User Reviews

With the addition of the Free French the force is growing. With Randolph Churchill's glowing report of the Benghazi raid the reputation of L detachment is growing.

David is back in Cairo, suffering from ulcers caused by being too long in the desert, small wounds becoming infected. Walking painfully in formal evening wear he is introduced to the Prime Minister, is tasked with doing anything he wishes to reduce losses on two vital convoys for Malta and uses Churchill's and Auchinlek's signatures to make himself a letter of authority that gives him free rein to commandeer anything he requires.

And then the action begins. Of the planned raids Paddy's is thwarted by the Axis troops being alerted by the premature French attack on the neighbouring airfield. It takes awhile but it seems as though he realises the wisdom of running away in order to fight another day, an action he declared himself unable to take earlier in the series. Paddy is beginning to be changed by his actions.

Another French party, pretending to be prisoners in a truck driven by two of the renegade Germans in the force are betrayed by one of them when there vehicle breaks down. The one who Paddy was suspicious of, the one that became mistrusted by others due to Paddy's strong dislike was as surprised as everyone else when his comrade sided with the Germans.

David tried a different tactic with his newly acquired jeeps with twin Vicjers armament - sometimes twins front and rear. Driving in echelon down the runway they shot indiscriminately at everything - unarmed troops were scythed down, parked aircraft were shot at(why weren't they dispersed like most operational airfields would do?) And, of course, as the rounds sparked on the engine cowlings each aircraft immediately exploded in a Hollywood-style orange ball of flame.

David, returned to base, felt sickened by the actions he had instigated - "but they were unarmed" - Paddy observed that their actions were becoming alike; David too is changed by his experiences.

Then the devastating news, delivered by a sober, for one, head of Intelligence in the Cairo nightclub; as David sits at a table hoping to meet his lover, who is not answering the phone, he is told that the aircraft she was travelling on has gone down in a sandstorm.

Had this been a fictional story rather than one based on fact he would have driven into the desert, found her, thirsty but alive, cradled her in his arms and driven into the desert sunset as the music swelled over the closing credits.

Reality ensued. He returned to the chaps, informed them that they were now officially a regiment and that their next task, now that the Americans had eventually entered the war, was to move westward through Egypt. His single jeep was ambushed by a well-prepared German force and he was captured.

Now the regiment was in the hands of the newly promoted madman, Paddy Mayne. This was the end of the beginning.

The second series is eagerly awaited.

The show is an interesting take on the historic military genre and it was interesting getting to know the origin of the SAS and it's founders.

The tone of the show was somewhat hit and miss but my biggest gripe is the directing of some major scenes throughout.

As an example, in this finale Stirling is captured in an ambush in a truly silly fashion would it have been real. The same goes for the death of Lewes in an earlier episode which just didn't make any sense from an in world perspective. A lot of people probably won't mind but for me, temporarily bending the rules of the world you've built to fit an idea, is a big no no.