Ocean – As this episode of The Madame Blanc Mysteries begins, Alec Auclair (Christian Scicluna) and others prepare to go out on the water. Peter (Simon Bubb) explains that their boat is called The Christopher Columbus. Jane says they have a government contract to check if the sea bed is suitable for mining. Jeremy (Robin Askwith) believes that could be good for the economy. He asks Alec if he can go through Rita’s quirks for Peter. Alec says his brother is ill and he’ll clean Rita when he gets back. On the boat, Peter tells Jane that Mary is sick of him being away all the time. Gary (Adam Bond) says they get over it eventually even though he’s been divorced twice. Jane (Roma Malik) insists Marie will be okay before they dive in.

A coin is found on the ocean floor. Gary ends up drowning to death. After the intro, Dom (Steve Edge) drops off Jean (Sally Lindsay). Caron (Alex Gaumond) tells Jean that an experienced diver has died in the water. He shows her the Charles II 22-carat gold guinea from 1677 that Gary had in his bag. Jean believes it is worth at least two and a half thousand euros. Jane insists they were diving for treasure and the coin find was accidental. In private, Jean asks Caron if he thinks the death is suspicious. That’s what Caron is trying to find out. He explains that Gary was only in his early 40s and he was a very experienced diver. It doesn’t seem right to him. Caron asks her to keep this between them for the time being. In the car, Jean tells Dom about the coin.

Dom reveals Claudie has met someone so she isn’t coming back. He remembers holding her in his arms and telling her he’d never let her go when she was born. Jean tells him he has been brilliant. She urges him to cheer up. At a restaurant, they hear Judith (Sue Holderness) and Jeremy argue about the boat and Gary’s death. Judith says the boat has to go, but Jeremy has other ideas. Dominic sides with Judith and the others do too. Jeremy asks Gloria (Sue Vincent) if she can MOT a boat. She agrees to see what she can do. Gloria is surprised to see her father, Trevor (Paul Chuckle), in the restaurant. When they’re alone, Gloria tells Jean that Cooper is staying over tonight. She wanted a night together. Jean gets a message from Caron who confirms the diver was murdered.

Jean tells Dom she is going to see Caron. When she meets Caron, he tells her that the air pipe from his mouthpiece is missing. He believes it had something to do with the coin. Jean suspects there are more coins down there so she wonders who claims ownership. Submerged treasure is owned by the state in France, but that doesn’t stop people from diving for it. She doesn’t understand the point of killing one of the lead divers though. Caron wants her help. Peter tells them he is just a boat driver although it’s been a while since he sailed a tiddler like that. He is used to bigger boats. Peter claims not to have seen them prepare their equipment because he doesn’t get involved in that type of stuff. He hadn’t seen them for a while.

Peter was surprised they were still working together because they didn’t get along. At one point, Jane allegedly found an ancient Greek artifact or a terracotta amphora on the sea bed. Gary took the credit for finding it and got a promotion as a result. Peter admits Gary was always slimy. Jean and Caron are introduced to Marie (Elaine O’Dwyer) before they leave. Jean has an idea for questioning Jane although Caron isn’t thrilled by that. Jean tells Dom about the case and asks for his help. She wants him to pretend to be a coin dealer. Later, Trevor hangs out with Gloria and Cooper (Avant Strangel). Trevor says Gloria is just like her mother since she loves to nag sometimes. Cooper decides to leave and come back when Trevor is gone.

Gloria complains about Trevor’s behavior. She says she is sick of being the parent. Gloria sends Trevor away. Jean is busy training Dom to be a coin dealer. Once he gets the hang of it, he calls Jane to talk to her about the coin. He asks Jane if they meet to discuss the coins. In the middle of the night, Jeremy and Judith get an unexpected visitor. Trevor tells Jeremy he had nowhere else to go. The next day, Dom continues prepping for his meeting with Jane. After she gets there, Jane tells Dom she’d need another dive to confirm there are more coins. Dom gives her a week to find out. Jean is impressed with Dom’s work. Judith isn’t happy with Trevor hanging his underwear out the window. She tells Jeremy he has to go. Caron uses Dom’s recording to question Jane who denies killing Gary.

