The Law According to Lidia Poet – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Episode 3

It is the day to get a family portrait for the Poets as The Law According to Lidia Poet episode 3 begins. Jacopo teases Lidia about Andrea, and the fact that there might be infidelity in the relationship. Marianna’s attention is wayward. We see her constantly looking out of the window. But it is not Lorenzo. It is Vittorio, Enrico’s friend, who claims he has just killed his father, Antonio.

Lidia wants to come with Enrico as she was about to be married to Alberto, Vittorio’s brother. But Enrico cites the judicial writ barring her from stepping foot in court. Matilde, Vittorio and Albert’s mother, is in disbelief. She says the latter is in business on Nice as his wife is pregnant. Vittorio concedes that he had an argument with Antonio last night. He smoked opium to calm down and when he woke up, he had a razor in his hand and Antonio was dead.

Lidia and Jacopo visit the murder site. This was the house she grew up in, before it was sold by her father to the Muraros. She sees trail marks on the wood. They lead into another room. Lidia deduces that someone was dragged from one room to the other; perhaps Vittorio, by someone else. Jacopo finds a long strand of hair that is clearly not Vittorio’s. They are compelled to leave when the prosecutor catches them in the house.

Enrico listens to his sister’s plea about why Vittorio didn’t kill Antonio. The one who killed him with the razor must have stood very close. And if that was the case, there would be blood spatter on Vittorio; which there isn’t. But Vittorio has confessed. Lidia receives a gift from Andrea, who is visiting Constantinople. The next morning, she exchanges it for a new bicycle.

Alberto reveals to Lidia that the fight between Vittorio and his father was due to his opium habit. He also reveals that Vittorio has a girlfriend, Beatrice, who works as a washerwoman. Vittorio sometimes invited her to the house to smoke. Alberto also says that one of his mother’s necklaces is also missing. Lidia meets her. Beatrice says that she was with him that night. She saw it with her own eyes. Teresa is appalled to see Lidia’s new bike. Lidia catches Lorenzo and Marianna kissing and reprimands both to be more careful. Lidia discusses her findings with Jacopo, who mentions the possibility that Beatrice stole the necklace, killed Antonio who saw her, and dragged Vittorio’s body to blame him. The only catch; Vittorio is not a light man and Beatrice isn’t too manly either. She’s simply not strong enough.

Lidia and Jacopo go to the murder scene using the former’s old key. They find blood on a book on the shelf, but it couldn’t have travelled that distance as the body was found far away from there. They pull it and a secret door opens. Lidia remembers the noises from that wall when she was little. But she was laughed off when she mentioned them. In the room, they find fresh tobacco and something is written on a piece of paper. Lidia immediately wishes to inform Enrico. Marianna tells her that Vittorio hanged himself in the prison. But he is still alive.

Lidia meets Enrico and tells him the truth. It is a train ticket with the departure from Collegno. She tells him about the secret room. The murderer knows about this room. Both Lidia and Enrico suspect someone and reach the court. It is Alberto. The trip to Nice was an alibi. But why did he kill Antonio?

Alberto is arrested and Vittorio is released. The reason turns out to be that Alberto was denied a business loan by Antonio. He wanted to start a new venture, as he mentioned to Lidia at the start of the episode. He then paid Beatrice to lie and she stole the necklace. Lidia asks Enrico why their father sold the house. He tells her that their father had made a bad investment and was in debt. Lidia read a letter in the secret room where her father wanted her to marry Alberto and Antonio would have considered the debt repaid.

Enrico is ashamed of his father. Feeling guilty, he proposes to appeal the royal decree barring Lidia from the court and vows to get her readmitted. They share a tender moment. Lidia meets Andrea and invites him to dinner. While returning, she sees Jacopo hand a note to a small child. She follows Jacopo and sees him meeting Nicole.

The Episode Review

Lidia’s past has come up in small rushes of emotion until now. It has definitely been pivotal in shaping the person we see today. Episode 3 shed some light on how difficult it was for her to be taken seriously and be seen as anything more than a strong-headed spoilt brat. For her own father to see Lidia as property was incredibly heartbreaking.

It says so much about the position of women back then, a strand that is expeditiously explored in the series. The cases are becoming more complex as the episodes fly by. This one had a personal vexation for the Poet duo as well. Jacapo is still difficult to figure out. What exactly is he planning to do? One thing is for certain: it cannot be anything pleasant.

Another very interesting creative choice is the active commentary about women through Lidia’s appeal. This small bit has been spread across the episodes and serves the series well.