Liaison – Season 1 Episode 2 “Chaos” Recap & Review

Chaos

Alison stares out the window at Gabriel for a good few seconds, as episode 2 of Liaison begins. It is an intense exchange and it is only broken off when Kim, Albert’s daughter from his previous marriage, comes down for ice cream.

Alison and Albert embrace. The latter tells her that he is taking the case and Alison apologizes for her rash response. A correction from the previous recap: Alison and Albert are not married. Sophie, Didier, and the President have another conversation about the impending terrorist threat. They discuss if France should extend a helping hand to the UK and cooperate on the threat. Didier is not in favour but Sophie is. Circumstances dictate that France play it carefully. Syria approached them first for help and the President sided with Didier on this one.

We also learn that Dumas, who runs Telkis, the organization Gabriel works for, is a retired DGSE legend. If they continue to use him, France can negate all liability. Kim has a school trip coming up to King’s Cross. She does not particularly like Alison too much and Albert asks Kim to give her a chance. Alison finds a note from Gabriel, calling her to Brick Lane for an AA meeting. There, they talk about why Gabriel is in London. He wants to know his location and says that Alison “owes it to him”. They get in the car and talk about Walid. Gabriel briefs her about what happened in Syria and tells her about the terrorist attack on the UK.

But he does not know who is planning it. He also lies about his association with DGSE. Alison says he needs to surrender first before she can help him and since he is DGSE, he will not be in trouble. Gabriel says he needs Walid to scan his fingerprint to access the USB drive. She stops the car and calls Shahina to get Walid’s location. He is in St. Callum’s ICU unit, which Gabriel overhears. A police officer tells them that it is a no-parking zone and Gabriel almost shoots him fearing he has come for him. He leaves the car with the address but Alison does not know this.

Albert meets with Hobbs to discuss the case. He senses something more sinister is going on as they won’t create all this fuss for a fight in the elevator. Hobbs decides to tell him the truth about Gabriel and a possible terrorist attack. Albert points out that Walid cannot be related to ISIS when Hobbs suggests so because he is wearing a Druze star. Druze are against radical Islam and Hobbs remarks he did not have it on after the attack in the elevator. It is because that star is with Gabriel.

Someone hacks into the rail control system and it leads to a collision of trains near the King’s Cross. The one that Kim is on is one of the two. She is heavily injured and Alison reaches the spot when Richard is alerted about it. Kim is taken to St. Callum and we see Gabriel wearing doctor’s clothes to get into the ICU. He even sees Alison for a brief second but she does not say anything.

He takes Walid’s fingerprint and Alison embraces Gabriel passionately. They just about kiss before Walid’s life system alters the doctors. Gabriel escapes. The President meets with Sophie and Didier and learns that the UK did not have an agreement with EU Cybersecurity Task Force. He hands over the reins of the case to Sophie and DGSE, angering Didier. Telkis is still in charge of bringing Walid and Samir back to France.

He goes to meet Dumas and Dumas assures him that the Hamzas will be Didier’s when they land in France. We see Samir going to Dunkirk, France, to hide. A couple of thugs attack him near an immigrant camp along the beach but they aren’t able to take his phone which he clasps close to his chest.

A fellow Syrian helps him up. Hobbs visits Albert and Alison. She tells them that Gabriel is with Telkis and not the DGSE, shocking Alison. She is aghast at learning the truth and that the police are tracking Gabriel’s trail. She tries to dissuade them from doing so but it does not work. Hobbs gets info that the team have him cornered but Gabriel manages to escape.

He requests to meet Alison in the city and she agrees, saying she is going to the COBRA meeting, which Hobbs is attending as well. She admonishes him for lying to her and asks him to go back to France. Gabriel reprimands Alison “for saving her skin once again”. He does not give her the USB with the data because he cannot open it without a password. Only Samir and Walid can do it.

Gabriel is ordered to return back by Dumas. Hobbs sees Alison come in late to the COBRA meeting. Richard and the PM’s advisor, Toby, have a tussle as to what to do next. Alison suggests they strike a deal with the EU immediately but Toby resists it. They have also tracked down Samir‘s whereabouts in Dunkirk.

Richard decides to go ahead with the deal despite Toby’s reservations in Brussels. He asks Alison to go with Bolton and get the deal signed. Bob, someone with a vested interest in the Syrians’ data, meets Didier. He expresses his desire for the British not to be able to sign the deal with Europe and Didier says he “will handle it.” Alison is to meet Sabine in Brussels. But it turns out she is Didier’s lover. She is his contact and he can easily ensure Alison and Bolton are killed. Didier convinces Sabine and we also learn he has a child, Pierre, with Sabine.

Myriam informs Samir she is in Belgium. He says he will come for her and Hachim in a few days. Alison comes back home and we see Kim’s mother trying to tell her to go to a therapist. Alison has lost her phone and we see Gabriel has it. We see him on his way to France and looking at a photo of Alison kissing him on the phone.

The Episode Review

Everything seems to be quite standard in Liaison until now. We expected some twists and energy in the plot in this episode but it did not come. Eva Green and Vincent Cassel provided the only highlights of the episode. They certainly have intense chemistry between them and the makers would be rewarded to give us more of them on the screen.

All we know right now is that the UK will have another terrorist attack coming. If the previous incidents have been warnings, this will be huge in magnitude. For some reason, the writing felt very convenient in this episode. There were several occasions when something that a character said did not make sense with the universe’s factual reality.

For instance, when Gabriel says the brothers have a contact in London, he means their uncle. But we know that he does not know anything about the attack. How will he be of help to them? Gabriel knew that he needed a passcode to open the USB but still went to the hospital by risking his life to get Walid’s fingerprint. Is he really an adept spy? Things like these still keep Liaison’s appeal limited. The show is turning out to be a dud. Let’s hope that changes soon.