May 1941 Somewhere In The Egyptian Desert – The episode begins with a military convoy trekking across the desert. After informing Major Knox (Miles Jupp) of a low fuel level, David Stirling (Connor Swindells) requests petrol trucks to the front. When Knox doesn’t respond, Stirling reminds him that Tobruk is 120 miles away. Knox acknowledges being aware of the distance. Stirling questions if fuel trucks are part of the convoy. Knox says no before telling him that the convoy had enough petrol for a 500-kilometer journey. Stirling says there are 500 miles between Cairo and Tobruk. Knox says there are Frenchmen in the state department. Stirling warns him that more men will die because their convoy won’t reach Tobruk. Knox says he’s “supposed to address him as Sir.” Stirling mumbles “piss off” while walking away.
Cairo – While laughing about stepping into traffic, Stirling says the GHQ will “fu** up” again tomorrow. He enters a local canary bar to order a whiskey. The canary barman (Beru Tessema) says the rain kept the girls from coming in. Stirling tells a joke about the chicken that didn’t make it to the end of the road. He’s rambling when two Australian soldiers enter the establishment. Australian Soldier 1 (Michael Shelford) spits in his direction. Australian Solider 2 (Joe Corrigall) asks if the Brits ever met an Italian. Stirling admits to loving Australia where the wildlife was created by a lunatic.
Same Night – Ghadzi British Military Prison Cairo – Three MPs, one with a noose walk down a dark hall to a cell. After asking how their colleague is fairing, the prisoner, Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) says he hopes the damage isn’t permanent. An MP describes him as an “Irish Fu**er.” After saying being Irish may have to do with him being a “fu**er,” Paddy admits to getting annoyed when their colleague was unpleasant to a smaller man. An MP assures him that he’ll never utilize an MP as a punching bag again before saying it’ll be no surprise to anyone when he’s dangling. He warns them that he’s used to uneven battles so start the search.
Same Night – the Siege Line Tobruk Libya – Lieutenant John “Jock” Lewes (Alfie Allen) tells a group of soldiers that they’ll forget the sand and diseases when the blood is up. Giving them rum, he suggests not being themselves before assuring them that their mums aren’t watching. With him in the lead, the soldiers file out of the trench.
An Australian soldier asks Stirling if he’s seen action. Stirling claims to have repeatedly stood down. The barman suggests they leave Stirling alone. The soldier swipes his money and splits it with his buddy. Removing his jacket, Stirling says he won’t tolerate theft before warning them of his being a commando. During a flashback, he tells them how he was trained to kill the enemy. He warns that ordinary men hesitate to meet them but if they insist.
Three MPs lay on the floor as Paddy unlocks his cell.
The soldier says they came for the girls. As they walk away, Stirling reminds them of his winnings. The soldiers hand it over before leaving. Stirling suggests he should’ve memorized the speech instead of climbing mountains in Scotland. He orders a series of whiskeys.
Stirling vomits off the balcony before heading to the B Battalion HQ Layforce 4th District Middle East Command. He demands a squeaky ceiling fan be fixed. Knox informs him that a farewell event will be held at the embassy tonight. Stirling asks if it’s an opportunity to plan another attack in Tobruk. After saying it’s an opportunity to say goodbye to whoever, Knox demands he be there. Stirling reminds him of Tobruk being under 24-hour bombardment. Knox assures him that the second attempt is under discussion. Stirling says it’s the third attempt. Knox asks what will it take to get him to address him as Sir. Stirling says respect. Knox refers to him as an “insubordinate malcontent” that his father would despise. As Stirling makes his exit, Knox warns him that he’ll be charged if he doesn’t show up.
Tobruk – Paddy addresses his men after a short prayer. He informs that they lost Matthews last night before asking Pat Riley (Jacob Ifan) if he slept well. Riley claims to have slept well on his boots. Paddy reminds them that they’ve been there 112 days. When a passing plane drops several bombs nearby, the hand clinched behind his back shakes. He tells them that the convoy dispatched to replace them should have enough fuel to make the journey. After saying an urgent flight to Cairo is planned for him tonight, he admits to working on a strategy that may get them out of there if HCQ fails them.
