Freedom In Amsterdam – The episode opens at a shipping dock. While being recorded, a boy climbs onto a shipping container. Looking at the camera, Casper Yuliani (Patrick Alley) says let’s get it done before climbing up several stacked containers. The next morning, Casper does parkour through the city. Milton Paul (Roger Jean Nsenglyumva) runs underneath an underpass. Sanne Van Arle (Rita Bernard-Shaw) asks Marian Segers (Simon Giel) if she is all right. Marian says no before complaining about Casper missing his own party. Sanne claims he was with Milton who is not answering his phone. Upon arriving, Casper assures Sanne that Milton will be along soon. As fans gather to give Casper a sendoff, Sanne demands he not return from Paris without the trophy.

Casper tells Marian that he had to take care of it before leaving. He says with Milton’s help, they are free. Sanne calls to ask if they have seen Milton when their van comes under gunfire. When Casper gets shot, the van veers out of control into a concrete structure. Sanne watches the incident from her phone. Standing up, Milton looks at his hand to see it is bleeding before running toward the van. Seeing Casper and Marian, he flees.

Piet Van Der Valk (Marc Warren) plays chess with Eddie Suleman (Azan Ahmed) when Lucienne Hassell (Maimie McCoy) approaches. Piet asks if he wants to call it a draw or congratulate him. Eddie reluctantly shakes his hand. Lucienne informs Piet of the shooting and collision at Kraaiennest. She adds Casper died at the scene while Marian suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He orders an officer at the hospital.

Sergeant Citra Li (Django Chan-Reeves) tells Piet and Lucienne that the scene is not covered by CCTV. Hendrik Davie (Darrell D’Silva) says Casper suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Approaching a crime scene marker, he collects a sample from a blood splatter. Lucienne suggests it was the assailant. Citra assures them that the shooting was not random when a frantic Sanne arrives asking about Marian and Casper.

Entering a junkyard, Milton appears to be placing a new SIM card in a new phone. At the hospital, Sanne claims Casper disappeared from the party but does not know where he went. An unfamiliar number appears on her phone. She answers to hear a frantic Milton warning that they need to leave. When she mentions being with the police, he urges her to not say anything. She tells Piet that the call was from a concerned friend. Inside, Doctor Lena Linderman (Loes Haverkort) explains Marian’s injuries to Piet. She says Marian was questioning why someone would shoot Casper. It is apparent Lena and Piet have a past.

Eddie suggests the assailant is linked to parkour. Lucienne tells Casper’s father, Greg Yuliani (Loek Peters) that he will need to identify his body. Greg tells them that Casper made it to the European finals and had a sponsorship deal. He describes Milton as Casper’s “rival” and “mate.” Eddie asks if they were in the same competition. Greg says Milton came in second place, eliminating him from the finals. Lucienne asks about Marian. He tells her that Marian dated Lenny Hoist (Thoren Ferguson) before Casper. He shows them a “Freerunner” magazine with Lenny on the cover.

Lenny watches Finn Jonker (Chiem Vreeken) trying to jump from one shipping container to another. He and Finn watch a video on his phone when Gert Hoist (Josh Bolt) informs them of Casper being murdered.

Eddie asks Lucienne if Milton would kill Casper because he lost the free-running competition. She says it is possible before handing the “Freerunner” magazine to Piet. She tells him that Lenny was Casper’s mentor and Marian’s boyfriend. Hendrik identifies the bullet from the crime scene as a “standard fare” fired from a handgun. He says the blood sample matched Milton. Lucienne questions why Milton was at the crime scene. Julia Dahlman (Emma Fielding) gives them Citra’s incident report.

Lenny describes Casper as a “good kid” who got caught up in the glamour. He tells him that Casper took the soul out of parkour. After asking why he is hanging around Finn, Piet questions if is training him to do break-ins. Finn boasts of his being a changed man. Lenny claims they are hired to break into businesses to test their security systems. Piet asks where he was this morning. Gert says the three of him were at home where he played “Mark of Cain 3” all night. Piet asks Lenny how he felt about Marian and Casper’s relationship. Lenny sarcastically says, “Easy come, easy go.” As they walk away, Piet notices Lenny’s bum leg. Lenny explains how the injury occurred before admitting to no longer doing parkour.

