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The Undeclared War - for those who have watched all episodes [SPOILERS]

26 replies

cakeorwine · 02/07/2022 16:17

Enjoyed it. It felt very real when it comes to the world we live in nowadays. Deep fakes, manipulation of events, twitter bots, developing Facebook groups for both sides just to stir things up.

You do wonder how much 'is real' nowadays and how much is someone behind the scenes attempting to disrupt and manipulate us. It's easy to do. People are prone to engage with people who think like them, to react in certain ways, to spread viral news without double checking and you can see how - with social media - and a global audience, things can escalate.

The voting bit was interesting - imagine turning up with a polling card and being turned away. And manipulating the exit poll so people think that the vote has been manipulated.

Wasn't sure that the CCTV could have been hacked at GCHQ. But who knows...

I thought the Morse Code near the start could have been a clue for something later.

OP posts:
billydilly · 03/07/2022 16:41

Just finished it; excellent, as you'd expect from Kosminsky. Great leads and I felt a real sense of peril for the young Russian. Poor reviews from the press which I really can't fathom?

florentina1 · 03/07/2022 20:16

Did anyone find the ending odd . Seemed to finish mid way

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cakeorwine · 03/07/2022 20:24

florentina1 · 03/07/2022 20:16

Did anyone find the ending odd . Seemed to finish mid way

I suppose it's either a set up for Season 2 - or just to make people think about what could happen next.

Did the FSB data dump help?

I felt the Vadim when he was talking to GCHQ and translating and they left to watch another screen whilst he was still translating.

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Netaporter · 03/07/2022 23:24

Loved it all but felt the end was a bit like the end to a GCSE English Language 12 mark question 😂

If this was written some time ago and not in the last 4 months it really had the touch of the Nostradamus about it. Very believable plot lines. 👏👏👏

Hippopotas · 03/07/2022 23:27

it was ok. Weird ending that seemed unfinished though and I couldn’t stand the main character she had a major attitude problem.

MumsTheWordYouKnow · 06/07/2022 18:31

That was her character. She had a lot going on. Her father died and she had no one to lean on. She didn’t have an ‘attitude’.

Lolabalola · 12/07/2022 20:11

Just looked this up on here to see if anyone else struggled with the ending.
We watched the last episode last night , didn't realise it was the last episode and just tried to watch the last episode again, even fast forwarding to the end to make sure we hadn't accidentally turned it off early 🤣

thecatsthecats · 13/07/2022 10:16

Netaporter · 03/07/2022 23:24

Loved it all but felt the end was a bit like the end to a GCSE English Language 12 mark question 😂

If this was written some time ago and not in the last 4 months it really had the touch of the Nostradamus about it. Very believable plot lines. 👏👏👏

I write, and I did a history degree. My books, written in 2016, include a plague, financial measures to assist, a young politician who rises to prominence during the pandemic, a subsequent war and global wheat supply chain issues, and a fire that kills lots of people due to inadequate safety precautions.

I'd like to claim prophetic powers, but really, there's nothing new under the sun.

As an amateur data nerd, I have to give special props to the fact that two relative noobs spot the data leak. I have been in exactly those circumstances in a tech firm, and it actually had a grounding in science. Once you have a degree of expertise in an area, your brain is predisposed to use shortcuts. A newbie uses slower but surer brain processes, and is more likely to ask "stupid" questions.

(in my case my warnings were ignored, and dodgy Russian code took down our systems!)

EcoEcoIA · 13/07/2022 10:38

I enjoyed it. The social media manipulation and stolen election aspect seemed quite realistic. The security services operation and a newbie being able to attend a COBR meeting seemed a bit far-fetched. I'd imagine the security services are highly stratified and hierarchical with information being on a "need to know" basis.

thequeenoftheandals · 14/07/2022 19:13

Epi 5 in and the actress/character is beginning to grate on me. She’s distinctly irritating, anyone else agree?

