The Honourable Woman - Conclusion

The Honourable Woman has been a fast-paced, labyrinthine thriller set against an international political backdrop. It centred on Nessa Stein whose father was a Zionist arms procurer. As children she and her brother witness his assassination. As an adult, inheriting her father's company, she dramatically inverted its purpose from supplying arms to laying high-spec data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. Her sudden appointment to the House of Lords, apparently due to her tireless promotion of projects for reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians, created an international political maelstrom.

Each episode carried Nessa's voice-over at the start: "Who can you trust?"

Well, the answer was pretty much "no-one"!  The Americans? MI6? The Israelis? The Palestinians? So much subterfuge, such intricate plotting. Who would be left standing when the dust settled? The suspension of disbelief it sometimes demanded was exhausting.

This was a drama series of the highest order. Absolutely compulsive viewing. Right up there with Broadchurch.

I loved it....

The Honourable Woman - Penultimate Episode

I feel cheated. Just when I thought I was getting to grips with the series - and to be kept on edge and to see how outrageously convoluted its plotting would become, the penultimate  episode  turned everything on its head yet again.

Spoiler if you haven't watched it...

Nessa Stein was back in Israel, shaking the hand of the dastardly Palestinian who blackmailed her into giving him the contract to lay the cabling for her communications network and for a woman who was the target of so many conspiracies..... and the still more shocking parallel plotline in which one of the series’ last remaining reliable characters, Atika revealed herself to be that most pernicious type of turncoat.....

It's an intriguing set up for a no-doubt eventful conclusion. But I, for one, feel this series could have been better with a lot less plot!

Nevertheless, it has been compelling viewing and I will be 'glued to the screen' for the final episode next Thursday.

The Honourable Woman Part 6

Plot, counterplot. Drama, melodrama. Confusing. 'Sniffers' on telecommunication lines. 'Sniffer' on sniffer. Who is harvesting the data and selling it to whom? Who is 'sniffing' the sniffing device? And it turns out Shlomo Zahary, the only person both Nessa and Ephra feel any kind of family affection for is, in fact, some kind of Scooby Doo villain. And Atika is shagged by Ephra and Nessa puts herself about to be raped - again. WTF is going on?

Andrew Buchan plays Ephra Stein, the keeper of secrets

Mesmerising as this series is, I need hot, black coffee to keep my concentration level on high alert. It's confounding, it's perplexing, it's frustrating, at times it's bloody irritating - but - it is brilliant! It has grabbed me and it is, at least, as crucial viewing as the first season of Homeland.

And that is saying something....

The Honourable Woman Part 2

Oh my goodness. Did you watch it? Don't blink for a second, don't lose concentration for a minute. Remain totally focused as this drama unfolds with its web of intrigue and the darkness that dogs Nessa Stein and the shadows in her soul. "Easy with your body, but dead behind the eyes', says a sexual conquest.

Why does Nessa live a life constantly under siege from her own fears? Why does her brother seem detached and remote? Sir Hugh Hayden-Doyle (played magnificently by Stephen Rea) does what he does over at MI6 and quietly dismantles the story of a female FBI agent. And now he is investigating Nessa's past. Something very traumatic occurred eight years ago....

I am recording the series and I already plan to watch again the first four episodes back-to-back, when I have them. I already have theories about the child Nasim, who has been kidnapped, but I could of course be completely wrong.

It's frustrating to have to wait another week for episode 3 to air...

The Honourable Woman

I have watched more TV over the past two weeks than I probably have since the beginning of the year. Heady days of World Cup football, Wimbledon tennis and F1 Grand Prix racing have kept me entertained amidst a calendar containing no 'soap' episodes, much to my wife's chagrin.

Beside my love for sport I do enjoy a good drama series. The Scandinavians are particularly good at producing these; The Killing and The Bridge are two typical examples. Occasionally we British come up with the goods and my interest was aroused in a new BBC2 drama entitled 'The Honourable Woman' - the first of eight episodes aired on Thursday. Written by Hugo Blick (that alone is usually a good recommendation) and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as businesswoman Nessa Stein, this first episode had me gripped from the start.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

This could turn out to be the 'spook' drama to eclipse all predecessors. Scene stealing Stephen Rae (did you see him in 'The Crying Game' - brilliant) portrays sceptical MI6 agent Hugh Hayden-Doyle, a terrific performance that put me in mind of George Smiley. I will watch this first episode again today (series set to record on the Virgin box) with my wife who has yet to see it.

The momentum, richness and complexity of this drama are maintained throughout. If the remaining seven episodes are equal to this, The Honourable Woman will win every award going (yes, it's that good) and when it ends in the final days of summer its fans will be legion and messianic in its cause. Nothing on telly is going to be this good for some time to come.