In 1997, an American news crew tracked down Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim) in Paris where he was living as a free man. He is asked about being a dangerous man but he suggests it is whether he committed murder. He tells the interviewer that the courts have decided he did not kill anyone. She says that doesn’t answer her question and some say he got away with it. Charles admits that Times magazine said that and he says perhaps it is true. He reminds the interviewer that he cannot face trial anywhere in the world now. After the intro, we jump back to November 27, 1975 in Bangkok, Thailand. A man brings two women to the party and Charles welcomes them to Kanit House. Marie-Andree Leclerc (Jenna Coleman) comes outside and tells Charles it looked like a fun night.

He believes it was nothing more than the usual before they head inside and crush pills. Charles checks on his friend and tells him they need to get his fever down, but the man wants to go home. Marie grabs the man’s bag before Charles looks through it and finds the man’s identification and a lot of money. Charles takes the man’s passport, removes the picture, and replaces it with his picture. Then, he goes to the airport with Marie. The passports are checked and the couple goes to Hong Kong. Marie tells their business partners that their home is in Bangkok but they’ll have offices in Paris and Zurich next summer. Charles shows them several gems and says they have a network of couriers throughout Asia and Western Europe. Marie argues that this is how they’re able to offer such attractive prices.

The deal is done and money is given to Charles. After that, they go shopping and Charles takes an interest in a man with a camera. Charles tells the Dutchman about his parents before he introduces himself as Alain and learns that the man’s name is Willem Bloem (Armand Rosbak). Marie is introduced as Alain’s wife Monique. Willem looks through the jewelry and admits he is buying for a girl named Lena before Charles carefully checks the item. When Willem is given the price, he realizes he can’t afford it and tries to leave but Charles stops him. Charles offers to have a sapphire set in diamonds on a platinum ring for half the price. Charles gives Willem his business card before Willem leaves and meets with Lena. She doesn’t want to waste their money on jewelry and would prefer to keep traveling, but Willem says they’ll have to go home at some point.

They discuss what could possibly be next for them. Later that night, Lena and Willem visit Marie and Charles. They sit down and Charles shows them the ring he had made. Lena immediately tries it on and loves it but they’re worried about the money. Charles and Marie tell them they don’t have to decide right now and Charles wants to make sure he is going to see them in Bangkok. They say their home is always open to friends before encouraging Lena to let Willem buy her the ring. Next, we jump two months ahead and are taken to the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok. Lawana (Apasiri Kulthanan) checks on Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) who is tasked with helping Mr. Hilgers in locating his sister-in-law. He explains he is trying to locate Willem Bloem and his girlfriend Helena Dekker (Ellie de Lange). He also sent photographs of the couple but those pictures have been lost.

Seconds later, Herman rides with Yotin and learns the radio station is talking about Communism and wonder if Thailand will fall to revolution. The traffic is horrible so Herman decides to get out and walk the rest of the way. Along the way, it begins raining but stops by the time Henry makes it and learns that Yotin arrived first. He apologizes to the Ambassador and tells him that the traffic was unbelievable. Herman is introduced to Giles Easton who is the Ambassadors opposite number with the British. Herman learns that the Ambassador told Angela to play with De Jongh since he was so late. Herman tells the Ambassador about the two young Dutch backpackers who haven’t talked to their families in several months but the Ambassador isn’t worried and believes the Thai police should handle it. Herman relents and promises to pass it along to the local police.

When Angela (Ellie Bamber) and her partner win, she learns about the missing Dutch couple from Herman. Then, we jump back in time two months and return to Bangkok. Willem and Lena arrive and discuss staying with Charles. Lena doesn’t want to stay with them and says they can meet with them later. Ajay Chowdhury (Amesh Edireweera) is there to meet them and explains he works for Charles. Lena tells Ajay that they wanted to go to Santa Cruz first, but Ajay says Alain wouldn’t allow it. They relent and go with Ajay to Kanit House. Charles and Marie are happy to see them and Dominique gives them drinks and fresh towels right away. They agree to wash all of their dirty clothes before Lena thanks Willem for not listening to her and visiting Charles first. They go upstairs and have a shower together. We jump forward two months and finds out that Herman and Lawana are still working on the case.

When Lawana’s call ends, she apologizes to Herman and says the police asked her to call back after the holiday which will be three days. Herman lets her go for the day before the Ambassador arrives and asks Herman about passing the case over to the police. Herman promises that he has. Herman calls Mr. Siemons and tells him he sits on the Intergovernmental Narcotics Liaison with him before they meet in person. Paul Siemons (Tim McInnerny) reminds Herman that they’re not his problem and finds it funny that the police are on holiday. Paul believes they expect great things from Herman and he is glad he is going to mess it up by trying to find them. He starts by saying he needs to find out if they arrived and there should be documentation proving it. Herman finds evidence that the couple indeed arrived. Then, Herman is told to check to see if they picked up any letters.

When Herman returns home, he tells Angela about the case. She agrees to help and begins calling around to ask about letters for Willem and Helena. It is discovered that there are six letters to Willem from Amsterdam. When the call ends, Angela tells Herman that there are letters and the couple never collected them. Then, she is asked about the Santa Cruz Hotel which is what Helena put on the paperwork before going to Charles’s place. She says it is a traveler’s motel and she can buy pot there. They decide to visit the motel immediately and ask about the missing couple. They’re shown paperwork that confirms they never arrived. Next, we jump 4 months earlier and Teresa arrives at the motel and agrees to split a room with another woman. They hang out and the woman can’t understand why Teresa is going to Nepal if she doesn’t smoke hash.

