Three Pines - General Discussion

[Jenniferbug]

From Wikipedia:

"Three Pines is an upcoming British-Canadian mystery streaming television series starring Alfred Molina, based on the Chief Inspector Gamache novel series by Louise Penny centred on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. The series is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video." 

I didn't know this was going to be a show till I stumbled across an ad for it on Facebook today. As someone who enjoyed the books (especially the early ones), I'm excited to watch this! I believe what I saw said a premiere date of December 2nd, but Wikipedia doesn't have that listed. 

[AnimeMania]

Three Pines is an 8 episode Drama TV series based on the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novel series (currently around 14 novels) streaming on Prime Video starting December 2, 2022. The first novel "Still Life" was published in 2005 by Louise Penny. 

There was also a 2013 television movie Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery, with Nathaniel Parker playing Chief Inspector Armand Gamache available on Acorn TV.

Three Pines interweaves a dark, mysterious, serial-story, where one prominent murder case quickly becomes three, which uncovers police failings to properly investigate cases of missing Indigenous women, as well as corruption at the heart of the provincial Sûreté du Québec police force. 

The empathetic and astute Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec police force is tasked with solving a number of mysterious and perplexing murders in the strange but beguiling village of Three Pines, a fictional French Canadian village in rural Quebec. Assisted by his trusted team, Sargent Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Sargent Isabelle Lacoste, and rookie Agent Yvette Nichol, the group are initially treated suspiciously by the village's residents. Despite the cool welcome, Gamache can't help but find himself oddly drawn to this unusual place and its eccentric residents. The deeper Gamache delves into the secret lives of these people who have found sanctuary from the outside world in Three Pines, the more it affects him.

Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of provincial Sûreté du Québec police force

Rossif Sutherland as Sergeant Jean-Guy Beauvoir, member of police force, combative and troubled

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as Sergeant Isabelle Lacoste, member of police force, intelligent Indigenous working mother

Sarah Booth as Agent Yvette Nichol, accident-prone rookie member of police force 

Pierre Simpson as Gabri, co-owner of the bistro

Frédéric-Antoine Guimond as Olivier, co-owner of the bistro 

Anna Tierney as Clara, an artist 

Julian Bailey as Peter, an artist

Tantoo Cardinal as Bea Mayer, an art gallery owner  

Clare Coulter as Ruth Zardo, an irascible poet who has a pet duck named Rosa

Tamara Brown as Myrna Landers, a psychologist turned bookshop-owner

Marie-Josée Bélanger as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache's mother

Joshua Odjick as Tommy Kis

Max Laferriere as Mike Blake

Patricia Summersett as Angela

Ali Hand as Sophie

Marie-France Lambert as Reine-Marie

Jill Frappier as Emilie Longpre

Iannicko N’Doua as Saul Petrov

Julian Bailey as Peter Morrow

Frank Schorpion

Marcel Jeannin

Crystle Lightning

Georgina Lynn Lighting as Arisawe Two-Rivers

Isabel Deroy-Olson as Kara Two-Rivers

Anna Lambe

[Jenniferbug]

Thank you @AnimeMania! Much better kick off to the thread 😆

[dleighg]

I watched the trailer and couldn't get over the fact that Gamache is played by someone without a trace of a French accent. The fact that he is French-Canadian is fairly integral to, or at least constantly obvious in, the stories. 

Is Isabelle LaCoste indigenous in the books? I never caught that, though I read the books where she would have been introduced ages and ages ago.

I know, they change stuff. 

[rhygirl720]

OMG I love these books!

[GrannySmith]

When I read the books, I was visualizing Tom Selleck as Gamache. I hope Alfred Molina draws me in. 

[dargosmydaddy]

I am unbothered by Gamache, but that is not the Jean-Guy of my imagination... Just no.

[blackwing]

I watched the "Still Life" TV movie with Nathaniel Parker and Anthony Lemke and I thought it was decent, I always wished they had continued making more.  They explained away Gamache's accent by saying he was raised in an Anglo home or something like that.

Here, Alfred Molina?  Neither Canadian nor French-Canadian.  And the actor who portrays Jean-Guy Beauvoir looks far too old.  I thought Jean-Guy is a young guy around age 30 at the start of the series.  Perhaps they are just aging up the actors, because if Gamache is about 65 then I guess Jean-Guy is about 45.  To me, part of the appeal of the relationship between Gamache and Beauvoir in the books is that Gamache took Beauvoir under his wing and saw him as something of a son.  Beauvoir was a troubled soul who lacked direction and needed guidance.  If this series is starting with Beauvoir firmly in middle age, then it doesn't really fit their story.  Anthony Lemke was more my picture of Beauvoir than this guy.

