They killed the Quatro

Categories: media

Date: 22 May 2010 05:58:34

If you are an Ashes to Ashes devotee who has not watched the final episode yet please do not read this post.

The debate has been growing for some time in our house was Gene Hunt a metaphor for God or something else and was Jim Keats the devil or another being? Well last night it was revealed and it appears that Third Party got it really well and Sam Woolaston who wrote this Guardian article did aswell, despite his protestations to the contary. Mind you with the amount of religious metaphor and myth being played about with you needed to have a half decent grasp of what they were illustrating to understand it. Therefore there may well have been a lot of younger people left thinking WTF which is effectively what Woolaston is asking in places, although his article shows he knows the answers.

Ok, turns out that "Fenchurch Street East" and the surrounding area were in fact purgatory. Gene Hunt had died in the 1950's, as a young policeman when he got his face blown off. He had then turned into an angel who had been given the task of trying to help police officers who were struggling with death, (not at peace), into heaven.

The St. Peter figure was a dreadlocked guy called Nelson and rather than holding the keys to the pearly gates he was holding the door open to The Railway Arms,as the Guardian writer rightly identifies.

As Hunt got closer to taking them all into heaven a demon called Jim Keats tried to lure them into hell, (and it was pretty clear he was a demon rather than the devil himself, hence the phone call to Dave - the actual devil or Hell's equivilent of Nelson) . Keats tried to decieve the people in purgatory into believing that if they followed them then their lives would be easier and their desires met. Yet, unlike Hunt, Keats was full of false hope and wrong intentions, (the temptation that is correctly identified within the Guardian article). To do this they had to turn their backs on Hunt and via this angel on God. Sometimes, though I think he got the person, Viv it seems went to hell, although this inference is implict through the fact Keats finally killed him. As for Luigi he either went to hell, which would again be implicitly be implied by him fulfilling his desires, although I actually hope that he was either (i) a more minor angel helping Hunt who was no longer needed or (ii) went off to Italian Restraunt owners heaven / purgatory.

Within this all Hunt was not luring in, they had to work through serious issues and difficulties in order to make peace with themselves and others to then enter heaven. Within this process even those who appeared most "sinful" and unlikely to enter heaven could still recieve redemption, although they would get nearer actually entering hell. Ray, a guy who had hanged himself after killing a guy in a police operation and then having it covered up and feeling he'd failed his father, being this character.

As the conclusion to this drama got nearer and those in purgatory got further away from earth they started seeing stars because they were going through the metaphorical experience of travelling to the next place. There sub-conscious got nearer to dealing with "the original incident", (which in the end was facilitated by Keates and some Betamax).

Drake was not dealing with the same issues around her death as the other three characters were. Her issue involved wanting to get back to her daughter who was left on earth. Therefore she was able to have a different relationship with everybody. Interestingly, she took "the place" more seriously as time went on. She was a good person who was able to help Hunt in leading the others to peace although finding it difficult to find peace herself.

As Hunt is an angel rather than a lost soul he couldn't go into heaven, he had been assigned a role. Therefore, he remained. To let him go into the pub would have required Christs second coming.....an event far to complex for the writers to even start grapling with.  So for the foreseeable future, he has souls in the future who he will wrestle with Keats over. The inference within all this is also that Keats hates Hunt not only because he helps others into heaven but because he obviously made peace with his own death well enough to have been made an angel and help others, although it was painful for him to talk about it still.

This means that this really is the end....but the door has been left open a crack by the entry of the new arrival, (as Third Party identified just like Gavin and Stacey really). However, what I think would work better if they do ever decide to revive it would be a prequal.

Whatever, for the soundtrack, and script this was the best drama going for a few years. Loved it, will miss it!