As the 7th episode of The Serpent begins, Marie (Jenna Coleman) and Charles (Tahar Rahim) arrive at a motel while Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) talks to a colleague about the fugitives. He calls another person and tells them about the fugitives. Lawana (Apasiri Kulthanan) listens as Herman argues with the man on the telephone. Herman hangs up after the man tells him he cannot help him. Marie and Charles share a drink to celebrate their arrival in Paris. After the intro, Remi (Gregoire Isvarine) and Nadine (Mathilde Warnier) go to Jean-Olivier Bellanger (Christophe Serge Gerber) to ask for his assistance. They try to explain that the murdered European girl is Stephane Parry who was a French citizen. They tell Bellanger about Charles traveling to Paris to meet his mother and recommend that the French police pick them up.

Bellanger isn’t convinced since they have little evidence. Remi gets upset before Bellanger tells them the office behind him is filled with files of French refugees from Vietnam. He says they’re helping each of them flee a real war again real Communism. He admits he doesn’t believe the accusations against the famous Mr. Gautier. We are transported 6 months in the past and Stephane Parry (Alma Jodorowsky) takes Cleo (Megan Gammons) to see her mother. Cleo only speaks English and Steph is trying to find her friend Vitali who has gone to Thailand. Steph asks for her mother’s forgiveness since she hasn’t visited her in a long time before admitting she is worried about Vitali. Then, we see Vitali (Ilker Kaleli) who is busy hanging out with Marie and telling her about Steph. He says Cleo isn’t his before asking Marie if she wants babies with Alain.

She says not yet but he encourages her to do it now. Charles joins them and Vitali is convinced they would make beautiful babies. Before long, Vitali finds himself sick after being poisoned by Alain. He asks for Monique’s help before telling Alain he must take him to the hospital. Alain simply gives him more medicine while Vitali encourages him to call Steph for him. Then, we jump forward and Nadine and Remi meet with Angela (Ellie Bamber), Paul (Tim McInnerny), and Herman. Nadine tells them about their visit and trying to get help. Herman says he’ll think of something, but that isn’t good enough for Nadine. She says she lost and it will never end. Remi says they’re finished and Herman should’ve let Paul shoot him. Paul agrees and says all of them are finished. He believes they should let it go since Alain is gone.

When they leave, Herman tells Angela he doesn’t know what to do. Later that night, she tells him he has already done so much and nobody holds him responsible for any of this. Herman begins talking about his extraordinary mother. In November 1944, an allied bomb destroyed their house but they weren’t inside. They were homeless and she took care of them. Then, Herman reveals his father got tuberculosis when he was 11. When he was 15, his father was committed to a mental institution due to everything he experienced during the war. It took years for the government to award a military pension so his mother had to take care of everything. His mother claimed you would always be free with a book and a bicycle. He says everyone talks about freedom but he never really understood the sacrifice of it until now.

After that, Marie talks to her mother and lets her know she is in Paris. She is warned that the police are searching for her. Her mother wants to know why so Marie says she had no idea but it will be okay. She is convinced they’re going to start a new life in Paris. She tells her mother about their upcoming business meeting and getting to meet Charles’s mom. Seconds later, Marie and Charles visit his mother and give her flowers. His mother tries to cause trouble by mentioning Juliette but Marie already knows about her. Charles says they’re going to have children of their own as soon as they settle down. Marie asks about Madhu before getting closer to look at the pictures. She says it is awful for a little girl to be taken from her father and to lose her mother so young. They begin talking about Charles’s stepfather who did so much for him according to his mother.

Charles isn’t sure since he adopted his sister but not him. His mother argues that Charles could be hard to love, but Marie isn’t sure how any child can be hard to love. Charles interrupts and admits coming here was a bad idea. He asks Marie to wait outside before his mother says she cannot believe she can have a normal life with her son. She admits she made the same mistake with his father. Marie listens to Charles and steps outside. Meanwhile, Charles talks to his mother about Madhu. His mother says Madame Voclain is mortally ill and Juliette and the child were in New York. Charles claims Juliette flew to her mother’s side to say her farewell. He is warned he should be careful since he is 33 and Jesus died when he was 33, but Charles says he is smarter than Jesus Christ.

