hired as waitstaff, and when Harriet ditches her security for a moment of peace, he gets to her. Luckily, no harm is done, and Harriet gets the book back, due to the fast actions of her security.

John is fuming that the stalker was missed. Whilst he chews out security, Milburn considers whether Harriet comes across as too pro-Irish—it’s entirely possible there’s a loyalist threat to her as well, one that John hasn’t considered. He challenges John on this, and John sets to work discovering what the various loyalist terrorists they have tabs on are currently up to.

Beauchamp has collapsed, and asks for Harriet. She goes to see him. He’s finished the book, and asks Harriet—as his final request—to see it published. She’s not sure she can honour his request, but it’s too late for him to say anything else; he slips away right in front of her.

Back at the Embassy, Milburn wants to know what Harriet is going to do with the manuscript. She needs time to think. He gives it to her; he’s going to sit in his car to wait for her.

John and the security guys raid a lock up owned by a loyalist terrorist. Inside, they discover evidence that a bomb has been built—and more, that it’s likely been hidden in the roadworks happening outside the Embassy. As John calls Harriet to warn her, the bomb goes off. It burns through several cars in the immediate vicinity and shatters the bulletproof glass. Luckily, neither Harriet or Sam (who was in a car outside the Embassy) are hurt. But Milburn is dead.

It turns out that Milburn has been killed for his part in the Armagh car bomb all those years ago. John asks Harriet what she will do with the manuscript now, and she decided to shred it. There are some stories that belong in the past.

Verdict

If you thought John had to tackle divided loyalties last episode, well—he’s got an even bigger challenge this week. With an MI6 superior looking over his shoulder, he’s bound to toe that line, but his loyalty to Harriet still shines through. He defends her against the casual misogyny aimed at her—he has a point, in saying that no one would ever say a man couldn’t be ambassador and father—and takes the threats to her safety personally. He’s almost in pieces when he learns that the stalker got to her, becoming irrational again, demanding answers and not being able to give them.

He’s not the only one facing choices though. Harriet is also put under strain, having to decide between loyalty to her friend and mentor, or duty to keep state secrets. She’s not quite as anguished over it as John is, retaining a rationality about it—she understands the pursuit of truth, but wonders if it is worth the cost. There’s an interesting conversation between her and Beauchamp with him asking her if she truly believes she’s doing good as a diplomat: she does, of course. But he is more troubled by the choices he’s had to make and one wonders how far service could push Harriet before she breaks.

Of course, there’s some conflict between her and John too; John starts trying to cancel Harriet’s public engagements, to keep her safe, and Harriet is determined to still go to them.

John and Jennifer’s relationship—two episodes ago, a central plot point—is here basically a post script. For whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out. And Jennifer blames John. That’s all we know about it, and I call bullshit. It’s unnecessary. It doesn’t contribute anything to this episode. MI6 are concerned about John’s relationship with Harriet, not about his affair with Harriet’s secretary; though, given how they question John’s judgement in this episode, it would make sense that they call John about his judgement over that case. But they don’t. Jennifer doesn’t return in the second series—one of a couple of characters put on a bus—and I see no reason why the break up couldn’t have happened in the break, instead of needing this public argument mid episode that makes little sense.

I haven’t spent much time talking about Nate in these reviews. I’ve tended to skip over his small parts in episodes so far, but I think his arc comes to a satisfying close in this one. He’s slowly learning to put his anger aside and whilst he’s not afraid to let Harriet know what he thinks of her, he now takes his concerns to her in private. His concern for Sam and his willingness to step in to help is touching.

This episode—and the entire series, really—hammers home how complicated the Anglo-Irish relationship really is. The Ambassador faces threats from all sides. Security is tightened presumably because of Republican threats, but they never touch her; instead, she’s hounded by a personal stalker, and the bomb is set off by a loyalist terrorist out for personal revenge. I’m not old enough to remember the situation in Ireland being this bad—and maybe the rest of the UK has forgotten as well, with how things are at the moment. For that reason alone, I’d recommend watching this series.

I’d recommend it for other reasons as well. Harriet’s earnestness, her desire to always listen to all the facts and make the right decision, is refreshing. She’s in Ireland to protect Britain’s interests, yes, but she also is going to do right by everyone she meets, do better. Individuals deserve her protection as much as the state. John Stone is also a refreshing take on an MI6 spook. It would be too easy to have him and Harriet at odds, have him challenge the choices she makes, resentful of the older woman who’s been sent in to take charge. Instead, they are friends, and he defers to her and is intensely loyal. Lawson’s charisma is a part of this—he’s difficult to resent, even when he is up to no good—but that relationship is written so well.

Next time

We’re off to London as a Scottish whirlwind arrives to aid the Metropolitan Police’s UCOS team on their latest case: the reappearance of a girl formerly presumed dead. Steve McAndrew certainly makes an impression. All that and more in New Tricks: The Girl who Lived. Plus, some explainer notes on what has happened in New Tricks prior to Denis Lawson turning up on the scene.