Pros Ep Meme: The Ojuka Situation

[przed]

veronicaluv assigned me The Ojuka Situation. The episode is a personal favourite and I've no doubt seen it way too many times, so it was a special pleasure to do a commentary for it. And even after all this time, there were a few things I picked up on that I hadn't noticed before.


Doyle gives Bodie a look when Madame Ojuka is tweaking Cowley. Just one of many lovely shared looks in this episode. And can I just say that goofy though it is, I sort of love Bodie in the parka.


I love how they stand together, shoulder to shoulder, upon first meeting Ojuka. They're not looking at each other (yet) but their awareness of each other is tangible.


Doyle talking with Madame Ojuka. I love how he looks here. (Well, in the whole ep, really.) You can see a bit of the greying in his temples, his mouth is as fine as it gets and I have to admit to a bit of a fetish for his eyebrows. Yeah, that's right, his eyebrows. They're perfectly defined and incredibly expressive.


Bodie mulls over the "priapismic monster" comment, poor lad…


And Doyle is far too pleased with himself for making it.


Bodie just after Doyle's saved his bacon. I am rather fond of Bodie in gobsmacked mode. I can't help it.


And Doyle with his weapon still raised. I love this bit, the matter of fact way they approach how close death has just passed to them. (Bodie's simple "I reckon I owe you one"; the way Doyle's shoulders finally relax when he drops the gun.) And the looks between them are perfect. Oh, and then there's the fact that I have a serious kink for competence and I love the competence they both display with weapons here. Someone did a bang up job training Martin and Lew to look like they could shoot properly.


In the wake of cracking up the car, Doyle tweaks Bodie about losing his "insurance credibility." I just adore the look on Bodie's face, all upset and boyish.


Doyle comes up with the "Mr. Guppy story. Bodie just barely manages to cover his amusement. Makes you wonder how often they come up with outrageous cover stories just to crack each other up.


The clerk asks if they don't mind sharing a bath. Clearly Bodie doesn't. Check out the cheeky look on 'im.


Murphy! I have a not so secret soft spot for Murphy, and this is the episode responsible for it. Here he's interrogating the police officer and pathologist about the bodies our lads have left in the woods. He gets the maximum information out of them without telling them a damn thing, but he manages to be reasonably charming about it, and that's what I love about him. He doesn't go in ham-handed like some CI5 agents I could name, but handles things a bit more diplomatically. (In my private universe, it's Murphy who succeeds Cowley as controller of CI5.)


Murphy calms the fruit machine traveller down through relaxed application of blackmail. This is my absolute favourite Murphy scene. He doesn't threaten the bloke with physical violence (compare what Bodie and Doyle do with the cat burglar in Killer with a Long Arm) just with death by bureaucracy. Genius.


Bodie and Doyle have the "angelfish" conversation beloved of fans everywhere. But what I almost love more is Bodie's boyish glee over getting the scrambler to work and that "Good, innit?" he directs at Doyle.


Cowley tells Bodie that "John Avery at the home office has more interest in African finance that you have in air hostesses." Bodie looks miffed.


"Looks like you're guarding the tank on your own, Angelfish." Bodie looks so miserable to be leaving Doyle on his own. Awww.


Doyle plays cards with Ojuka. Doyle looks very fine here. (Pauses to admire those eyes, those lips…)


And Ojuka looks oh so pleased with himself. This is as good a time as any to point to another thing I enjoy about this episode: Clarke Peters as Ojuka. He's utterly perfect in the role, conveying an complete confidence that somehow manages to avoid coming across as arrogance. (Clarke Peters continues to impress me. He's nothing short of awesome in The Wire.)


Doyle opens the hotel door to Madame Ojuka very carefully. My competence kink comes into action here. Doyle looks so delicious holding that gun.


But he's not careful enough, and Avery's thugs get the drop on him. And he looks seriously pissed off about it.


Bodie on stakeout, "alone and palely loitering." Bodie's insolence in answering Cowley's call, with Keats yet, is a thing of beauty.


Doyle is manhandled out of the hotel, and h/c fans everywhere sigh. (That would include me, in case you weren't quite sure.)


Charles Dance, as the South African baddie Parker, smacks Doyle around. And Doyle goes all nice and snarly. Doyle's temper is just one of the things I love about him, especially when he's not smart about when he lets it flare.


Cowley tells Bodie that "we'll have no heroics on Doyle's behalf." Of course, we all know that Bodie's not going to let that stop him from rescuing Doyle, don't we. Just look at that thin-lipped expression.


Parker punches Doyle, and Doyle suffers beautifully. (Okay, is it bad that I'm admitting that out loud?)


And let's have a close-up of that suffering, shall we? (Do I have to point out what this could look like? No? I thought not.)


Bodie has already disobeyed Cowley's orders and gotten closer to Avery's house, and now he's waiting to move in like the hard man he is. I think what I like best about him here is the sense of leashed menace he exudes. Especially since we all know that it's Doyle he's concerned about.


Doyle takes his rescue into his own hands and burns the ropes holding him. And his wrists in the bargain. I may be a h/c fan, but I also like it when the bloke getting beaten up can look after himself, and Doyle can certainly do that.


"Bring him out, you bastards, bring him out." Bodie's menace has completely slipped the leash here, and it's a wonder to behold. I adore it when he acts all concerned about Doyle, and this is certainly a prime episode for that.


Parker comes in to kill Doyle, not realizing that Doyle has just freed himself. I love this shot, you can see Doyle calculating how he can take out Parker and realizing that he only has one chance to do it.


Doyle successfully takes out Parker, and isn't above gloating about it. For all Doyle's vaunted conscience, he's certainly not above surrendering to the violence within him, and that makes him ever so much more fascinating.


Doyle joins the fray. Have I mentioned how good he looks holding a gun?


Cowley gives Bodie a bollocking for disobeying orders. Bodie is unrepentant, and makes it clear that it was Doyle he was concerned about, not Ojuka. How can you be a Pros slash fan and not absolutely love this moment.


The battle over, Doyle allows himself an artistic little wince.


And Bodie is so buoyantly happy that Doyle's safe. Awww.


Bodie commiserates with Doyle over the burnt wrists. My only complaint, as with so many Pros episodes, is that there isn't nearly enough of the two of them dealing with the aftermath of what's happened to them.


Mind you, Doyle's final line is certainly interesting: "[Ojuka] wants to be careful who he gets tied up with in future." The line itself isn't anything special, but Doyle follows it up by giving Bodie a knowing little grin. Which is perfect, because we all know who Doyle's tied up with, don't we? Alas, the grin really only gets started on the fade out, so this capture isn't the best.

Comments

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

as what the gal on the hotel desk actually says
Lol - (and sarky! *g*) of course you're right, I was completely translating it to something else myself - because I'd just been reading something else *headdesk*! That'll teach me to comment without going away and re-watching lovely eps myself... And to comment on things requiring memory and the use of my brain first thing in the morning...

LC's shooting awards were from when he was a kid - I think about 12 years old? There's a picture of him at the time around somewhere... probably at OpLewC, but maybe at CI5Addict as well?

ETA - And ooh look, editable!

[przed.livejournal.com]

The thought of them sharing a bath, not a bathroom, gave me a few lovely mental images yesterday, I can tell you. (Mmmmm.)

Lew was shooting when he was 12? Wow, that I'd love to see a picture of that. The Mojos pic that just got posted was inspiring enough. I've been writing The Story That Wouldn't End (TM) following Bodie and Doyle from their teens to CI5 and it's nice to have an actual pic of what a youthful LC looked like.

Editable, yay!