The fourth episode opens in 1945 Bozouls by revealing how Gabrielle LarVaron (Chiara Mastroianni) betrayed and ultimately killed Jacques LarVaron (Jean-Pierre Lorit). After luring him into a meeting, she accuses him of betraying her and shoots him in the stomach. While he’s reeling in shock, a consortium of individuals emerges from the shadows to finish him off.

Returning to the present, Henri (Oscar Lesage) arrives at the opportune time to save Sam Spade (Clive Owen) and Helena Thibaut (Clotilde-Mollet). Although one of the intruders flees, Henri manages to wing him and captures the other for later interrogation. Spade immediately questions Henri’s timing, which he explains away by being on-site to look after Teresa (Cara Bossom/Ella Feraud). Spade apparently doesn’t agree with Henri’s interrogation methods and soon orders him upstairs while he takes over.

Once the footage picks back up, Spade has the intruder (Yan Tual) tied to a chair in the kitchen, but that doesn’t last long after several glancing blows. Initially, Spade’s questioning doesn’t accomplish anything more than confirming what he already suspected. This is until he asks why Zayd (Ismael Berqouch) is so important. The intruder’s answer, (the boy is the hub of a many spooked wheel) leads to more questions than answers. Much to the intruder’s surprise, Spade eventually lets him go and even promises to deliver Philippe to Paris when he’s finished with him.

Jean-Pierre Devereaux (Stanley Weber) continues to struggle with his time in the war. During his latest bout, he wakes to find Marguerite Devereaux (Louise Bourgoin) gone. She is shown arriving at a medical facility with Chastain (Francois Creton). Chastain describes the worsening health condition of her mysterious caller while leading her to his room. Her admirer is soon revealed to be Denis Deveraux (Alain Doutey), who is in fact dying. The music memorabilia on the walls and her outright hatred for him reveal that they were once romantically involved. Apparently, she feels that he took advantage of her immaturity while they toured the world as a singing duet. It’s also alluded to that she also blames him for Jean-Pierre’s enlisting. The meeting did not go as he intended.

Chief of Police Patrice Michaud (Denis Menochet) and his deputized brother, Maurice Michaud (Frank Williams) have joined Spade at the vineyard, where they fish the winged intruder from the pool. George (Matthew Beard) and Cynthia Fitzsimmons (Rebecca Root), also on-site, provide a rather descriptive reenactment of what led to their calling the police. After Maurice wrestles the man out of the pool and reveals the head wound, Henri is adamant about only winging the man. A shoulder wound may reveal that he’s being honest. Further examination reveals that the man’s fatal wound was a bullet in the back of the head. Against Spade’s wishes, Patrice ultimately turns the case over to the French Army.

Samir’s (Hazem Hammad) wife’s paranoia continues to grow. She eventually reaches her boiling point and gives Samir an ultimatum to get rid of the boy.

Jean-Pierre meets with a blind veteran, who offers to share the origins behind his condition. Although Jean-Pierre has heard the story many times, he accepts. The veteran not only appears in extremely good spirits, but by the end of the story it’s alluded to that he views his condition as a blessing that gave him focus and purpose. Their meeting ends with the veteran suggesting that Jean-Pierre is a born leader. Later that day, Jean-Pierre catches Samir sneaking around the club with Zayd. It doesn’t take Jean-Pierre long to realize that Zayd is the cause of all the hysteria in town.

With the deceased intruder loaded into the ambulance and on his way to the morgue, Spade and Henri have a heart-to-heart. After a bit of stalling and denial, Henri admits to working with the Army. Spade doesn’t appear to mind but requests him to be courteous enough to keep him apprised. Later that day, Henri finds himself having nearly the same conversation with Teresa. Perhaps it is Teresa’s flirtatious approach, but their conversation is much more revealing. She learns that like Philippe, Henri was assigned to track down dissents of the French Army. She also lifts an address book from him with a goodbye kiss.

While Jean-Pierre places a mysterious call to an unidentified source to inform them of his acquisition of Zayd, Teresa visits Audrey Saint-Andre (Caroline Silhol). After several unanswered knocks, Teresa lets herself in and spends a few minutes looking at the family photos before Audrey interrupts. Teresa crudely accuses Audrey of coming after her inheritance before storming off.

Spade and Patrice have a very awkward lunch meeting with George and Cynthia. During a discussion about guns, Spade’s attention is drawn to what appears to be a small antenna. He excuses himself to the bathroom to investigate further but is interrupted by Cynthia. He and Patrice later leave without uncovering much.

While making dinner, Marguerite and Jean-Pierre discuss her meeting with Denis. It’s quickly confirmed that she wasn’t lying about Jean-Pierre’s hatred of Denis. He soon unleashes that hatred on Marguerite once he learns about her sharing his letter with Denis. She claims to have done so in an attempt to get Denis to help bring him home. The dispute ends with Jean-Pierre revealing that Denis didn’t intervene, leaving him to make a deal with the devil. Although she asks, he doesn’t explain further.

Minutes later, Jean-Pierre is shown handing Zayd over to Philippe.

 

Monsieur Spade Review

I can appreciate the significant role war plays and what a scourge it can leave on people as well as places. I also understand that modern war and post-modern war are entirely two different things. That said, it feels a bit oversaturated here. It’s nearly the focal point of everything. If it isn’t the war, it’s religion, which usually goes hand in hand.

More than anything, I guess it is Jean-Pierre’s constant groveling that feels trite. It’s even spilled over into Marguerite’s storyline now. Other than this, I feel that everything is coming together rather well, perhaps a bit slow, but developing nicely. If I understand it correctly, the Denis and Marguerite storyline is incredibly intriguing. George and Cynthia are almost a bit too flamboyant but I do enjoy them in small doses. I’d have to give the episode a 5.5 out of 10.

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