Monsieur Spade – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Episode 5 

Episode 5 of Monsieur Spade begins with a brief flashback in Algeria. The year is 1956 when Philippe was still hunting down OAS members. He casually shoots a watermelon on top of a soldier’s head – a fellow Frenchman – for the sake of fun. The soldier is tied to a tree and Philippe wants information about more OAS members hiding in plain sight. Although initially he isn’t supportive, the soldier crumbles as Philippe starts walking away. That is probably when his paths crossed with that of Gazala, Angelique’s twin sister, whom we follow in the present day.

To Claude’s – who works at the convent – utter surprise, she looks remarkably like her. He follows her, shouting “Sister Angelique!” only for Gazala to knock him down and point a gun at him. Claude is warned not to speak of this interaction to anyone and walks away with his life. Gazala is keeping up with Philippe, who now has custody of Zahid. The trio are hiding in an apartment until Philippe can strike a deal with the highest bidder for Zahid’s custody.

Gazala and Philippe have a physical affair with each other, although it is abundantly clear that either can turn on the other at a moment’s notice. He is waiting for a call from someone called Mr Kuhn. At the Spade residence, Monsieur Spade is informed by Teresa that the pool’s water has been drained out. He is disappointed to hear it and his mood grows sour. However, his curiosity peaks as he follows Teresa and Henri around the town. Henri had earlier remarked how he was missing his “brown diary,” which she had picked from him in the previous episode.

They visit Gabrielle’s grave, indicating that perhaps she knows Spade is following him. When he comes back home, Spade hears an odd sound from one of the paintings. Unfortunately for George and Cynthia, he catches the source at the right time. He finds several bugs in various paintings hung across the living room. Spade sets up a trap by placing a mock call to Patrice, saying that he has Zahid. He watches Cynthia drive away from the house and breaks into the garage.

To his surprise, he has been one-upped by the MI6 agents as George walks in behind him. He explains how the British secret service has been tracing Zahid’s “kidnappers” since their time in Algeria. All of this is linked to Angelique, who was tasked with looking after the boy at the convent. They also believe that Teresa is involved given her history and family’s penchant for trouble. Spade immediately volunteers to step away from the entire mess but George isn’t buying his “changed stance.”

He is a spy who is simply being cautious. However, as Cynthia walks in behind George, there does seem to exist a net of trust between the parties. Zahid has been moving from the shelter of one rich family to another for years prior to his kidnapping. No one has an exact idea where he came from, or where he disappeared for so long. This is why Zahid has been called the Mahdi, a spirit close to Allah who can appear and vanish at his own will. The Saudis were all set to adopt Zahid a couple of years ago in Tunisia but that did not go through.

He was seen next in Algeria, which is where Phillipe found the sisters. Gazala is a high-ranking FLN terrorist. Even though Philippe’s duty required him to kill her, the FLN offered him more money to join forces. The spies finally get to why Zahid is so important: he can break codes. Zahid’s number writing habit isn’t random. He has a gift that can allow any government in the world to use him to advance their interests. Spade doesn’t think much of it but the agents are bound by their duty.

They also reveal that only Gazala can truly authenticate Zahid’s identity to any buyer, making her indispensable to Philippe until the exchange has happened. Claude finds Teresa at home and tells her what he saw. She takes the car next door to find Spade having tea with the spies. Spade uses this situation to leave the premises with her. Jean-Pierre shows a willingness to repatch things with Marguerite. But is it perhaps too late? He also seems to be struggling non-stop with guilt about not protecting Zahid and a horror incident from the war.

In a brief flashback to the time when Marguerite’s club was first opening, we see a meeting between her and Philippe. It is cryptic without any context but Philippe does warn her to leave Jean-Pierre as soon as she can. In the present day, Kuhn finally calls and a meeting is set to exchange the boy for money near The Hole the next day. However, acting on Teresa’s intel, Spade takes a gun and tip-toes to the apartment door where the trio is hiding.

 It is a tense sequence as Gazala and Philippe also point guns at the door. Spade is about to open it but he sees the Saudi agent from the previous episode standing at the foot of the staircase. Spade leaves with Teresa, telling her that the building is empty. In a bid to step away from this situation, Spade takes her to the bar where she is allowed to get a little drunk. In a conversation with Marguerite, Spade realizes that Teresa could be his daughter given the ambiguous circumstances around Brigid’s story. This should persuade the detective to keep her around him and protect her with even more vigour.

The tragic climax of Episode 5 comes next. A beleaguered Jean-Pierre goes up to Philippe, asking to see Zahid. However, as he is turning away to leave, Jean-Pierre tries to draw a gun and Philippe stabs him. There is still some life left in Jean-Pierre as we finally learn what happened in his nightmare from the war. He unwittingly shot a civilian dead in an apartment as the army raided the building.

The victim’s wife jumped in front of the kids and offered her body for their protection. Jean tried to convey she didn’t need to do that. However, two more soldiers rushed in from behind him and pounced on the woman. He tried to protect her but they refused to back down. Jean was then dragged away from the apartment by some of his colleagues and that is the last he saw of the woman. Phillipe goes down to the foot of the staircase and eases Jean’s passing by shooting him.

The Episode Review

Why do such highly anticipated buildups have to end in a timid manner? “The boy can crack codes?” The writers could have certainly come up with something better than that. All the bodies that have been laid in Zahid’s trail seem wasteful after that revelation. Monsieur Spade generated a lot of intrigue with the first three episodes. But the promise of a special, taut crime thriller has withered. 

We are left with tempting afterbites that have little significance in the overall picture. Episode 5 shines the most in bolstering the character arcs of Marguerite and Jean-Pierre. They play out like a Greek tragedy from the point of that passionate kiss. The former soldier had too much on his plate and the conclusion is near perfect when one traces the lineage.

Teresa’s relationship with Spade is also a tangent to look out for in the season finale. I also liked Philippe’s mature portrayal. A lot of effort in Episode 5 is dedicated to establishing his philosophical justifications and motivation to keep going. Arguably, he is one of the most fascinating characters on the show’s roster. Unfortunately, I cannot rate the episode highly due to the betrayal with the central storyline, despite there being plenty of bright spots.