Line #9 Series/TheLittleDrummerGirl


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81rkzjagphl_ri.jpg]]
2	->"''If I'm going to do this, I have to know what it is I am going to do.''"
3	-->-- '''Charlie'''
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5	Based on Creator/JohnLeCarre's 1983 novel of the same name, ''The Little Drummer Girl'' is a 2018 six-part crime drama Creator/{{BBC}} [[MiniSeries mini-series]] directed by Creator/ParkChanWook, which stars Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard, Creator/MichaelShannon and Creator/FlorencePugh. Set in 1979, it follows [[TheLadette Charmian "Charlie" Ross]] (Pugh), an English actress on the political left, who is tapped by UsefulNotes/{{Mossad}} agent [[BunnyEarsLawyer Martin Kurtz]] and his fellow BadassIsraeli agents as a potential DoubleAgent in a Palestinian terrorist cell which targets Israelis in Europe. Under the tutelage of SexyMentor Gadi (Skarsgard), Charlie slowly loses touch with what is true and what is fiction.
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7	This is the second media adaptation of le Carré's novel, which was previously filmed by Creator/GeorgeRoyHill in 1984 in a same-titled adaptation with Creator/DianeKeaton and Creator/KlausKinski.
8	-----
9	!! Tropes found in this series include:
10	%%* AffablyEvil: The siblings Salim, Khalil and Fatmeh.
11	* ArchEnemy: Khalil and Kurtz - even though they have never actually met. Each one sees the other as an almost mythic figure.
12	* AvengersAssemble: Kurtz assembles a team in this fashion.
13	* BewareTheQuietOnes: True of both Khalil and Gadi - who are evidently not that different. Both are very quiet, secretive men who are capable of violence and war.
14	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The mission has mostly succeeded and many lives were saved. However, many others have died - especially in the refugee camp, and Charlie is clearly deeply scarred]].
15	* ByronicHero: Gadi Becker. If you turn the story around, you could say that Khalil qualifies as well.
16	* TheChessmaster: Kurtz and Khalil - both also have a vein of TheSvengali.
17	%%* ChekhovsGun:
18	%%** Charlie's bracelet.
19	%%** Also, her little radio.
20	%%* CommandRoster: Kurtz's team.
21	%%** TheCaptain: Kurtz.
22	%%** TheLancer: Gadi.
23	%%** HoneyTrap: Charlie.
24	%%** NumberTwo: Shimon.
25	%%** MrFixit: Shvilli the forger.
26	%%** [[CaperCrew The Fixer]]: [[ReluctantRetiree Mrs. Bach]]
27	%%** MissionControl: Daniel.
28	%%** [[CaperCrew The Roper]]: Rose and Rachel.
29	* CodenameTitle: Also a ProtagonistTitle for the young woman who assists a spy agency.
30	* CoolOldLady: Miss Bach has NervesOfSteel and [[Film/{{Taken}} a very particular set of skills]].
31	* ConsummateLiar: Charlie. She's the type, and the Israelis find this great for a spy.
32	* TheCorrupter: Salim is known for persuading impressionable Western women to assist his terror attacks.
33	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Basically everyone (most notably Holocaust survivor Kurtz)- except for Charlie. So she makes one up.
34	* DoNotCallMePaul: In order to establish the fiction, Gadi doesn't allow Charlie to call him by any name other than Michel until the end of the mission. Charlie herself only uses this, never her full name Charmian.
35	* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Khalil first appears posing as one of the drill instructors at the Palestinian "boot camp". In fact, he's the one who demands to know who taught Charlie to shoot one-handed, when he himself taught Salim to shoot that way, and in turn Gadi as "Salim" taught her.]]
36	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In her audition, Charlie proves to be short-tempered, a bit of a pathological liar and as having a strong sense of justice.
37	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
38	%%** The entire Al-Khadar family.
39	** The crazy American recruit in the training camp is quite sadistic, but he clearly loves his mother deeply.
40	* TheFundamentalist: Sooo many, but interestingly enough, the Western accomplices of the Palestinian militants are portrayed as more fundamentalist than the Palestinians themselves (most notably Anna Witgen).
41	* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: After Khalil is killed in the final episode, Charlie can barely bring herself to speak and has to be walked out of the house by Rachel]].
42	* HoneyTrap: In the finale, Charlie acts as one, seducing [[spoiler:Khalil]] so he'll stay long enough to get taken down by the Mossad.
43	* IcyBlueEyes: [[spoiler:Khalil]] is revealed as having startlingly pale blue eyes, keeping with his calm, collected personality.
44	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: How Gadi justifies most of the violent acts he had committed in the past, and this state of mind continues to guide Kurtz.
45	* ItWasAGift: Charlie's bracelet, which Gadi gave her (which is pretended to be from Salim as part of her cover).
46	* TheLadette: Charlie has a {{tomboyish name}} to start with (it's a nickname for Charmian), she's brash, very plain spoken, a hard drinker, chain smoker and fairly masculine in a lot of her looks/attitude. She's also unabashedly sexual, and has had sex with a lot of men. However she has a gentler side, and is deeply affected due to her spy work (of course, that would wear on most people).
47	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: The Israelis make [[spoiler:Salim and Anna]] look like they died due to a car accident.
48	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Twice - first with Gadi when he realizes Charlie has been taken by the cell members, then with Charlie when Khalil realizes she is a DoubleAgent.]]
49	* NoSenseOfHumor: The entire crew of agents is not exactly chipper, but [[ConsummateProfessional Shimon]] doesn't smile or joke ''once'' in six episodes.
50	* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: In the book, when Charlie stays some time in a Palestinian refugee camp as part of her cover, planes buzz the camp but do not destroy it. One of the women there says that Charlie must be their good luck charm. Unbeknownst to her, Charlie actually ''is'' the reason the planes don't destroy the camp, which just makes her feel even worse about having lied to the refugees for weeks.
51	* OhCrap: When Charlie sees the planes flying towards the camp.
52	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: The main character is called Charlie almost all of the time, not Charmian.
53	* PrefersGoingBarefoot: Charlie is a bit of a holdover from the Main/TheSixties [[GranolaGirl flower child]] niche, and still carries some of that British hippie style with her well into the 70's, including a clear and present preference for walking barefoot. While not always, she still goes without shoes in several instances. In one scene, she visibly removes her shoes (should be pointed out they weren't high heels, but just regular flat shoes) before proceeding to hitchhike a ''paved'' mountainous road for roughly half a day. A feat, which should be noted, requires some legitimately calloused feet. [[AgonyOfTheFeet Otherwise, pavement hurts like hell, especially in the middle of a hot day.]]
54	* PrettyLittleHeadshots: [[spoiler:Khalil]] and most of his associates are killed by headshots that leave relatively little blood behind, and no brain matter.
55	* RetiredBadass: Gadi's name is so well known that even [[TheStoic Shimon]] is excited to meet him.
56	* SpyFiction: A little less stale beer flavored than in La Carré's other work.
57	* TheSeventies: The series revels in the time period.
58	* ThreewaySex: Helga invites Charlie for a threesome with her boyfriend the night before the mission, but Charlie declines.

Context Series / TheLittleDrummerGirl