Teresa isn’t sure why Celia feels the need to get high since they’re on a bit of a trip already. They go to the monks and Teresa prays alongside them. Later, Teresa gives Celia a book and tells her she needs a drink. During their night out, Celia is approached by Ajay who invites them to the party. They want to get away from him because he is a creep. Teresa pulls Celia aside and tells her she is going to a Buddhist monastery to live there. She wants to do things she’ll never get to do again so Celia decides to let her go to the party. Four months later, Herman tells Paul he did everything he said. Laver from Australia joins them and learns about the couple that has gone missing. Paul steps away as the couple argues about the hobos. Laver tells Herman about a couple of hippy kids from Australia being killed in Thailand. Before Laver leaves, he tells Herman not to waste his time with them.

Paul decides to leave and ask Laver about his story about the two Australian travelers, Johnson and Rosanna Watson. That is who the cops thought they were but the bodies were never identified. Laver claims the bodies are the responsibility of the Western District Division, but changes his mind and says Eastern. He goes on to say that they just showed up and had been living on an island. We jump back two months and Willem and Lena are still living with Charles. Willem watches as Charles sells gems and finds out that Lena is outside in the pool. He stands on the balcony and listens to Marie and Lena discuss their relationships. Lena came on holiday but Charles made it impossible for her to leave. Charles tells Willem that he wants to help him and he could sell two gems in Amsterdam for 15,000 guilders.

Charles argues that employers always pick the whitest candidates in Europe and Willem admits it happened to his father all the time. Charles goes on to say that men like them must take the opportunities when they come and Willem confirms it is 15,000. Later, Charles goes through their passports while Willem and Lena hang out in the pool. Ajay and Marie join Charles and learn that the couple has more money than they had told them. Later, they all go out for a ride and entertainment. Marie tells Lena that they only want to help them. Lena understands that Charles wants them to buy the gems and sell them for twice the price when they get home. Marie argues the money would give them a good start and a nice life. Lena says they can’t afford it, but Marie gets upset and says she doesn’t believe her. She tells Lena to just buy the gems.

Lena steps away and returns to Willem. Marie motions to Charles and lets him know that Lena isn’t changing her mind. We see a glimpse of the couple crushing the pills. Then, they all have dinner together and Lena gets sick and vomits. Two months later, Angela picks up Herman late and they get into an argument about that. Herman says he can’t call Yotin and no one at the embassy can know what they’re doing. Angela is worried what will happen if they get caught before Herman asks to be driven to the Eastern Division police station. We jump back four months and go to the Kanit House. Teresa arrives with Ajay before Charles and Marie notice them. Teresa is introduced to Marie before learning that Charles is the gem dealer. Teresa finds a man she likes and sets her alarm clock for 7 AM. She says she’ll need to go as soon as it starts ringing. She tells him she has never slept with a Frenchman and then Charles interrupts and says Monique needs him to bring up more ice.

Charles sits with Teresa and learns where she is going. He asks her about the traveler’s checks she has with her and she says they’re for the monastery. Teresa is blunt and says she is not going to smuggle gemstones for Charles because she is taking her vows. He doesn’t understand that when she is there and openly offering herself to Dominique. He offers to take her to the sex shows on her last night. She puts her alarm clock in her bag and goes with them for the night, but Dominique goes back inside angrily. Ajay, Charles, and Teresa go to the club and Charles puts pills in her drink. It doesn’t take long for Teresa to finish her drink and begin feeling the effects of the pills. She tries to get up and walk away but collapses. She realizes she has been drugged with downers and immediately blames Charles. She tells everyone about Alain, Ajay, and being drugged by them.

They pull her out of the club and return her to the car. Teresa pleads with them to take the money but Charles tells her she can’t buy herself off of the wheel and it is American of her to think otherwise. Ajay wants to know if they’re going to leave her at the Santa Cruz, but Charles has other ideas. They go to the beach before Charles tells Ajay to leave her in the water because she has seen too much. He says it will be another Westerner who got high and went for a swim. Ajay sits down and Charles begins telling him about stealing a taxi in Peshawar and taking it to Tehran. The driver refused so he had to dose him and put him in the trunk. He checked on the man but found out that he had suffocated. He took him out and put him in the water and didn’t feel guilt. Instead, he felt free of his judgment and God’s. When asked if they caught him, Charles argues that nobody has ever caught him.

Then, he tells Ajay that they can do it together. Teresa asks him if he is going to hurt her but he says it is going to be better than that. Next, Celia looks at the book her friend gave her. Ajay carries the body down to the water while Charles watches. While Celia continues her journey, Teresa’s body is pulled from the water. We jump forward two months and Teresa’s alarm clock wakes Willem. Lena is still sick and someone watches them. Herman and Angela get information from the police station. They return to the car and Herman looks through the evidence. Next, Willem gets sick so Lena gets up and asks Marie what is wrong with them.

She doesn’t answer her while Herman looks at crime scene photographs. One of the pictures shows an article of clothing that was made in Holland. Charles puts Lena to bed while Herman believes he has found the missing couple. Lena and Willem plead with Charles to help them.

 

The Serpent Review

I always enjoy these true-crime television shows and think The Serpent will be appreciated by anyone who likes true-crime dramas. The only thing that was a bit odd was the constant time jumps. They weren’t terrible, but I think they could’ve been handled more efficiently.

Nevertheless, the show had to start somewhere and I think it did a good job of establishing the characters and relationships. It quickly delved deeper into how Charles Sobhraj managed to take advantage of young people on holiday just hoping to have a good time. It appears his behavior quickly escalated when he got away with it once.

It should be interesting watching Herman and Angela trying to track Charles while he slithers his way out of justice. The opening episode was good, but I think it’ll get much better in upcoming episodes. This one scores a 7 out of 10.