August 12, 1944 – Captain Mueller (Jakob Diehl) urges Werner (Louis Hofmann) to enter the house where they believe Marie-Laure is. Mueller tells him he’ll have the pleasure of killing her if she is alone. He warns Werner that he can give orders for his sister to be given to the dogs of the SS. Etienne LeBlanc (Hugh Laurie) distracts Mueller when he arrives on a motorcycle giving Werner enough time to shoot him dead. Then, Etienne fatally shoots another German soldier. He holds Werner at gunpoint. Etienne yells at Marie to tell her that the lock is broken. He warns Werner that the Americans will be there in a few days. Werner helps Etienne move the bodies so friends can collect them later.

Werner is surprised to learn that her name is Marie. Etienne doesn’t want to hear him say her name because he doesn’t know who he is. Marie-Laure (Aria Mia Loberti) gets the instructions for tonight’s broadcast.

Four Years Earlier – Daniel LeBlanc (Mark Ruffalo) takes Marie-Laure to the residence of Aunt Manec (Marion Bailey) who confirms Etienne is around. Manec says he wears headphones because the 24-hour radio controls his mind. Manec hopes Daniel tells Marie how pretty she is every day. While Etienne listens to the radio, he remembers his time during the war. Once Daniel knocks on the door, Etienne comes back to reality. Marie learns that Etienne says he travels the world through his books. He says the most important light in the world is the light you cannot see. Marie begins to realize that Etienne could be the professor on the radio so she tries to compare their voices.

St. Malo – August 1944 – Etienne takes Werner to Officer Henri (Simon Paisley Day). Etienne tells Henri to get some sleep while he interrogates the prisoner. Once they sit down, Etienne begins questioning Werner about saying he was interested in the girl in the house. He knows Werner tracked down the transmitter she is broadcasting on. Werner explains that shortwave 13.10 was his only hope when he was a child. He was interested in radios and that interest got him into a lot of trouble when he was younger. Etienne asks what trouble.

National Political Institute of Education – May 1942 – Werner continues his training with the other students. Eventually, they’re given all the components of a simple transceiver radio. They have one hour to build a functioning radio. Werner and the others are told that they’re building a weapon of war. They’re surprised when Werner builds the radio in under a minute. One night, Frank Volkheimer (Corin Silva) is sent into the forest and told to turn on his transceiver. Werner is tasked with tracking him without using paper and pencil for his calculations. Instead, he is ordered to write his calculations in the mud since that’s what he’d do on the Eastern Front.

Once Werner pinpoints Volkheimer’s location, he is told age is just a number. As for genius, it is a gift.

St. Malo – August 1944 – Werner admits he was fast-tracked after that. A brief flashback shows what happened after he reached the Eastern Front. Etienne tells him he should get into the basement. The others will be back tonight and there will be a trial. Etienne will explain to them that Werner was sent to the front against his will. They’ll only be interested in what he did after he became a soldier. After Werner admits he has done bad things, Etienne says he has done bad things too. Sandrina (Andrea Deck) tends to Reinhold von Rumpel’s wound and questions why he wants the blind girl. Reinhold (Lars Eidinger) explains she has something that doesn’t belong to her. Three years ago, he was diagnosed. His body is eating itself.

Reinhold believes the diamond will cure it. He has been searching for it for three years.

Natural History Museum – Paris – May 1941 – Reinhold interrogates the museum foreman (Rhashan Stone) in hopes of finding out where the gems were taken. He asks a soldier to go to the foreman’s address and shoot the women and children if he doesn’t return home in 30 minutes. Then, he asks the foreman who took the jewels. The foreman tells him about Daniel LeBlanc who is the master of the locks in the museum. He knows the jewels are going to Geneva hidden inside the head of a dinosaur. Reinhold asks about the Sea of Flames. The foreman says it was never exhibited because there were some superstitions around it. Daniel and the foreman didn’t believe it so they were the only ones to handle the stone.

The foreman reveals that Daniel was with his daughter when he took the jewels. He pleads with Reinhold to let him go before his loved ones are shot. Reinhold locks him in.

St. Malo – August 1944 – Reinhold tells Sandrina they found the dinosaur head, but the Sea of Flames was not there. Sandrina worries people will drag her into the streets as a traitor for sleeping with German soldiers. She offers to tell him where the blind girl lives if he can get her out of the city. Marie finishes her broadcast. She tells her father that she was almost killed over a rock. Although she believes the German will find her again, she will remain there.