user1471556818 · 14/07/2022 19:28

I really enjoyed it ,binged it all and found it scarily plausible

Alconleigh · 19/07/2022 16:47

The end was very odd. Felt truncated. And the actor playing the main character was very wooden; she seemed to be doing Joey Tribbiani 'smell the fart' acting a lot of the time. Bit of a waste of some big talents. Adrian Lester particularly was barely two dimensional.

orangeisthenewpuce · 21/07/2022 15:51

I didn't understand the end. Maybe I need to watch it again. Really enjoyed it though.

lightisnotwhite · 24/07/2022 06:46

Netaporter · 03/07/2022 23:24

Loved it all but felt the end was a bit like the end to a GCSE English Language 12 mark question 😂

If this was written some time ago and not in the last 4 months it really had the touch of the Nostradamus about it. Very believable plot lines. 👏👏👏

My DH was working on the set for this. It was filmed last summer so must have been written before that. Strangely prophetic….

FlippinOmicron · 29/07/2022 19:58

@lightisnotwhite "......strangely prophetic."

I have only watched 4 episodes. But it certainly is prophetic and very scary because of it.

Davros · 01/08/2022 10:37

Lolabalola · 12/07/2022 20:11

Just looked this up on here to see if anyone else struggled with the ending.
We watched the last episode last night , didn't realise it was the last episode and just tried to watch the last episode again, even fast forwarding to the end to make sure we hadn't accidentally turned it off early 🤣

I did exactly this! I came here to look for a thread to see if I'd missed something. It felt like a highly funded episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures

Laska2Meryls · 01/08/2022 10:45

I liked it.. and I don't think that you could have got a realistic ' we sorted it' ending . And also I think in lots of ways its better when things are left up in the air..But the ' now we are back in the hame' data dump line.was good
We dont know what happened to Vadim ( but we never would irl, but it was his 'friend' who he'd sort of discussed things with who found him, so who knows.. ?
I thought that the PM character was good and the defence secretary actor was truly brilliant, and so convincing! He made me feel quite scared given the lot we have in charge right now..
. ..

orangeisthenewpuce · 05/08/2022 08:46

I'd like it if there was another series

FlippinOmicron · 05/08/2022 09:48

One of the government ministers was rather dishy. It may have been the Foreign Secretary. Very dark haired and not a very nice character. Who is he, does anyone know ?

swimlyn · 05/08/2022 17:43

I felt that this was one of the best dramas I’ve seen for a very long time. The mix of tech and politics was brilliant. The ignorant politicos making their stupid decisions against all logic was spot on.

The portrayal of the Russians being many many steps ahead in the thought processes was also good. That’s precisely how you manipulate weak thinkers.

Eventually leaving the UK so isolated was very clever work. (Brexit anyone?)

As for the ending, Vadim’s exposé (live translation) of the historic Russian plot was perfect to get GCHQ’s interest, and I’m sure that the depiction of the FSB ‘dirty tricks’ downloads was to show that the special relationship with the USA could easily be restored.

Whether you like it or not, it seems fairly common now for dramas to have a loose ending, such that another series might be on the cards.

Turtleoo · 08/08/2022 19:22

I'm a bit late to finish this, but I watched it because of the advert on Facebook that had the PM and Pegg telling the country to lock down and they would have food delivered, and I waited the whole series and it never even got to that stage. Huh? Did anyone else see that advert?

Davros · 08/08/2022 23:47

FlippinOmicron · 05/08/2022 09:48

One of the government ministers was rather dishy. It may have been the Foreign Secretary. Very dark haired and not a very nice character. Who is he, does anyone know ?

Ed Stoppard, son of Tom & Miriam Stoppard I think

FlippinOmicron · 09/08/2022 10:06

Thank you @Davros Flowers
Yes that was who I was thinking of.

Davros · 09/08/2022 10:27

👍

Strangerthanever · 14/08/2022 22:29

Also looked this up to see other people's opinions of the ending. I wanted more and wondered if I missed some wrapping up.
Seem to be in a minority as I liked the main character, I think she was supposed to be a slightly socially awkward, worried, nerdy type which came across well, I didn't see her as being wooden.
The storyline was worryingly topical, I've always had a fear about not knowing what is true and if our lives are a lie.