Jaguar – Season 1 Episode 2 “The Hotel” Recap & Review

The Hotel

Episode 2 of Jaguar begins with Isabel eating dinner with Marse, Castro and Lucena. The gang have quite the stories to tell, given they were held up in holocaust camps too. This conversation works wonders too, showcasing the high-stakes of this game and just why the crew are so adamant on bringing the Nazi to justice.

They haven’t forgotten about Otto Bachmann though, and in fact their first plan is to cozy up with him and his wife Ilse in order to learn more about Heim and his connections. With the man due to arrive at the Hotel Ritz in 8 days, it’s game on.

This is obviously difficult for Isabel, given her past, but she keeps a cool head as she makes her way to the main atrium with Lucena. He points out who Ilse is, and makes it clear that it’s important they get on her good side. She’s pretty valuable to their plan, given she happens to be the niece of Hjalmar Schacht – Hitler’s finance minister.

Ilse seems to be the weak link and the way in, which Lucena wants to exploit. With time ticking relentlessly by, Isabel arrives at a dress shop and immediately gains Ilse’s attention.

While she tries on a dress in view of Ilse and her friends, Marse and Lucena run into trouble outside when an officer arrives to check their vehicle. Finding guns stashed in the trunk, the duo are forced to bundle the man in the trunk to avoid blowing their cover. When Isabel returns, she confirms the dress-buying was a success.

When Ramos finds out about this too, she hands over an invitation to Lucena for a fiesta that evening. This is a masquerade organized by the women’s section of the Falange – and it’s their ticket into getting close to Otto. Lucena’s cover is that he’s a Nazi sympathizer and a businessman in the import/export business.

The Masquerade Ball goes ahead and both Lucena and Isabel show up together and dace, dressed in their outfits. When Bachmann shows up, sporting a bear outfit no less, he immediately warms toward a girl called Marta on the periphery of the party. Ilse doesn’t exactly take kindly to this and takes a leave of absence.

As she does, Isabel senses an opportunity and follows. This works pretty well, managing to inject some confidence back in Ilse and gain her trust too. Isabel does exactly what she was supposed to, managing to break down the barriers and causally introduce Lucena and Otto to talk business.

Isabel is awkward and uncomfortable though, something that Otto immediately senses. He encourages her to touch his scar and she somehow stays calm and collected the whole time. Thankfully this also paves way for a dinner date later that week between them.

That night though, tensions flare between the group on the back of this meeting. Young Castro heading out for an evening stroll is enough to miss an important call from Bachmann that may well have compromised them. Despite that though, the gang decide to press on with this dinner, uneasy in the knowledge that their identities could well be compromised.

Lucena and Isabel arrive at Haus restaurant but Otto’s reserved and suspicious gaze does nothing to quell their concerns Thankfully the maître d is on their side, which Isabel manages to find out after confronting him in the back. The dinner goes ahead without a hitch but what follows rings alarm bells.

Otto wants to speak to Lucena in private, taking him away in their car to parts unknown. Meanwhile, Ilse is tasked with staying with Isabel for the time being. As the pair are split up, the episode ends on an agonizing cliffhanger.

The Episode Review

Could it be game over for our crew? Are their identities compromised? We’ll have to wait and see of course but it certainly doesn’t look good.

Isabel slots right into the group though, managing to use her cunning and skills to grow closer to Ilse. It’s a little touch and go at the masquerade ball though but  it’s clear that this conflict is only going to simmer and grow more tense as the episodes progress.

It’s a risky game that these guys are playing but clearly something that’s necessary to  work out how deep the rabbit hole goes.

This follow-up chapter also allows a few of the supporting characters to step forward, including the Deaf Man, Marse and Castro who all feature here in one way or another.

This is certainly shaping up to be an intriguing series and the characters are engaging enough to stick with this one.