Past – Etienne takes Marie upstairs and lets her sit in front of his radio. He teaches her how the radio works. Marie believes Etienne sees things that aren’t there and things he can’t forget. She tells him that she listens to the professor on shortwave 13.10. When she claims he is the professor, Etienne says that is absurd. Eventually, he admits he wasn’t sure anyone was listening. Etienne asks her to tell no one about this. He says he packed the professor away and uses the radio for more important things now. Marie and Daniel walk by the ocean a bit later. Marie agrees it’d be okay to stay there for a while. She mentions that Madame Manec claims Uncle Etienne was a war hero. He doesn’t seem like a war hero to her.

Daniel suggests he locked the tiger in a metal box. He reveals he is going to build a model of the town so she can explore it with her fingers. Back inside, Daniel tells Etienne he is going to measure it out one step at a time. Etienne warns him that this is a small city so people could be saying he is measuring out the city for American bombs. The Gestapo arrive moments later. Etienne believes they’re just checking out the rumors of the strange man from Paris. Daniel tells Marie not to mention the radio while she warns him they can’t seem afraid. The German soldier puts a knife to Marie’s eye to see if she is really blind. He asks them about the model. Daniel shows them the model and claims he brought his daughter there to get her out of the city. The German soldier takes Daniel’s papers so he can have them checked out in Paris.

Once the soldier leaves, Etienne worries that Daniel’s false papers won’t work out. Manec asks Etienne how much Daniel knows. She takes Marie away so Etienne can tell Daniel the truth. Etienne tells him how he uses the radio as an instrument of war. He sends information given to him about troop movements to London using codes and ciphers. Right now, they need to make sure that Daniel doesn’t draw more attention to their house. Later, Daniel takes Marie to the fortress grotto where he collects oysters. He tells her about Etienne and what he was like when he was younger. They return home with oysters. Marie asks Etienne why he doesn’t go get them since he likes them so much.

Etienne asks her to keep asking because he might agree one day. Then, he tells Daniel that he will meet the Intelligence Committee of the Saint-Malo Resistance soon. Etienne thinks Marie should stay because she has proven to be smarter than both of them. Soon, Manec introduces them to the Saint-Malo Old Ladies Resistance Club. They take gifts to the young German soldiers who speak to them like their mothers. Daniel tells them he is worried his name is on a list. He worries the Germans will connect him because he has a blind daughter. Daniel explains he has a type of stone that tends to attract madmen. He has it with him. Daniel is told that their duty is to France right now. Later that night, Daniel hides the gem in the model of the city. The next day, Manec gives him a return ticket to Paris, cash, and an address where he’ll be safe.

Marie is told he will return. They’ve already asked their friends in the Parisian Resistance to let their informants know that Daniel has been spotted in Paris. Tomorrow, he will be photographed in a café reading tomorrow’s newspaper. Then, they will give the Germans an address. When they get to that address, they will find some of Daniel and Marie’s things. Daniel will then be seen and photographed in Bordeaux. Friends there will say the man with the blind daughter was smuggled across the border into Spain. The smugglers were paid with a large diamond that was also smuggled into Spain. If the plan works, he will be home in six days.

St. Malo – August 1944 – Marie continues speaking to her father on the radio. Werner tells Etienne he stayed because he trusts him. When asked why, he admits he recognized his voice yesterday. Werner says he is the professor although Etienne argues nothing before this matters. Moments later, Werner is questioned by Officer Henri and a woman. They know that the people with radios were executed along with their families. Jacqueline (Elizabeth Dulau) and Henri want to shoot Warner, but Etienne doesn’t want that to happen. They hear American artillery. Marie says freedom is finally coming. Etienne tells Werner that he must be fearless before admitting to being the professor.

Reinhold begins breaking into Marie’s residence. Etienne tells Werner to run before they’re hit by artillery.

 

All The Light We Cannot See Review

The third episode of All The Light We Cannot See was a little tedious in the middle, but the ending will force viewers to be interested in the finale. Personally, I find Werner’s story more interesting than Marie’s, especially their backstories. A lot of the scenes at Manec and Etienne’s residence felt like they drug out a bit in places while more time could’ve been used to explore the present or other past events.

Aria Mia Loberti, Louis Hofmann, Lars Eidinger, and others are great in this although some have been clearly miscast. When Mark Ruffalo was given more time in this episode, the inability to use an authentic accent for the role was evident from time to time. On the other hand, Hugh Laurie did a better job of that although the character didn’t speak as much either.

Since this is only four episodes, it is easy to overlook any issues along the way. It hasn’t quite connected with me on an emotional level yet, but that can happen in the final episode hopefully. The series has been good although the novel probably brings the story to life a lot more. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of All The Light We Cannot See are available on Reel Mockery here.

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