I am wondering if this series is going to adapt any specific books.  From the trailer, it seems like there are a lot of murders.  I'm curious if there going to be a season-long storyline with a central mystery or will this be more like a procedural with each episode having a standalone plot.  Seems like most mystery shows these days are going with the season-long device, doesn't seem like there are many mystery shows like "Murder She Wrote" anymore with each mystery contained within a single episode.

Loving the appearance of Ruth Zardo and Rosa in the trailer.  Would really like if she recites her most famous poem.  The one that starts with "Who hurt you once, so far beyond repair, that you would meet each overture with curling lip?"  

On 11/3/2022 at 3:53 PM, dleighg said:

Is Isabelle LaCoste indigenous in the books? I never caught that, though I read the books where she would have been introduced ages and ages ago.

I didn't think she was indigenous either in the books, I always assumed she was French-Canadian like half of them.  I'm assuming she is the one in the blue hat at about 23 seconds in the full trailer.  She could just be of ambiguous ethnicity.

I'm assuming that Rene Marie is the woman who touched Gamache's cheek, seems like a good picture of what I always thought she looked like.  Clara is ok, but the only other person I could identify was Myrna.  That is not at all my picture of Myrna.  

[OtterMommy]

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I am wondering if this series is going to adapt any specific books.  From the trailer, it seems like there are a lot of murders.  I'm curious if there going to be a season-long storyline with a central mystery or will this be more like a procedural with each episode having a standalone plot.  Seems like most mystery shows these days are going with the season-long device, doesn't seem like there are many mystery shows like "Murder She Wrote" anymore with each mystery contained within a single episode.

The first season covers the first 4 books over 8 episodes.  It does look like they are going to emphasize the backstory of Gamache's investigation into the disappearances of indigenous women that ran for at least the first half of the series.  My guess, mostly from the remark that there were multiple murders going on at once, is that the plots of the 4 books will be sort of intertwined instead of running one after another.

[blackwing]

35 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

The first season covers the first 4 books over 8 episodes.  It does look like they are going to emphasize the backstory of Gamache's investigation into the disappearances of indigenous women that ran for at least the first half of the series.  My guess, mostly from the remark that there were multiple murders going on at once, is that the plots of the 4 books will be sort of intertwined instead of running one after another.

Ah, I think that would be better to have them intertwined rather than one after the other.  The one part of the description up above that I did not like seeing was the "corruption in the Surete".  Aaaaarrrrggghhh.  If I never have to read about corruption in the Surete in any of her books again, it won't be long enough.

[OtterMommy]

Review from Variety

Takeaways:

It looks like LaCoste will be more predominately featured, which I appreciate.  She is terribly underused in the books.

Instead of interweaving the first 4 books as I had thought, they are giving each book 2 episodes, and starting with the 2nd book (A Fatal Grace).

They are including The Hangman, which is interesting as it is a short story that is not widely read.

It looks like they are adding (or taking a minor character from AFG) and making her one of the main cast.

[AnimeMania]

Three Pines    December 2, 2023         Prime Video    

Episodes 1-2    Titles and Descriptions

S01.E01: White Out - Part 1

Gamache earns the displeasure of General Director Francoeur when he ignores his superior’s orders and begins investigating the disappearance of Blue Two-Rivers. As a punishment, he’s dispatched to the remote village of Three Pines to investigate the murder of a wealthy socialite named CC de Poitiers, where he soon discovers everything is not as it seems and he has no shortage of suspects.

S01.E02: White Out - Part 2

Spoiler

Gamache realises that the key to solving CC’s murder lies in her enigmatic past. Discovering that one of the villagers has withheld from him a key piece of information, he is able to crack the case. Meanwhile, Gamache’s delight at making a breakthrough in Blue’s disappearance is short-lived as the Two-Rivers family rejects his evidence and the anguished Missy is driven into a desperate act.

[OtterMommy]

Three Pines came early to Prime…watching the first episode now!

[OtterMommy]

Watched both episodes back to back and I have to say it was pretty good.  I think it was the Variety article that said that the first 2 episodes were the weakest.  As I would probably give these two a B, I think the series will end up being an overall success.

Here's what I didn't like about it:

1 - You don't really get to know the town and the "regulars" in Three Pines in these episodes.  I kind of already knew this because Louise Penny said in an interview recently that she wished that the town was a bigger deal in the show, so I was prepared for this. 