Riley asks Paddy for permission to steal food donated to the Australians. After approving the request, Paddy says he bribed a dock worker to be on the lookout for parachutes. Staring at a crate of parachutes, Jim Almonds (Corin Silva) asks what is his plan for the parachutes. Paddy tells him that he’s going to use them to jump out of an airplane while popping a parachute open. He orders Almonds to send the crate of parachutes to the airstrip before tonight’s flight. He informs Riley and Almonds that they’ll be part of his parachute regiment. Once the crates are loaded onto a truck, Paddy says, “Let’s go and win the fu**ing war.”
Stirling gets high on nitrous oxide when Dr. Gamal (Amir El-Masry) asks if it’s a hangover. Gamal says last night an officer questioned if his dysentery from two weeks ago was real. Irate, Stirling accuses GHQ of malingering. Gamal warns him of a potential court martial for inventing illnesses. Stirling asks if he’s being truthful. Gamal admits to lying before informing him of an officer having a message from Lieutenant Jock Lewes (Alfie Allen). After checking his blood pressure, Gamal inhales nitrous oxide. Stirling asks what the message said. Gamal says Paddy’s to be taken to the Tipperary Club for the Three Musketeers’ reunion. Pointing at the note, Stirling asks what it says. Gamal says parachutes.
11 Commando Camp Heliopolis, Cairo – Paddy informs Eoin McGonigal (Donal Finn) that he was detained. Eoin asks if they identified him. After sarcastically claiming to have utilized an alias, Mr. Hyde, Paddy says he got a 10 shilling fine and the threat of hanging. Eoin says for not having any identification. Paddy tells him that the hanging was for seeking justice. Eoin reminds him that he’s supposed to be hospitalized. Paddy assures him that he no longer has malaria even though he sweats profusely. He admits to getting into an altercation in a local bar. Eoin tells him that he’s scheduled for the Empire tonight to reunite the Three Musketeers.
Empire Club Cairo – When Eve Mansour (Sofia Boutella) puts a red flower on the table, Paddy tosses it away. He assures her that he isn’t interested in a brief accord. She asks if he’s a poet before identifying herself as a journalist. He sarcastically refers to her as a “spy.” She admits to being an intelligent officer who reports to General De Gaulle. He says in a pub in Dean Street. She addresses him by his name when asking if he’s enjoying himself. He demands to know how she knew his name. After reminding him of his victory over the Vichy French at the Litani River, she asks for an assessment of the French soldiers that supported the Nazis. He tells her that they’re all dead. Preparing to leave, he asks her to relay a message to a drunk man that Paddy says no.
Stirling arrives as Alina Carnett climbs on the stage. He orders Eve to leave because the table is booked. She tells him that Paddy’s going to Burma to fight the Japanese. He asks who is she. She says the head of the French Military Intelligence in Cairo. Their conversation continues until he heads to the Empire Club.
Paddy tells Eoin that he never met Stirling but left him a message. Eoin asks who are Stirling and Lewes. After describing Lewes’ as a bully and Sterling as a drunken gambler, Paddy says they trained together. Eoin accepts his offer to tag along.
Stirling informs Lewes that Paddy’s going to fight the Japanese. Lewes asks several men if they could utilize the snooker table for a demonstration. A snooker player (Ramzan Miah) informs him that it’s an all-night tournament. When Stirling activates a grenade, the men hurriedly leave. Stirling says it’s a great novelty to secure a train seat. Lewes says the German soldiers advanced too quickly at 800 miles in six weeks. Pointing at the supply line, he tells him that it’s 300 miles too long. He suggests attacking from the Sea of Sand instead of the sea. He says they utilize parachutes to get men into the interior so they can attack Rommel’s supply line from the desert. Stirling says someone would need to try the parachutes. Lewes admits to hoping Paddy would join them but now, they’ll need to do it without him. Stirling promises to steal an airplane since he stole the parachutes.