He is convinced he’ll die an old man. He goes outside to Marie and says he can’t win with his mother. Marie asks why his mother would say those things. She is told not to worry about it since it’ll be the last time they see her. He complains about his childhood with his mother and running away because he was so unhappy. He doesn’t want to hear it again and wants Marie to focus on the deal and building a life in Paris together. Herman and the Ambassador meet with two men about foreign investments. Herman is tasked with overseeing the matter personally. When the Ambassador steps away, he talks to Stanton about the Bangkok Post. The Ambassador is shown a newspaper article and told there is still a killer out there. Herman rushes over and grabs the newspaper before taking it back to Lawana to read it.

Although some of the details are correct, the victims’ names and many details are not. It also claims the couple stayed one night at the apartment of a Dutchman named Ngoti. Although the newspaper is a rag, Herman says people need to know the truth about the murders. He asks her to get Graeme Stanton (Stuart Bowman) on the phone. Stanton is the editor of the Bangkok Post. Before long, Herman sits down with Stanton and tells him that everything is wrong and the woman’s name was Stephane Parry. He knows she was murdered by Gautier but he can’t prove it. Meanwhile, Charles watches Madhu from his vehicle. Stanton tells Herman he is taking a risk talking to him, but Herman says people are in danger as long as Gautier is out there. Charles continues watching as Juliette (Stacy Martin) joins her daughter outside. A man joins them and Madhu calls that man dad.

Stanton tells Herman you never know which newspaper stories will grip but when they do they spread like a virus. He is warned he is about to kick a sealed door wide open and it could swing back at him. Herman says he is done with knocking politely. We jump back and watch as Steph shows up at Kanit House in hopes of finding Vitali and Gautier. He meets with Monique and asks her about Vitali, but she doesn’t answer and only says her husband will be back soon. They talk about their children. Steph has one and Monique plans on having many. Monique offers her more ice tea. She goes to get it when Charles walks in with Ajay. Steph notices that Ajay is wearing his necklace and she wants to know why he has it since he never took it off. Ajay claims it was given to him as a gift and Charles quickly tries to calm her down. He asks Monique to bring her some tea.

Ajay agrees to return the necklace so she can return it to Vitali when she finds him. Monique dumps drugs into the tea while Ajay and Charles talk to Steph about the things Vitali told them. Back in the present, Monique asks Charles to tell her what he did to the French woman and the Turk who loved her. He doesn’t want to talk about that and reminds Monique that she promised to drop it. He says he took them to the same place and left them there. He says this has to stop now. She forces Charles to swear he didn’t make an orphan of that woman’s child. She pushes him to swear on Madhu and he does before asking her to forget about it now. Angela wakes up Herman to show him the article in the Bangkok Post. Interpol authorities take notice and decide to contact the Bangkok Post so they can talk to the editor. Paul gets a copy of the article before Lieutenant Colonel Suthimai tracks down Herman.

He says he is with Thai Interpol and proves it by displaying his identification. He tells Herman he wants to see his materials while Paul approaches Angela and asks why she didn’t try to stop Herman. She says it might work since people can’t brush it under the rug now. Paul is concerned that it will never be over and the stink will follow Herman for the rest of his life. The Ambassador finds Herman and ridicules his decision. Angela tells Paul that they might catch this one but he wonders what the cost will be. Next, Charles and Marie meet with the Boeder couple. They begin checking out the gems while Charles tells them about his past work. Otto (Johan van Assche) admits he didn’t expect a man of color to be in this business. Charles warns it would be unwise for him to judge his goods as he has judged him. Dagmar (Nicole Beutler) confirms that the certificates are in order.

However, there is a matter on which they would appreciate some clarity. Otto tells him about a newspaper story from Thailand and both of their names being mentioned as suspects. They’re shown a transcript of the newspaper article but Gautier says it is a totally false story spread by the Chinese cartels in Hong Kong. He tries to convince them he has no motive to kill hippies. Charles offers to take the gems and the sample and leave. Otto recites an old saying he knows which says, “I would rather swallow a chopstick than trust a Chinaman.” He agrees to continue working with Charles. Dagmar tells Monique to keep the transcript so she can know what they’re saying about them. Once they leave, Monique wonders how she can forget it if the world will not. He claims they use the rag to clean their windows in Thailand before she asks what his mother meant about being hard to love.