She says the Greek artifact thing was a story they made up to cover their backs. They had already sold four amphoras before they put the last one into official hands. Jane explains they take most of the treasure they find and turn in a piece or two to avoid looking suspicious. She insists she wouldn’t kill him because she needed him. Outside, Caron tells Jean and Dom that Jane and Gary were professional treasure hunters. He admits recording her was not good because that could weaken the case considerably. Moments later, Jean meets Gloria who tells her about kicking her dad out. Alec gives Jean a Higonokami knife from the Kanekoma factory in Japan. She begins telling him more about it. Alec tells them about its history in his family.

He invites them to his family’s restaurant, Lucienne on the Rue de Garde. They continue chatting until Alec says he needs to get back to the restaurant. Gloria finds Gary’s phone on the boat. At the station, Caron tells Jean and Dom that they downloaded the call history from the phone. There is a lot of contact from someone called Cranberry Girl. They are allowed to listen to a voicemail from a woman who sounds like Peter’s wife. Jean says Gary was having an affair with Peter’s wife. Dom has to run. Caron and Jean need to speak to Marie. Trevor thanks Judith and Jeremy for letting him stay last night. After they find out that Trevor has Keegan’s Irish Cream, Judith is eager to keep him around. Jean and Caron confront Marie about the affair. She insists Peter had no idea and it was only a stupid fling.

Caron begins arranging to keep an eye on Peter who is out on the water. Judith and Trevor decide to dance before Jeremy storms out of the room. He calls Gloria and leaves her a message because he is sick of her father. Jean tells Dom what is going on with Peter and Trevor. Dom tells her about an albino catfish that he cared for. When it died, Dom made it look like an accident by stuffing his face into the air pump pipe. They tell the waiter they’re friends of Alec. The waitress lets them look at the fish tank and says the owner is a collector of rare tropical fish. Dom tells them that eels eat each other. The waitress talks about the pufferfish which is venomous. Jean thinks of something before telling Dom they have to leave.

They find a lock-up of sorts that belongs to Alec’s family. They check it out and find what appears to be a pufferfish. In the trash, they discover Gary’s mouthpiece. Alec is brought to the station where he is questioned by Jean and Caron. Jean accuses Alec of trying to kill both divers, but only managing to poison one mouthpiece. She alleges Alec administered CPR to get rid of the mouthpiece. Jean says they found his hut as well as the fish. Alec admits the fugu poison seemed appropriate. He explains that sea bed mining involves intensive, destructive processes. Alec goes on a rant about it before saying his grandfather taught him to never take the water for granted. Once he is taken away, Caron tells Jean she can declare the coin to the local authorities.

She is worried about doing it because the bay will become a divers’ tourist attraction. Jean wonders if there is another option. Caron hides it. Jeremy takes Trevor back to Gloria and Cooper. They manage to smooth things over, but Gloria doesn’t want him to come back. Jean tells Trevor about a Black Sabbath memorabilia fair in Nice tomorrow. She gives him a ticket and suggests getting the night bus. Trevor says goodbye to Gloria before leaving.

 

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Review

The third series of The Madame Blanc Mysteries started on a familiar note with very little setting the series apart from other British crime dramas. In fact, this has all the hallmarks of a typical Father Brown episode with Gloria being a carbon copy of Brenda. The series is trying to do things right with an attempt at humor here and there as well as gorgeous scenery shots.

The episode was watchable despite being dull at times with no real surprises or payoff. Viewers who haven’t watched a lot of British crime dramas will probably enjoy this a lot more. For others, they’ve already seen it so many times that they’re on the verge of gagging on it.

Besides a conversation or two about artifacts, this really has nothing original to offer. With the right expectations and knowing Déjà vu is coming, the episode will be a fine way to waste 45 minutes. It scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Madame Blanc Mysteries can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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