So House of Saddam has finally drawn to a close. Episodes 1-3 had been sensational triumphs of the small screen and surely the season ender wouldn’t disappoint? Igal Naor’s portrayal of Saddam has been glorious thus far, but could he cut it as a man on the run with an empire in ruins after playing the ogre?

Once more the Radio Times got it wrong by stating that this show went out with a “whimper” rather than a bang. I have to wonder if they’d been watching the same show as me, mainly because I don’t remember any other whimpering show kicking off with 5 people having their brains blown out of their skulls within the first 38 seconds of broadcast.

The show hit hard and fast, before unravelling into a gloriously well paced and frantic scurry. The slow menace and opulence had gone from the previous programmes, and Saddam’s team spread themselves apart to remain more elusive. Throughout the scuttling under rocks and in ‘borrowed’ accommodation, each actor (each worthy of a million Bafta’s each) became more frantic and desperate as the power slipped from their hands. To reflect the tumultuous nature of the state, the score upped it’s game and became a sneaky star of the show… tense and exotic.

The whole feel of the closing show was that of decay. Where once it had lurked beneath dripping wealth and treachery, it now broke through the skin. During one scene, which saw Saddam writing a speech from his hideout shack in Tikrit, to “inspire his people to even greater sacrifice”, a neat little production trick saw Saddam’s paper crawling with ants. Of course, ants have been used in art for hundreds of years to signify decay, which set a marker in your head for the imminent onslaught.

Where most shows of this kind tend to stick to one viewpoint, House of Saddam managed to stay pretty much even handed with no-one really coming out of it scratch-free. Naturally, we know all about Saddam, but we also saw his family finally realising just how far his madness went with the unearthing of mass-graves.

Via this, we were shown that Saddam was brutal, yet, by the same token, the US Military and Western Media were equally bloodthirsty, captured in a quote from Saddam’s first wife… “they put my sons bodies on television and showed them to the world – why?”

The finally throes of the show saw the net closing in on Saddam and Igal Naor’s perfectly played the desperate, ragged Saddam. When the web finally tightened, the show flicked into the now familiar nightvision, so often used in modern war coverage. Through the green and black, the tension became almost too much to bear. Saddam’s capture was met with typical US Military gung-ho and… well… we all know about that don’t we?

The final scene, though predictable, was unavoidable. Saddam, cleaned up and shunted toward the gallows, the screen bolted black with the sound of the trap-door. The real-life version of events were far from satisfactory and will be debated for years to come… but this TV is unquestionable. Basically, what I’m telling you is that this has been one of the best things shown on the box for years. Gripping, incredibly acted and well worth a second viewing in its entirety. Here’s to hoping for a DVD release. Outstanding television.

Review of Episode One
Review of Episode Two
Review of Episode Three