She asks if he really left them at the beach. In a flashback, Charles and Ajay take Steph to the place where Vitali came. He goes on about love before saying they bound Vitali, drove him in this vehicle to a paddy field nearby, and beat him. Then, they put a rag in his mouth to stop his screaming before taking a razor blade to his long hair. They poured gas on him and set him on fire. Charles tells Ajay to take the beads back before she is pulled from the car. Sompol goes to Herman’s place and tells the couple that their work is extraordinary. They learn that the Frenchwoman has been missing for months and her family couldn’t convince the French authorities to act. They’re told that Steph was involved with Vitali who was a drug trafficker. Her child was left in Paris and he was present when her body was identified. Nobody knows how she died but their work changes that.

Angela encourages Nadine to talk to him and says it is different since he is from Interpol. Moments later, Monique rings the doorbell for Chabanol. Herman waits at the Interpol office with Remi, Nadine, and Angela. Suda (Chicha Amatayakul) enters with Monique’s dog in her arms. She pays close attention to them as she leaves before Nadine is called into the colonel’s office. Herman is forced to stay in the lobby. Monique talks to Charles’s mother and learns about his half-brother Guy. She admits they have been the same person since Guy is still in prison after Charles convinced him to take part in a robbery. Charles was already wanted so he convinced Guy to switch identities with him. As a result, Charles escaped but his brother was tortured when the guards found out. Charles watches his daughter while Monique is asked if she is there to learn what he does to the people he is closest to.

His mother says she had Charles with the man she loved more than any other and she sees that man in Charles. She tells Monique how they watch people love and learn how to mimic it. Juliette is shocked when Charles knocks on her door. She doesn’t let him in since her father will be back soon, but Charles knows he won’t. He steps inside anyway. Monique is told that the child is better off and that Charles always lies. She tries to tell her the truth about Juliette. Charles tells Juliette he is a businessman and will be opening a bank account in his name. She hands him a magazine with his picture on it. Monique finds the same newspaper after leaving his mother’s house. She begins freaking out while Juliette tells Charles that she looks like her. She encourages Charles to just go since she is married now. He isn’t willing to give up and says he never stopped loving her.

She sympathizes with Marie before telling Charles he needs to go, but he gets upset and believes she still loves him. She urges him to leave Paris while he still can. Steph’s mother learns that her daughter’s remains will be repatriated tomorrow night before she asks the Dutchman’s name. She is told his name is Knippenberg and says she wants to pass on her thanks. Detectives visit Charles’s mother. She quickly confirms that her son is Alain Gautier and Monique is his lover. She explains that her son’s real name is Charles Sobhraj. Marie complains to Charles who realizes she went to see his mother behind her back. She says he has made her a murderer and he says he wouldn’t have a baby with her. She blames him for everything before the colonel tells Herman and the others that they’ve found two more bodies.

They were exhumed this morning. Charles says Ajay orphaned the kid since he strangled her mother before breaking her name after he asked him to. He confesses to killing Vitali before mentioning the American girl and the couple in Nepal. Herman learns that they’ve identified the bodies of Teresa Knowlton and Vitali Hakim. Nadine remembers Teresa from a party and says she left with Alain and Ajay. Sompol shows them the international arrest warrant that will go to every law enforcement agency in the world. The whole world will be tracking him down. Charles gets angry at Marie and tells her to pack her packs of she will get arrested and be sent back to Bangkok where they have the death penalty. He tells her she is a killer too and the Thais will execute her. They begin packing faster while Paul asks Herman if he would let him shoot Gautier now if he could redo it.

Herman says no. We hear news reports about the couple as they flee across the world. They eventually go to Bombay, India. Charles tells Marie he knows she is disappointed and afraid but he promises they’ll never end up in jail. He says nobody cages us. When they get out of the car, he says he hates it there too but there is no better place to start playing the game again. He believes they can go anywhere they want in a few weeks. They go inside and the episode ends.

 

The Serpent Review

The Serpent has been captivating from the very beginning. This episode was very rewarding since we finally got to see Herman and Angela’s efforts pay off, but it is bittersweet too. I really don’t want this show to end because I haven’t been watching anything else on this level. The story is fascinating and moving. The actors and actresses have done exceptionally well here too.

The show seems authentic even though the dialogue is made up, and I think it was respectfully done. I am eager to see how they’re going to end the series so I’ll try to watch the finale as soon as possible. I am confident that most people will enjoy The Serpent but it is a must for true-crime fans. This episode scores an 8 out of 10. Previous and future recaps of The Serpent are available on Reel Mockery here.