Family Business – Season 1 Episode 5 “Pastraweed” Recap & Review

Hiding The Evidence

The penultimate episode to Family Business sees all the characters moved in alignment, ready for the season finale. As all the characters charge toward the ultimate prize, one final hurdle stands in their way.

The episode starts with Gerard taking part in a home makeover show, organised by Enrico. Back at the country house, they all worry about the police activity around the farm and the smell the plants are creating. Gerard arrives and wants them to come to the shop to get filmed. Olivier wants to go but Gerard refuses, claiming that he only wants family there. Meanwhile, Olivier continues his relationship with Clem which seems to be going well. He tells her about Gerard’s rejection and that prompts her to jokingly propose to him.

Ludmila prepares her specialty dish to mask the smell of the plants but the plan backfires when the police come to have dinner with them.

Aida then reveals to Aure that she’s pregnant but also that she hasn’t told Joseph yet because she is not sure she sees a future with him. The next day, Joseph and Aure go to their meeting at the Ministry but they find out they’re not on the list and are unable to get in which leads him to confront Clem. Olivier also arrives but she doesn’t want to let them in. Joseph gives her a touching speech about Olivier and it ends with Olivier declaring his love for her.

Meanwhile, Aure gets closer with a policewoman she met and they share a kiss. Joseph calls Youssef to ask for an extension but Youssef confronts and threatens him as he has found out that Joseph and his sister are going out. However, he defends himself by saying he’s in love with her.

Back at the country house, the police want to organise a party for their 10th anniversary and as they have plumbing problems, they ask if they can use their barn. To not raise suspicion, they agree and later scramble to get rid of all the evidence of cannabis. While Aida arrives and finally sees what her boyfriend has been up to, Joseph and his friends decide to hide the truck with the weed inside Ali’s boss’ garage.
After the party, Gerard finds out that Enrico was sent by Joseph and the latter gets angry when his father reveals that Aure has been seeing the policewoman. The episode then ends with another cliffhanger where we see Olivier coming out of the truck and getting knocked out by a dark figure.

The penultimate episode brings some revelations and developments to some of the character story arcs, skillfully paving the way to the finale. However, if there’s one gripe here, it comes from finding out a bit more about Ali and Olivier’s back story which is sadly lacking. Although briefly touched on in each episode, there doesn’t feel like enough and it ultimately leaves us wanting more.

Given his prolific appearance in other French series, Darmon shines through the entire series and shows his experience in drama and comedy here. So far, each episode has ended with an interesting cliffhanger but whether the finale will follow suit, remains to be seen.