At the start of the episode, Peter (Nicholas Woodeson) walks along the beach looking for shells. He is in Deal, England. A Romain man, Constantin (Alec Secareanu), arrives to check his gas meter. Peter goes on and on about the shell. Out of nowhere, Constantin puts a plastic bag over his head and strangles him to death. The assassin chops up the body with a chainsaw. After the intro, we jump over to Amsterdam. Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) returns home with groceries. He wakes up the baby. His daughter is not happy. Julien speaks with his wife Celia (Anastasia Hille). Julien tells her about his meeting with the commissioner. Julien meets with Martha (Barbara Sarafian). She asks for his help. He admits he isn’t the man he once was. Julien learns all about Natalie Rose (Anna Prochniak).

She was reported missing by her uncle Edward Stratton (Tom Hollander). We see Edward hunting for Natalie. He shows off her picture and asks for help. Edward collapses in the street. Back at home, Julien speaks with Ron (Omar Baroud). A call from Martha interrupts the conversation. Julien learns about Edward being in the emergency room. Julien tells Celia that he will try to help. He visits Edward in the hospital. Edward has a panic attack. Julien tells Edward all about himself and his past. Edward tells Julien all about Natalie Rose. That isn’t the name she was born with. Edward was forced to care for his niece after a car crash killed her parents. Julien asks about Dragomir Zelincu.

The man’s name was mentioned in the police file. Edward is convinced he knows who took Natalie. He runs one of those big Romain gangs. Julien admits he is not the man he was once. Still, he offers to help as much as possible. Edward returns home and thinks about his niece. He remembers her crying. Nicolae (Zachary Baharov) receives money from one of his workers. Constantin tells him the police have a consultant now. He refers to Baptiste as a geriatric. Constantin admits that they’re after him. He explains the police is running around looking for the ghost Dragomir Zelincu. Another man enters with 1,000. He is short. Nicolae is not happy. Constantin beats the man will a pool ball. Constantin tells Nicolae to look into the police consultant.

Greg (Trystan Gravelle) puts together a romantic dinner for himself and his girlfriend Kim Vogel (Talisa Garcia). She refuses to marry him yet again. Kim heads upstairs and uncovers a hidden space in the bathroom cabinet. She pulls out a few vials and a syringe. Julien meets up with Edward. Julien wants to speak with Natalie’s roommate. They speak with Lina (Martha Canga Antonio). Julien is unable to get any answers from her. Celia goes shopping with the baby. She runs across Constantin. He follows her. They bump into each other. He makes an odd comment about beauty running in the family. They go their separate ways. Lina goes to Kim. They speak about Natalie’s disappearance. Kim was supposed to protect her. Lina explains that everyone is terrified. Greg interrupts.

Julien speaks with the locals. He gets nowhere. Edward is convinced they’re afraid of Zelincu. Baptiste notices a young boy who has been watching them. Edward goes after the boy. The boy is eventually cornered. Edward offers the boy 360 to tell what he knows. The boy gives the name Walter De Louw (Manou Kersting). He runs The Dream Room brothel. The boy was watching Edward and Julien for Walter. Meanwhile, an older man complains about his wife. He walks through his farm with his dog. He finds a necklace with an N on it. Julien and Edward visit the brothel. They request to speak with Walter. They’re eventually allowed inside. They speak with Walter. Walter explains that Zelincu is a very dangerous man. He hasn’t seen him for a while now. Walter tells them to hire some company or get out.

Outside, Baptiste tells Edward that Walter has something to hide. Both get a phone call. Edward speaks with Clare (Clare Calbraith). He hasn’t talking to her in over two years. Clare wants to know what is wrong. Edward cannot bring himself to tell her the truth. Julien tells him that someone wants to speak to them about Natalie. They meet with Kim a short time later. Kim runs a collective for sex workers. Kim explains that Natalie was unable to finance her addiction. She supposedly started stealing. Natalie decided to run. She told someone she was going to Germany. Natalie wanted to get far away. Edward begins to doubt that they’re ever going to find Natalie. Julien tells Edward that miracles happen all the time. He tells him about the tumor in his brain. Edward thanks him for his help.

Edward believes their search might be pointless. Julien tries to convince him otherwise. Edward has to return back home tomorrow morning. Julien returns home to Celia. She struggles to get the television remote working. Julien comes up with a clue. Julien calls Martha and asks her to send over the files on Dragomir Zelincu. Julien looks through the files. A gang member speaks with a bunch of captive girls. The new girl is sick and won’t stand up. The man takes a video of the girls. One of the girls is selected. Julien returns to Kim. He asks her if he knows. Julien asks her about Zelincu owning The Dream Room. He is unable to find anything on Kim during that same time. He believes she was Drago before transitioning to Kim. Julien believes Kim knows where Natalie really is.

She writes down the place where he will find her. The farmer looks for his dog Caspar. The dog has dug a hole. The man finishes it. He finds something inside. Nicolae listens in on a conversation between Celia and the family. He hears that Julien might know where she is. The captive girl is offered a cigarette. She tells another girl that her name is Cristina. She admits she is not that new. They had her elsewhere a few months ago. Cristina (Freya Kingsley) says she talked to a guy in a bar. The guy said he had weed so she followed him. They locked her in the car and drove away. She was visiting her big sister Natalia when she was abducted. Edward returns home. Julien searches the location. He finds Natalie. Natalie says that Edward isn’t her uncle. He is not who Baptiste thinks he is at all. We see that Edward has a head stored in his basement.

 

Baptiste Review

Baptiste started out very poorly. It was tediously slow and the camera work was horrific. Just keep the dang thing still! The beginning was pretty much bland. In the end, it started picking up very quickly. The twists and turns there at the end made the episode so much better. I was beginning to have my doubts, but it hooked me in there at the end. Now, I am eager to see what is going to happen next. I need a few more crumbs to keep me going.

The beginning was bad, but the ending was excellent. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10.