Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 2 Review: More Reliable Than Just Your Wits
Carissa Pavlica
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The mystery of who killed six nuns in their convent and why deepens with Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 2.
All kinds of things around out of whack. There’s a nun who isn’t, a nosey neighbor, possibly with an ulterior motive, and a shooter who aims to scare rather than kill.
We also got a better idea of the guilt the residents of Bouzols carry with them because of what they did to get rid of Philippe and what anger Jean-Pierre is harboring toward Spade.
But let’s begin at the end when Teresa finally comes clean with Sam about what she witnessed the night before.
We don’t know much about Teresa or her father, but although she’s still desperate to feel loved or wanted by her father, she seems to have absorbed quite a bit from her relationship with Sam Spade.
Spade is known for his witty retorts and sarcastic nature, which Police Detective Patrice reminds him of every time they meet.
It’s as if Teresa has been studying Sam’s behavior, and she meets him note for note with her wry comebacks to his questions. They play verbal ping pong as well as Sam and Patrice, a practice that normally comes with age.
I’ll tell you what. You stay and wait for your father to show up; smoke to your lungs’ content. I’ll be back at sundown. If you’re still hanging around, you’ll come home with me. If not, it’s swell knowing you, and I hope you and Philippe have a nice life on the run.
Sam
She’s also excellent at hiding her feelings, bottling them up inside rather than admitting fear of any kind. A normal girl her age wouldn’t be as calm after witnessing the nuns’ deaths and burying her tiny knife in a murderous monk.
Sam: You weren’t afraid?
Teresa: I had my knife. Though, sadly, I lost it.
Sam: In the chapel?
Teresa: In the monk.
She’s cool as a cucumber under intense pressure. It’s impressive, but it sure makes you feel for what she’s been through in her short life.
So, yeah, despite the fact she spent much of the hour lying about what happened, she was eventually shaken out of her stance and revealed the truth.
Sam didn’t bat an eyelash other than to be even more interested in why the nuns were involved in something involving the Mahdi.
According to Britannica.com, a Mahdi in Islam is “a messianic deliverer who will fill earth with justice and equity, restore true religion, and usher in a short golden age lasting seven, eight, or nine years before the end of the world.”
It’s not often we see stories tying Catholicism and Islam together, but if we’re talking about the end of the world, it would make sense. In fact, it's said that the appearance of Imam Mahdi will coincide with the coming back of Jesus Christ.
According to this paper from PhilArchive, "The appearance of Imam Mahdi is among the signs of the Day of Judgement. Imam Mahdi, with the assistance of the Messiah, will ensure the completion and practical actualization of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad."
If that's the direction this tale is taking, then Sam Spade has stumbled onto a significant case that could spell trouble for everyone involved.
Teresa lied about her father’s involvement, not from the standpoint that he was there and shot, but because she so desperately wants her fairytale ending with a father who cares for her more than whatever else he’s got going on.
Philippe will never be that man. But he is involved with this crime in some fashion.
The young nun who recently arrived and greeted Sam during a visit to the convent on Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 1 had a photo of herself and the boy, Zayd, in a locket. She also told the monk before her murder that the Mahdi was waiting.
Philippe and the young Sister had arranged for the boy to be in Bozouls. She might have been acting on a religious conviction, but if Philippe was involved, it was likely because he was being paid.
Sam snidely commented to Cynthia Fitzsimmons that he couldn’t imagine Philippe St. Andre having parted with a considerable sum or any sum to possess something he could just take for himself.
Similarly, Sam has said before that he takes jobs for the money, and once a job is finished, he lets it go.
Teresa was an exception, but it’s unlikely Philippe has any such exception to his rule.
If we surmised that Sam went to great lengths to free Bozouls of Philippe’s terror tactics, a flashback conversation between Patrice and the Mother Superior confirmed it.
So, tell me, if we do not actually fire the weapon, will your God forgive us for Philippe’s death?