Qattara Air Strip 50 Miles West Of Cairo – De Havilland Pilot (Bradley Banton) demands to know what is going down. Stirling asks if he’s chosen a name for them yet. Lewes says no as the pilot tells them that there is no cable on his plan. Stirling suggests utilizing the seats. Lewes says the parachute cables can be attached to the passenger seat. The pilot asks how long they’ve been training. Lewes claims they parachuted from moving vehicles and scaffolding for three weeks. Lewes orders Almonds to detach the doors from the plane. The pilot asks how will they make it back in the dark. Lewes and Stirling say the stars. Stirling recommends the parachute unit be deemed “The Men Who Refuse To Stand Down.” Riley tells them that he flew a crop-dusting plane once. The pilot describes them as being “mad.”
Lewes and Stirling tie the parachute cables to the legs of the seat. Lewes jumps clean. Stirling’s parachute is damaged during the jump. He’s knocked out cold when he lands in the sand. He imagines speaking to his father. Stirling’s father (Anthony Calf) reminds him of how he climbed an oak tree with one arm behind his back. Stirling tells him that he can’t move his legs while trying to get up. His father quotes a verse from his favorite poem. Stirling assures his father and God that he’ll not be stood down as the episode comes to an end.
SAS: Rogue Heroes Review
Stirling became agitated with Major Knox when he discovered the convoy didn’t have enough petrol to reach Tobruk. He assured Knox that more men would die because of incompetency. When Knox reminded him that he is supposed to be addressed as Sir, Stirling mumbled “piss off” under his breath.
Two Australian soldiers taunted Stirling at a canary bar. Stirling ignored when one of the soldiers spit in his direction but not when they stole his money. The soldiers are spooked when he claimed to be a highly trained commando.
Paddy is jailed for an altercation with an MP. Three MPs arrived at his cell with a noose. After taking them out, he returned to his unit.
Lewes is stationed in Tobruk. When Knox’s convoy ran out of petrol, he made a vow to get out on his own. He bribed a dock worker to notify him of any parachute shipments. Almonds and Riley accompany him to collect the crate. He informed them of his strategy to establish a parachute unit, which he invited them to join.
Lewes sent Stirling a message to drive Paddy to the Empire Club, where the Three Musketeers would be reunited. Paddy encountered Eve at a nightclub while waiting on Stirling to arrive. A short time later, he asked her to inform Stirling that he’d be joining a convoy to fight the Japanese. This would foil Lewes’ plan for the three of them to test the parachutes.
Lewes and Stirling convinced a pilot to utilize his plane for the jump. They made exceptions since the plane was utilized to deliver mail, not parachute jumps. The doors were removed and the passener seat would take the place of a parachute cable. Lewes’ parachute opened as it should while Stirling’s parachute appeared to be damaged before he jumped.
Stirling is knocked cold when he hit the ground. He imagined his father visits him. He repeatedly told himself that he’ll not stand down. There was no sign of Lewes when the episode ended.
The setup is a bit confusing as the show jumps between locations and time periods. Character development is decent with each of the main characters being introduced in individual scenes. The acting is great with Connor Swindells heading the cast.
My biggest qualm is the poor cinematography. The majority of the scenes were too dark to see anything. Talking about ruining a TV series with potential. The show starts out slow, hopefully, this will change by the next episode.
The episode deserves a 6.5. Get more SAS Rogue Heroes recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.
SAS Rogue Heroes Cast
- Connor Swindells – David Stirling
- Miles Jupp – Major Knox
- Jack O’Connell – Paddy Mayne
- Alfie Allen – Jock Lewes
- Corin Silva – Jim Almonds
- Jacob Ifan – Pat Riley
- Sofia Boutella – Eve Mansour
- Dominic West – Lieutenant Dudley Wrangel Clarke
- Theo Barklem-Biggs – Reg Seekings
- Bobby Schofield – Dave Kershaw
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
What is the favorite poem from which Stirling’s father quotes?
John Keats Ode to a Nightingale.