Hiding Hand Principle
Episode 1 of Transatlantic begins with a look at Marseille during 1940, which is where we’re going to be spending the duration of this 7 episode series. The port is teeming with refugees from all over Europe, making it a melting pot of different nationalities all joined together, desperate for travel documents to make it to the New World.
An American woman, Ms Mary Jayne Gold, receives a letter from her father demanding she return to Chicago. She speaks to Mr Patterson, admitting that she intends to stick around, and tries to sweet talk him into convincing her father she’s doing the right thing staying in Marseille.
Mary Jayne notices a war-torn refugee (Ursula) in the bathroom and heads in with a piece of bread. Mary-Jayne tells Ursula to head to a ship in the morning – 6am to be precise – where she can smuggle in among the cargo. If Ursula talks to Lionel, he’ll be able to get her on.
As we soon find out, Mary Jayne’s actually working with the Emergency Rescue Committee, so it’s obvious this isn’t her first rodeo. And in fact, she even switches clothes with Ursula too in a bid to help her fit in.
Mary Jayne is working with Varian Fry, a righteous American who wants to do what the currently-neutral US is not doing. He’s driven by the desire to do right by the refugees currently struggling in the city. Among those refugees is Benjamin, who escaped from the prison camps and is currently smoking up a treat in his hotel room. Mary Jayne admits that there’s no way she can return home, so it almost puts them in the same boat. Almost.
Varian has been here for several months, and appears to be the go-between guy for Mary Jayne and the refugees, and the officials (including Patterson) getting men and women officially out of Marseille. In that time, Varian has managed to get 11 people out, which isn’t anywhere near enough. They have limited resources (Mary Jayne’s money) and deviating (ie. bringing even more refugees) is only going to stifle their chances at progressing forward.
6am rolls round and the refugees head down to see Lionel. With strict instructions, they’re to head onto a rowing boat alongside some boxes of supplies. Their destination is the cargo hold, as we know, but they’re told to stay there until after the anchor has been raised and the ship leaves. Unfortunately, there’s a problem.
Authorities rush down to the coast, blaring alarms and telling the refugees to surrender. Instead, they all jump overboard. hoping to get out. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong move as they all end up arrested, shivering, cold and frustrated at their inability to escape.
Mr Benjamin is not among them though, but when Mary Jayne finds out about the police round-up, she heads down to the station and pays a pretty hefty bail to free them all. Ursula (the woman whom Mary Jayne helped) is separated from her brother, Albert. Mary Jayne decides to try and find him so the pair can be reunited.
That’s easier said than done though when he’s actually in the presence of the French police officer behind the desk. Albert is being kept behind for falsifying documents, but the thing is, there’s nothing fake about him. Albert is not recognized by the Nazis, given he’s a Jew, while the different passports he has, getting into different countries, are all for a higher purpose of either studying economics or fighting in the army.
When he’s let go, Mary Jayne decides to drive Albert back to Ursula, or at least as close as possible, given if he’s caught out in the open after-dark, he’ll be shot dead. Mary Jayne reveals to Albert that people’s assumptions about him can actually be used as a positive – if he knows how to use them.
At a checkpoint, the pair put on the façade of a loving couple, lusting for one another after eating oysters, which helps speed the process up. The pair end up lingering a glance to one another before parting ways. After dropping Albert off at the designated area, Mary Jayne decides to rip up her plane ticket, seemingly having found another reason for staying in Marseille.
Back at the hotel, Varian Fry receives a hand-written letter without an address on it. Apparently, it’s from an old friend, and without giving anything away, he asks for a map of the area and heads out alone to a villa, where he meets a guy called Thomas. Varian and Thomas are actually in an affair together, with Varian’s wife back home seemingly unaware of what’s going on between them but that’s not confirmed so take that assumption with a pinch of salt.
Meanwhile, Ursula and Albert are reunited, thanks to the latter posing as a Gestapo agent and reprimanding a couple of officers who ask for the refugees’ passports out in the wilderness. It does the trick too and they rush off with their tails between their legs. The pair have a way out, finally… but Albert decides not to join Ursula. He knows how to get the refugees out and decides he’s going to do what’s right and promises to catch up with her in Lisbon.
As the bus leaves, separating Ursula and Albert, the situation in Marseille ends up becoming precarious. Narration confirms that Marseille is about to become way more strict. No passenger ships bound for points west will dock in Marseille or in France until further notice. Until the threat of “illegal immigrants” has passed, to be precise.
Not only that, but Article 19 is being given the green-lit. This basically states that all refugees on French soil must be surrendered on demand to the German Reich. This would give them power to send people back to the countries they originated from.
With things looking bleak, a beacon of hope comes in the form of Albert. He heads back to the hotel, in tow with a tracker called Lisa Fitkko. She’s the one who has found a route through the mountains, out of France and into Spain. Albert decides they should use her going forward, and that could be the way to get everyone out.
However, one of the more prolific refugees comes in the form of Benjamin, who is apparently on the German blacklist. If he leaves town, then it’s game over, at least according to the Police Chief Font. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Mary Jayne receives a letter from home, with her father telling her that she’s on her own now.
The Episode Review
Transatlantic gets off to a good start, with a decent chapter full of drama set deep in the heart of World War II. The sweeping vistas are beautiful, and there’s an almost old-timey 60’s feel to the production.
Cory Michael Smith is great as Varian Fry, the guy is a great actor and his performance as The Riddler in Gotham shows the guy has some good acting chops. The same can be said for a lot of the cast actually, and the seamless integration of German, English and French speech helps to give some authenticity to the series and the melting pot of different cultural influences here.
The story itself is pretty good, with a simple storyline and likable characters that will hopefully grow into their roles later on down the line. Fingers crossed the rest of the show follows suit.
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Episode Rating