Patrice [to Mother Superior]
During that discussion, they also touch on why Philippe was terrorizing him, and they definitely don’t settle on whether what they did to deserve it was warranted any more than what they did to Philippe.
The secrets run deep in Bozouls, making the case even more difficult to solve.
Peeling secrets like an onion can reveal motives you’d never even consider as an investigation got underway.
Monsieur Spade also appears to be setting up some red herrings, such as Jean-Pierre’s return from a hunting trip right after someone shot at Sam and Teresa.
Jean-Pierre feels wronged by Sam inheriting Gabrielle’s property after he brought the vineyard back to life. Could that drive him to kill? After what he saw in the war, it doesn’t make sense.
Marguerite: You may think you understand him, but you make him feel small. You make most men feel small.
Sam: That’s because they don’t know me. Then I’ve never much cared what other thought of me.
Marguerite: Not caring doesn’t make one bulletproof.
Sam: You should needlepoint that one on a pillow.
Jean-Pierre is haunted by his deployment, and by wanting what he believes is rightfully his, he’s more than likely trying to put his life back together rather than upend it entirely.
He loves Marguerite. He imagines a better life for them, and he doesn’t want to continue a life of the walking wounded.
Jean-Pierre’s hair-trigger makes him the wrong suspect for that shooting.
He returned from hunting with a new frame of mind to get what was his, but it took very little for him to get angry again. If he got angry enough to shoot at Sam and Teresa, he wouldn’t have been at the top of his game.
Whoever shot at them missed on purpose, and that’s not something that comes from a volatile man.
Henri, on the other hand, was sporting a brown leather jacket much like the one the cyclist was wearing.
Henri: I must confess. Since I was a child, you’ve been my hero.
Sam: Your hero?
Henri: Oui.
Sam: [disrobing] My advice? Trade up.
Who is he, exactly? He’s in the Army and has the same access to military weapons as Jean-Pierre would if he used his sources.
There’s so much to think about.
Which brings us to the Fitzsimmons duo. George tries too hard to be delightful for it to be genuine, and taking notes while watching the estate through the bushes sets off alarm bells.
Henri, too, took notes after seeing George do the same, which was also odd.
But it’s the arrival of George’s mother that takes things to another level. Who would wear a day suit on a lounge chair in the hot sun?
And all of that garbage about the painting screamed of something well beyond a desire to see her husband’s previous work. They wanted inside that house.
Oh, look George, at how he’s captured the flesh tones of this lovely naked lady.
Mrs. Fitzsimmons
Whether they’re just annoying and nosey or there is more to their sudden arrival and curious nature remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Patrice is right. Sam’s got to protect himself and Teresa with something other than his wits. Patrice is the one person Sam can trust, and I know that because of how they began their relationship and where it is now.
Patrice: Tell me, Sam. Outside of the antique Gabrielle got you for St. Valentine’s or whatever, do you still possess a working pistol?
Sam: Anyone who wants to shoot me will have to bring their own gun.
Patrice: I have no idea what that means, but it has the ring of your usual moral foolishness. Still, there’s a madman running around. You might want to protect yourself with something more reliable than just your wits.
Neither of them was blowing smoke up each other’s behinds, but they’ve begrudgingly come to respect one another. That’s how trust is built.
Sam's desire to live a tranquil life is disrupted because of his ties to Teresa and his appreciation for Bozouls, discovered through the love of his wife, Gabrielle.
It's so fun seeing people pulled in many directions at once. Multi-dimensional characters are born of what makes them tick, how they operate when provoked, what secrets they hide, and what they reveal.
As a result, Monsieur Spade hits all the right notes, weaving together a decades-long mystery, multiple suspects of mass murder, sharp dialogue, and winsome characters.
This is a diamond in the rough, and when it's all over, I hope another chapter can be written in Sam Spade's life.
But what do you think? Hit the comments below with your thoughts.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