CCTV footage from the metro reveals a stressed Milton falling after hearing gunshots. Piet points out that Milton does not have a gun, so he is not the killer. At the hospital, Lena asks them to be easy with Marian. Reminding her that it is a murder investigation, Lucienne says they ask whatever is necessary. Marian tells Sanne that Casper’s death is her fault when the detectives approach. When Sanne leaves, Piet texts Eddie to pursue her. Marian denies knowing Milton was present when the crash occurred. Piet asks if Lenny was involved. Leah orders them to leave so she can rest.

Banden Hal Formula Wheels – Sanne meets up with Milton who warns that they are coming for them because of something they did. She suggests getting the police involved. He says they cannot because of Marian. Eddie tells Citra that they should go for it. Citra reminds him of Piet telling them to wait for him. When Milton and Sanne prepare to leave, Eddie approaches and identifies himself as the police. Milton and Sanne flee until Piet blocks them with his vehicle. Citra takes the blame to protect Eddie.

During the questioning, Milton tells Piet and Lucienne that wanted to tell Casper good luck and give him a cross necklace. Piet accuses him of lying. Milton and Sanne deny knowing anything about what happened. The detectives believe her, not him. He suggests keeping Milton before barging into the interview room. He convinces Sanne to tell him what Marian told her. She claims Marian blamed the incident on herself.

Citra weeps while watching Casper and Marian’s videos of them together. Eddie informs Piet that the murder weapon is a Colt 1911 handgun. He adds that the prepaid phone Milton utilized to call Sanne was activated today. Citra says Milton follows Casper on social media. Lucienne questions where his smartphone is at. Form sheets reveal Lenny is connected to people associated with drugs. Piet suggests Lenny is operating a “rehabilitation scheme.” A text – “I want you. I’m watching you” – pops up on Marian’s phone. Citra and Eddie rush to catch up with Piet to show them the text.

At the hospital, Lena tells Marian that her family called. After saying her family is not around, Marian becomes frantic and wants to leave. As Piet and Lucienne arrive, a bullet splatters the window. Piet rushes to get Lena to the floor while Lucienne pulls the privacy drape to block Marian from the shooter’s view. The detectives rush out of the room. Marian convinces Lena to leave her alone before removing her IV. In the outside perimeter, Citra discovers several bullet casings. The detectives return to Marian’s room to find it empty. Emerging from the hospital, Marian is hit on the head. Piet and Lucienne discuss the case while Lena treats her wound. After Piet leaves, Lena admits to still being single. Lucienne asks if her decision to not get married was related to Piet.

Marian is restrained in a chair with a sash covering her mouth muffling her screams. Eddie and Citra work on the case inside a restaurant. Elsewhere, Gert tells Piet that Lenny has treated him well. He claims his fear of heights prevents free jumping. Piet suggests Lenny struggled with his breakup with Marian. Gert reminds him of what Lenny said about it not bothering him. Gert assures him that Lenny would not kill Casper when Lenny and the others arrive. Lenny tells Piet that he had an appointment with Dr. Weiss. He asks if his attorney should be present. Upon leaving, Piet receives a call from Lucienne who informs him of the bullets at the hospital and metro station matching.

During the interrogation, Piet asks Milton what is in the shipping containers. Milton claims to have no idea what he is referring to. Piet warns that he will be behind bars if he is involved. Milton expresses fear for his and Marian’s lives if he tells them.

Marian is screaming when someone approaches and touches her face. When she demands the individual to get away from her, the individual throws her into a metal grate.

