I think i've watched this series too many times....has anyone noticed the huge quantities of 'mirroring' between the characters, language and situation. I think it's one of the things that in a subtle way makes it resonate with us all. It's like an unwritten code...
There are so many instances it's hard to pick up on them all, but things that spring to mind are:
- smurf/md/cj - asking each other at various times - are you ok?
- Cj writing on molly's arm - sam writing on cj's arm
- Bashira - molly describes her as being surrounded by soldiers (ep 2 i think) but smurf interprets this as his mother surrounded by soldiers
- Ditto moments, obviously
there are loads more...see what we can dig out together!..too tired now!
In fact thinking about it, Tony Grounds both mirrors and joins together characters using similarities (i.e. how well and easily Smurf fits into Molly's family unit...And also seeks to show the differences between the characters and there upbringing...think how CJ would jar in this world...and Molly in his..
Molly is interesting in that she is not really try to move up the social ladder, but can and is, because she is a good student. She takes on board what people say and uses it - so from the outset when the 'major who deploys her to Afghan tells her to make an good impression, she then tries to do just that - reminding smurf when he's teasing her about their past (ep1).
She becomes conscious of her changing nature in ep3 when she goes home and explains to her mum how she's found someone who she can relate to, that he's someone she never imagined she would have anything in common with. Similarly, when she's speaking to her dad (same ep) she talks about being pulled up to the next level, this CJ too and also the army life that he represents. But it is also borne out also her growing self esteem and confidence - helped along by both CJ's and Smurf's belief in her.