Spoiler alert: This blog contains spoilers for season five, episodes seven and eight of Spiral.
Catch up with Vicky Frost’s episode five and six recap
You’ve got to feel for Gilou. After years of terrible behaviour, the reformed inspector begins acting like a model(ish) citizen, only to find himself arrested for trying to help out his boss, the hapless Herville – a man who appears happy to let Escoffier take the fall for his dodgy trackers. And just at the moment Gilou should have been pretending to be an underworld printer-cartridge magnate too. (I was quite looking forward to that performance.)
The arrest also comes at a particularly unfortunate time for the investigation, which really does seem to involve a very unlikely set of people at this point: it’s like there are only 10 people in the whole of Paris, so surprising are some of the coincidental connections.
Let’s see: Joséphine’s client Laetitia hangs out with Karen Hoarau, who has links with Zac, the ATM mastermind, who was also the father of Lucie, Sandrine’s child, found dead with her mother in a canal; Pierre’s client Stéphane Jaulin is currently in custody for their murder. In addition, Karen was fostered by Sandrine’s parents – who I bloody knew were not at all right – and is the ringleader of the group of girls who gave Laure a kicking right at the beginning of this series. (And that’s before we come to Tintin’s link between Libyan millionaire Trek Ziani and Dijbril – who now, at les flics’ request, is also working with Zac.) At times I wonder if Spiral could possibly make itself any more knotty.
Sandrine and Lucie
Sandrine’s father sexually abused her as a child, but was not the father of Lucie. Instead that was Zac the nutcase: when Sandrine was sent away to boarding school in her late teens, he was another pupil. Sandrine was not only letting flats to the ATM-raiders, but also buying les portables for them. But her relationship with Zac at least explains why she was doing that.
How did Sandrine and her daughter die? I presumed at first it would be at the hand of her father, racked with guilt. Or that Sandrine took drastic action to protect her daughter. (I know, I hadn’t thought that one through.) But now it looks increasingly like something went wrong between Sandrine and Zac and he is responsible. Obviously I reserve the right to completely change my mind on that. Although I was, of course, right about the grandparents being definitely dodgy. Have I mentioned that?
Les ATM raiders
Les flics should be ashamed of their performance at the hotel, in which Berthaud was left to sprint after Marouane on her own despite the many armed officers with her, and Zac managed to escape by hiding under the stairs like a really violent Harry Potter, and then getting into a handy minibus that the police didn’t think to search as it left the hotel. Still, Herville did at least get the €350,000 back which Zac had promised to the biker with the luxuriant topnot. (Really, he had very nice hair.)
Joséphine
What a couple of episodes for Maître Karlsson – and what a performance from Audrey Fleurot. I had almost forgotten about that special kind of brittle toughness she brings to Joséphine because we’ve seen so little of it this series. Now, though, she is at her most vulnerable: seeing her alone in Pierre’s apartment, tucking a lock of her hair into the pocket of the suit she had picked out for him, and relistening to his message over and over … I was glad to see Laure offer her comfort. I was less glad, it must be said, to see Edelman hand her a cheque for €25,000 instead of a couple of thousand. He has more than a touch of the Szabos about him.
Les juges
“I always knew you were stubborn but fair – now I seem to hardly recognise you, you’re so aloof and arrogant.” Roban has been chastened by Marianne’s departure, and rightly so. This episode we saw more of the Roban we know; principled but not blinkered. I loved his passionate plea to Joséphine not to give up in the law – “Do it for yourself, or do it for a distraction” – and his visit to Jaulin to tell him to keep the faith and lawyer up. I am also really looking forward to watching him work with Juge Mendy. They make quite the pair: both entirely determined, Roban with the experience to know when to go softly and how to get results; Mendy with the youthful vigour to just leap right in. They made a brilliant team at Ziani’s house. And I don’t entirely fancy Machard’s chances against such an alliance in the future.
Laure
So it seems as if Berthaud has finally come to a decision about her pregnancy: her pleads, when faced with danger, that she is with child in contrast to her attitude, albeit possibly laced with bravado, following the earlier attack. “People do stupid things when they’re hormonal,” Herville grumbles at Laure, telling her off for not sharing her pregnancy with him. “I didn’t know if I was going to keep it,” she replies.
Unfortunately, while Berthaud seems a great deal more at peace having made her decision, Papa Escoffier, far from offering stability and prams and cribs and all the like, is busy being arrested for conspiracy to receive stolen goods. I’m also increasingly worried about his friendship with Dijibril and where that’s going to end up (not least given the team’s failure to protect Cindy his girlfriend, and the connection with Ziani). It seems the Spiral happy-ever-after will never be. And who will stop Laure from smoking then?
Thoughts and observations
• With the addition of Juge Mendy, Spiral now has strong female leads in all branches of the drama. (And of course a fairly fearsome gang of girls roaming Paris.) What great roles for women – let’s just hope Roban’s reformed behaviour can cajole Marianne back into the office.
• We just lost a suspect because your wife nicked your car!” This detail really amused me.
• And yet things were softer between Tintin and Laure this couple of episodes. I also enjoyed his pregnancy-spotting: “Look at the size of your boobs!”
• More outrageous policing: that’s the end of your interview, but fancy un sandwich and a chat now your lawyer has departed?
• A nice moment when Mendy came and stood next to Roban at the memorial for Pierre.
• “Me? I couldn’t give a shit.” Joséphine’s indifference may have backfired.
• Burger Street: presumably the French equivalent of Cafe Rouge, only with less annoying illustrations on the walls.
• “Lovely taps, too.” – Roban’s looking for a job with Elle decoration, perhaps.