CCTV shows Lenny at the metro station close to the crash. Milton is running in his direction before stopping. Lenny backs up until he is concealed from the camera behind a billboard. In the same position, Piet pretends to fire a weapon into the traffic below. Milton runs away as Lenny reemerges. Later, Piet and Lucienne are staking out the shipping dock. He suspects Lenny is a “drug courier” with men who do his bidding. She questions why Lenny did not kill Casper if he wanted him dead. He assures her that Lenny could have finished Casper any time. Discussing Lena, Piet figures she never married. Lenny’s men arrive. The detectives watch as one of the men cuts a lock before entering a top shipping container. He tosses boxes down to the others. As they prepare to leave, Piet orders his team to move. The police move in to trap all of Lenny’s men except Finn. Piet and Lucienne trap him with nowhere to go.

Elsewhere, Lenny injects drugs into a leg vein. The next morning, Piet and Lucienne discover Gert crying over Lenny’s lifeless body. Gert tells them to look at what they did to Lenny. Hendrik points out where a bullet entered Lenny’s head, exited the back, and penetrated the wall. Outside, Lucienne suggests the drug dealers killed Casper to protect their operation. Piet reminds her that Casper was going to Paris. She says they may not have known but felt it necessary to finish him. She tells him that Lenny was not shot until after his men were arrested.

During the interrogation, Finn is shocked to discover Lenny was shot in the head. Lucienne informs him of the same type of bullets were utilized to kill Casper and Lenny. Holding up a sign-in log, she points out that he belongs to the shooting range and utilizes the same type of bullet. He asks if Lenny is dead.

Sanne tells Piet that Milton is innocent. Piet says it is vital to know who Milton is protecting. She claims Marian never talked about her and Lenny’s relationship, other than liking Gert. He asks if Milton and Casper dealt drugs. She assures him that being free runners neither of them would use drugs. She believes Marian is clean.

Titus Van Der Beek (Sieger Sloot) and Hendrick discuss the type of gun that could enter and exit the skull before penetrating deep into a wall. Titus suggests it was a rifle. Agreeing, Hendrick says evidence shows it was a handgun. He calls Piet to inform him of Lenny’s death being staged. When Piet and Lucienne arrive, Hendrick says it is possible Lenny was shot outside his bar.

During the interrogation, Eddie informs Milton of Lenny’s death. Milton claims Marian worked with Lenny sometimes. He tells him that Lenny agreed to free Marian if Casper showed him how to access the shipment. He recorded Casper’s demonstration. Lenny laughed at the footage and took his phone but refused to free Marian. He says Lenny threatened to take Casper and Marian’s lives. He went to warn them but Casper was already dead.

Piet and Lucienne discover where Marian was being held. Someone had been playing “Mark Of Cain 3.” Hendrik describes Lenny and Gert as “Cain and Abel” while Lucienne says they were “jealous brothers.” Spotting a puddle of blood on the floor, Piet suggests Lenny was shot there. He says Gert was at the metro station, not Lenny.

At the vigil, Marian asks Gert why. He reminds her of how she and Casper were leaving for Paris. He asks what he did wrong before saying they were good together. She denies they were anything but friends. He assures her that it was so much more. Armed, he exits the vehicle before helping her out. Piet and Lucienne arrive to find Gert trying to force Marian to jump, so they will be together forever. Piet orders him to release her but he refuses. Gert confesses to loving her. Marian tells him that she cares. Piet threatens to have his sharpshooter take him down if he takes another step. Looking around, Gert does not believe him when Eddie shoots him.

The episode ends with Piet beating Eddie in a game of chess.

 

Van Der Valk Review

The detectives make too many dire blunders for the show to be believable. The hospital scene is just one example. When a bullet pierces the window, Piet rushes to get Lena on the floor, leaving Marian in a bed that is clearly visible from outside. Another shot rings out, Lucienne pulls the privacy drape to block Marian from the shooter’s view. Instead of moving Lena and Marian to safety, Piet and Lucienne exit the room. Like a privacy drape would protect them from getting shot. Instead of searching for the shooter and Marian, Piet watches Lena treat Lucienne’s wound. Visitors come and go without a care.

The ignorance portrayed by these detectives is so obvious, it is difficult to ignore. Enjoy the show? I think not! The episode deserves a 5. Get more Van Der Valk recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more.