Ashes to Ashes: The finale

[KayHarker]

Mark your places ladies, for the final leg of the journey!

Worked out why Alex couldn't stay with Gene!

High Noon (Just had to Wiki it)

At the end of High Noon Grace Kelly goes against her religious up bringing and kills to save her husband, they then walk off into the sun set together.

Gene wants to protect Alex from Keats and is afraid if she stays she will do something terrible and Alex will end up going down in that lift, because as Gene says (when talking about his own death) "It isn't High Noon", i.e. if she did something bad she wouldn't get to walk off into the sunset with him....

Or I could just really need to go to sleep now and stop thinking about this

Ah - I think I've worked out how Annie got to the Railway Arms - well, sort of. In LoM didn't Sam witness a family wedding and see his young self running into the woods (or was he sitting on the doorstep of the reception venue?)? There he saw Annie with his father. At the time I thought Sam had prevented her death and that's why he went back, but now I wonder if what he did was inadvertently stop her from witnessing her own death (at the hands of Sam's father). So that way Annie could carry on in police-limbo, Sam could marry her, but then they both somehow realised that they were dead (maybe Annie before Sam) and that's when they went to the Railway Arms. I still don't get how Gene helped them, but didn't realise his own role in it all...or did he, but not fully?

I don't think that made a word of sense!

Anniek you are an absolute genius! Seriously impressive detective work there. I have just read the interview with Matthew Graham on the Guardian website, really interesting.
Time for bed now dreaming of the Gene Genie nonetheless...

I am utterly bereft.

I'm off to watch it again

'Do I mean nothing to you Gene?'

{hmm} and slightly pissed trying to catch up and failing miserab;y

DH in doghouse as forgor to record it {angry} and [drunk]

Good theories there Ruby and AnnieK

Right, I really need more sleep but can't stop thinking about this

Not sure what Annie did to end in in Gene's world, but think Sam was about leaving his partner in trouble.

Episode 1 LOM, he dumps Maya and is not willing to listen to her or her theory of who their killer is, so she goes off on her own and gets kidnapped / killed!

Last episode LOM, when Annie (and the others) need him to work with them, he runs off and goes back to 2006, but then choses to go back and save them, and he is therefore redeemed

So the writers really did have this as their background story all the way along! Genius

The more I think about Alex, the more I'm convinced Gene gave her up for her own good In the Litton episode, when the bad guy at the beginning is running away, Alex is pointing her gun and Gene says something like "going to shoot him? No, thought not" and then they both get in the car to run him over. Implying Alex doesn't shot people.

Then in this episode once Alex knows its Gene's world and they are on the air strip, she does shot her gun at the bad guys
I think this means Gene knows she is at risk, and he needs to make sure she goes to heaven before she is at risk from Keats.
Although the romantic in me does wish they had made it clearer that Gene was committing the ultimate act of love "if you love her enough Gene give her up to keep her safe / ensure she has a good eternity".

Of course I could just be writing complete rubbish, but it is making me feel better about them not ending up together

DH keeps on asking how Gene knows what the 70s/80s are like if he died in 1953?!
Does reality bleed into this "dimension"?

Also does this mean that everyone, apart from the coppers, is a figment of Gene's imagination? It is funny how he always seems to know the individuals responsible for the crimes!

I'm starting to over think this!

Alex had to go because she knows the score and would want to help others too much without them realising it for themselves IYKWIM

Also Ray was wtching the 77 Jubiliee celebrations, his Dad is the one on the telly.

i really want to watch it again now. great, great episode. im so glad they didnt leave the reveal til the end.

Ive not read the whole thread so appologies if its already been asked-can anyone explain the clown?

clown? that was alex's dad from s1 iirc.

re the gene aging thing, i saw it as him becoming the policeman that he would have been.

i really want to watch it now

Couldn't get to sleep for ages last night - it was all swirling around in my head!

My eldest missed it last night because he was at his dad's so I'm going to watch it on iplayer with him later - just to keep him company you understand!

So, did Sam really go back to 2006 and really jump off a building?

He must have surely because Alex was his psychiatrist after he woke from the coma and before he killed himself.

DId anyone else have wierd dreams involving alternate versions/explanations last night?

I thought it was a superb ending that explained everything really well. I was actually quite nervouse because I have enjoyed each series and would have been dissapointed with a half-baked ending.

Didn't expect it and loved it!

That was one of the best tv endings I have ever seen.
I had an inkling that there was some kind of angel/devil thing going on when Keats arrived but didn't think about it further.

An old cynic like me who is left cold by John Lewis ad found the finale very moving, scary (the "lift" scene and its understated but clear menace) and satisfying as in it answered the puzzle fully.

I have to disagree and say that there was no way Drake could have stayed with Gene Hunt- he had to be left alone as the sad but essentially good character helping others along to heaven. The ending just had to be bittersweet.

MrsSaxon I understand it to be that Sam drifted between life and death whilst in his coma, hence why he was able to go back to 2006 and then kill himself.

I don't think Alex actually woke up from her coma. She died in hospital at 9.06 so she can't have woken up.

Am so sad it has finished and that Alex didnt get home to Molly..... I loved the bit with "Im arresting you for killing my car you dyke digging toss pot!!" Am gonna miss you Gene Hunt!!

Fab ending. I suspect that Gene has been "reset" (for want of a better term) and now possibly has forgotten again that he is dead (the moment when we saw his younger self reflected in the glass at the end). He obviously on some level knew all along, and he has now put it to the back of his mind so he can help the new bloke.

This could be what happened with Sam. Every so often he remembers (when he gets too close to his charges), helps them, and then "resets", convincing himself that they just left, or died.

Have woken up this morning unable to stop thinking about it. Want to watch it again, but DD is watching Big Barn sodding Farm.

Glenister HAS to win some sort of award for his acting in this series. And although I am obviously biased by finding him unbelievably attractive, I really do mean for his acting. It was amazing.

Might do some sort of s3 marathon after Dorothy tonight...

i just enjoyed last night sooooo much!

i felt quite satisfied that all ends were tied, but without a cop out at all....('scuse the pun!)

i really really loved it.

am going to continue watching lom and then rewatch a2a again.

not sure if it will be the same now we know what its all about....