Spoiler alert: This blog contains spoilers for season five, episodes three and four of Spiral.
Catch up with the episode one and two blog.
Sometimes the BBC4 double bills suit Spiral brilliantly – this week, there was a noticeable difference in approach between the two episodes. Each of them came with a distinctive feel and was gripping for different reasons: the first instalment for the raw emotions exposed; the courtroom for its energy and smart twist. Both reminded me of why I enjoy the French drama so much, even while I am at times puzzled by the French justice system. On y va!
The murders
I am minded to agree with Berthaud here about Jaulin and his likely innocence. But Roban – and indeed the evidence – seem to be painting a different picture. Laure, Gilou and Tintin managed to uncover Jaulin’s second phone and amateur porn business. (Gilou: “Ninety percent of men have porn on their computer.” Herville: “Where did you get that figure?”) In doing so, of course, they also uncovered Jaulin’s lies; he did indeed visit the family house the evening of Sandrine and Lucie’s death, while that cash didn’t come from decorating. And then of course, there’s Léo’s assertion that his dad used to hit Sandrine around the head with great force.
That case still feels flimsy to me, but Roban seems determined to be proved right where Jaulin is concerned. Pierre’s point – that Léo has been in daily contact with his grandparents who have a clear motive for getting the little boy to testify about his father – seems to stand. As does the view of Roban’s learned friend who suggested that Jaulin was “a victim of prejudice.” And yet still our judge is determined to plough on, either patronising, undermining or bullying almost every woman to cross his path this episode. I’m not surprised Marianne is giving him unimpressed looks. Only Joséphine seems to have his measure – and I’m not entirely convinced that she is his equal conspirator here, much as she might think it.
Having outrageously bossed his younger colleague off the cashpoint raid case, Roban appears to now be resolutely ignoring it, despite the fingerprint that links Blanco with Lucie’s slipper. It is a good job (for the case, if not for her) that Berthaud is equally as stubborn when it comes to hunches – although she at least has the good grace to recognise them as exactly that. All the crazy arm-twisting with Djibril Merini might be worth it if he really can give them Blanco.
Les flics
Tintin is fast heading for a breakdown, and Laure is too busy with her own troubles and Gilou too busy with Laure for anyone to offer the support Tintin clearly needs. (The suggestion, “You need to get your leg over,” perhaps not one of Gilou’s most sympathetic responses.) The speakerphone moment was brilliantly, awkwardly done – as were the heartbreaking accusations it sparked.
Laure, of course, is also on the verge of a breakdown. Unable to face Brémont or keep her temper, she is adamant she wants a termination, and yet lets the case get in the way of her appointment. Without wishing to turn this recap into an argument about abortion, I remain in two minds about the way Spiral is tackling Berthaud’s pregnancy and the difficult decisions it presents. Because she is so damaged and grieving so deeply, it feels sometimes like her wish to terminate her pregnancy is being presented as an extension of her general fury at life. And that may well be the case for Laure – but the danger when you’re dealing with this kind of issue in a drama is that one decision comes to represent the whole debate. There are times I feel uncomfortable with the apparent madness of Laure and her wish to end her pregnancy versus the apparent sanity of the men who counsel her to think again.
Gilou meanwhile, while not yet Papa Escoffier, is stepping up and being a responsible officer. He’s increasingly acting as a bridge between Laure and Herville – not even crowing after the boss apologised for being a fool – and (perhaps) la Capitaine and the rest of her team. To a point of course: I share Gilou’s exasperation with Laure over Brémont and her refusal to see him, even if Brémont is also being slightly less than professional too. No doubt he will be even less so when he realises that Berthaud’s team have claimed his informer for their own.
The car ‘accident’
One of the things I most like about Spiral is the show’s ability to mix things up: to take urban crime, corrupt cops, the search for justice, and sometimes just an old-fashioned courtroom drama, and combine them so brilliantly. I was glad to have a break from Roban’s chambers – where much currently seems to be influenced by his own prejudices, whether for good or bad – and it is always a pleasure to see Karlsson at work, not least when she’s striding up to gangs of men and telling them off. But I was pleased, in a way, that the writers didn’t give her everything she perhaps deserved when it came to taking on the police. The court’s refusal to come to any conclusions was frustrating for Joséphine, of course, but a reminder too that while she and Roban have prevented a terrible miscarriage of justice, in doing so they have caused a grieving woman a massive amount of pain.
I remain a bit confused about where we are with regard to a possible criminal prosecution against the policemen – this week we were in the civil courts, with an action bought by the victim’s widow. Also why the papers wouldn’t be extremely interested in a case where all the evidence has disappeared, and the police are suspects. It’s not just the police union who has influence, surely.
Les silks
The fallout from season four means we’re necessarily spending more time with the police team than our loved-up lawyers and increasingly infuriating judge, at the expense particularly of Pierre’s storyline. It feels as though he’s had lots of plot development so far, and not enough interesting stuff; his defence of Jaulin in the custody case this week a welcome exception. Let’s hope that Joséphine’s selflessness (ahem) has interesting results.
Thoughts and observations
• Laure seemed to get over that vicious beating pretty quickly. It’s the sort of kicking that would leave, say, Broadchurch characters, with broken ribs and massive bruising.
• Laure and Gilou appear to have adopted his’n’hers V-neck tops. Do they go shopping together? If so, they should also go buy some trousers: they’ve got about three pairs between them.
• You’ll never be able to outrun the police in those heels: a strong selling point for the makers of flat shoes.
• A moment of light-heartedness for Tintin that made me chuckle: he and Gilou being muppets. See also, Gilou’s “always eating” face at Laure, and his great “boss” face behind Herville’s back. Although it must be said, he and Tintin seem to be negotiating life with Herville fairly deftly: “It’s not above board. It’s completely illegal.”
• I’m presuming that the thieves-on-mopeds storyline will intersect with the cash-machine raids at some point. (Perhaps around the cash-for-gold shops?) But I may be completely wrong.
• And I loved the scene where our trio convinced Merini into ditching the crime unit and being their informer. Brémont? Who’s Brémont?
