History Series / LondonSpy

* WasItAllALie?: WordOfGod says this is the central question of the plot. Its not really about who killed Alex or why, but more about Danny figuring out of Alex really did love him, or if their relationship was nothing more than a cover story. [[spoiler: It was real, and one of the reasons Alex died is because he would not stop seeing Danny]].

* TheMacguffin: Most of the shadowy spy characters are torturing Danny to get to the USB with Alex’s work on it that Alex conviniently left in a place only Danny would look.

* NoOver50IsGay: Averted. Scottie is played by 67 year old Jim Broadbent, and is very candid when talking with Danny about his expiriences being gay in the 70’s and 80’s, specifically his lover dying of AIDs, and him being the victim of a gay witchhunt in the SIS.

* StuffedIntoAFridge: Alex is killed this way, by being stuffed into a vintage trunk suitcase. We are treated not only to the image of his dead face pearing out of the gap between the lid, but also numerous flashbacks of his last moments, struggling to get out while slowly asphyxiating.

The first episode explores the beginning of their love story. Danny is a down on his luck club kid, working a dead end job, spending his nights in a haze of drugs and drinking. While stumbling home one night he has a run in with a jogger, who sees he is in distress and lends him is water bottle, before jogging away again. Enamoured with him, Danny returns to bridge the next few nights, intent on returning the bottle. He eventually finds the jogger again, who introduces himself as ‘Joe’. The pair connect, and start dating. As the episode progresses, We see them fall in love over the course of a few months. Joe eventually reveals his name is really Alex, and that he works at a bank, and that his parents are dead. He is often reserved, very lonely, evasive about his job, and clearly a genius.

* TheSpartanWay: Implied to be the way Alex was raised.

** HappilyAdopted: Averted hardcore. [[spoiler: Frances forcably adopted Alex when he was a yound boy after realising he was a genius, believing she could raise him to be the perfect spy. She eventually grew to love him, but it turns out he always resented her for the way he treated him and his real parents.]]

''London Spy'' was a short lived 2016 [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] series, starring Creator/BenWhishaw. Set in modern day London, London Spy follows the story of a young man named Danny Holt, played by Winshaw, as he is dragged into a world of spys and danger while seeking answers about what happened to his murdered lover, possible intelligence Alex.

The first episode explores the beginning of their love story. Danny is a down on his luck club kid, working a dead end job, spending his nights in a hazeof drugs and drinking. While stumbling home one night he has a run in with a jogger, who sees he is in distress and lends him is water bottle, before jogging away again. Enamoured with him, Danny returns to bridge the next few nights, intent on returning the bottle. He eventually finds the jogger again, and introduces himself. The jogger, though reserved and wary, introduces himself as ‘Joe’, and the pair connect, and start dating. As the episode progresses, We see them fall in love over the course of a few months. Joe eventually reveals his name is really Alex, and that he works at a bank, and that his parents are dead. He is often reserved, very lonely, evasive about his job, and clearly a genius.

Near the end of the episode, the pair decide to go on holiday together. Alex tells Danny he has to buy a laptop battery before they leave, but when Danny goes to meet up at Alex’s flat later, he gets no answer. For the next few days he is unable to contact Alex, no matter what he does, until finally one night he is mysteriously lead via his handset to a package in the warehouse he work at. Inside there is a key to Alex’s flat.

Danny visit’s the flat, and discouvers a hidden S&M dungeon upstairs, and inside the hidden attic, Alex’s dead body locked in a trunk. He is arrested by the police, who inform him that his DNA was all over the scene, and furthurmore that the man he knows as Alex, is actually Alistair, that he does not work at a bank, and that his parents are in fact alive.

Over the course of the next few episode Danny must unlock what Alex was working on that got him killed, find out who killed him and why, deal with Alexs deceitful and manipulative mother, evade the Security Services efforts to completely wreck his life, and most importantly decide whether or not Alex ever really loved him, or if it was all a lie.

** Alex’s death is also supposed to look like a BDSM scene gone wrong.

* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Most of the series revolves around various people attempting to slander Alex in some way.

* ShrinkingViolet: Alex is so shy and awkward around people that its painful to watch.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Many reviewers pointed out the similarities between fictional spy and genius mathematician Alex’s dead, and the real world case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gareth_Williams Gareth Williams]], MI6 employee and mathematical genius discouvered dead in his own gym bag in 2010.

* StarStuddedCast: Of the English variety, this small miniseries cast includes Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, and Creator/MarkGatiss

** The pill that Danny finds in the sweet given to him by the American Spy turns out to be HIV medication, prompting him to go get tested, where he finds out that he has been infected with HIV.

‘’London Spy’’ was a short lived 2016 BBC series, starring BenWinshaw. Set in modern day London, London Spy follows the story of a young man named Danny Holt, played by Winshaw, as he is dragged into a world of spys and danger while seeking answers about what happened to his murdered lover, possible intelligence Alex.

Over the course of the next few episode Danny must unlock what Alex was working on that got him killed, find out who killed him and why, deal with Alexs deceitful and manipulative mother, evade the Security Services efforts to completely wreck his life, and most importantly decide whether or not Alex ever really loved him, or if it was all a lie.

The first episode explores the beginning of their love story. Danny is a down on his luck club kid, working a dead end job, spending his nights in a downward spiral of drugs and drinking. While stumbling home one night he has a run in with a jogger, who sees he is in distress and lends him is waterbottle before jogging away again. Enamoured with him, Danny returns to bridge the next few nights, intent on returning the bottle. He eventually find the jogger again, and introduces himself. The jogger identifies himself as ‘Joe’, and the pair connect, and start dating. Over the course of the rest of the episode, we see them fall in love over the course of a few months. Joe eventually reveals his name is really Alex, and that he works at a bank. He is often reserved, very lonely, evasive about his job, and very clearly smart.

Danny visit’s the flat, and discouvers a hidden room upstair, and inside the hidden attic room, Alex’s dead body locked in a trunk.