2- Agent Nichol.  I mean, no one likes Agent Nichol.  But, in the book, you aren't supposed to like her.  She's supposed to be insufferable.  Here she is..comic relief?  I think this was a mistake.  In the book Nichol is a good conduit to see Gamache's goodness and patience.  In the show, she's just unnecessarily annoying (as opposed to necessarily annoying in the books).

3 - For some reason, there are no subtitles for the French in the 1st episode.  I remember enough French to know what people were saying and none of it was really important.  The weird thing is that there were subtitles in the 2nd episode, and the French dialogue still wasn't that important.  I'm not sure what happened there.

What I did like:

1 - Lacoste!  She is so much more involved than she is in the books and I love it.  I also love that they made her Native--it really helps with the larger overall plot.  Speaking of which...

2 - It's pretty clear that they are taking the corruption storyline that was sort of background in the books and putting it front and center here.  I know that sounds horrible.  But, they are focusing on the indigenous experience with it and it actually works here.  In fact, I think that storyline is more successful in the show, at least so far, than it ever was in the books.

3 - I think they did fairly well with the casting.  Molina is great, although I do think he should have either a French or a British accent (they do make a reference to him studying at Oxford).  Sutherland is not what I pictured as Jean-Guy, but he actually plays him very well.  And, as I said, I'm all about Lacoste in this.  As for the Three Pines folks, I can forgive Clara for being a bit too much together here (she's a literal mess in the books) because Peter is kind of hilariously Euro-trashy.  Myrna is also a bit toned down, or at least different, than she is in the book (not a caftan in sight), but Gabri, Olivier, and Ruth are all pretty much as they are in the books.  

4 - They toned down Crie.  In the book, Louise Penny goes over the top with this character to the point that it is offensive.  Here's she's just a typical teen.

After watching this, I'm not sure if they are incorporating Still Life into the series.  There are some changes in these episodes, that would make it hard to do Still Life without some rather large changes.  Also, the articles that I've read said they cover 4 books and The Hangman is included, which makes me think they did books 2-4 plus The Hangman.  Who knows, Jane Neal might show up and go for a walk in the woods next week.

I was totally planning to watch this tomorrow, so I'm quite grateful to whatever intern accidentally dropped this a day early!  (J/K...who knows why it came out early...)

[Zella]

On 11/3/2022 at 3:53 PM, dleighg said:

I watched the trailer and couldn't get over the fact that Gamache is played by someone without a trace of a French accent. The fact that he is French-Canadian is fairly integral to, or at least constantly obvious in, the stories. 

I've been reading the books recently, and quite a bit is made in the first 2 at least about his accent-less English, courtesy of studying at Cambridge, so him not having a French accent when speaking English is actually accurate to the books. 

On 11/10/2022 at 12:43 PM, blackwing said:

Ah, I think that would be better to have them intertwined rather than one after the other.  The one part of the description up above that I did not like seeing was the "corruption in the Surete".  Aaaaarrrrggghhh.  If I never have to read about corruption in the Surete in any of her books again, it won't be long enough.

Yeah I'm a little disappointed to see that is apparently an emphasis for the show. I'm on the fifth book now (though I've also read The Hangman out of order) and am enjoying them, but I find the ongoing corruption subplot in the early books the least appealing thing about the whole book series so far. I thought it was a mercy when it seemed to just drop without further elaboration. Still very interested in watching the show, though. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Zella

[OtterMommy]

5 minutes ago, Zella said:

I've been reading the books recently, and quite a bit is made in the first 2 at least about his accent-less English, courtesy of studying at Cambridge, so him not having a French accent when speaking English is actually accurate to the books. 

This is true, but then wouldn't he have an English accent?  (Was it Cambridge?  My mistake...)  I know I'm splitting hairs--Gamache has always had a bit of a "broadly European" accent in my mind when I read the books.  But considering that Molina was born and raised in England, I was kind of hoping for that!

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

This is true, but then wouldn't he have an English accent?  (Was it Cambridge?  My mistake...)  I know I'm splitting hairs--Gamache has always had a bit of a "broadly European" accent in my mind when I read the books.  But considering that Molina was born and raised in England, I was kind of hoping for that!

I honestly don't remember if that came up, but it's a good point. I just remember finding it a little preposterous he didn't speak English at all when he arrived at Cambridge, so that factoid stuck in my mind. But much of that backstory seems to be dropped as character background after book 2 so far, so maybe Penny find the whole thing rather limiting as she continued.  

[dleighg]

6 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

For some reason, there are no subtitles for the French in the 1st episode.  I remember enough French to know what people were saying and none of it was really important.  The weird thing is that there were subtitles in the 2nd episode, and the French dialogue still wasn't that important.  I'm not sure what happened there.

I just started watching the first episode, and they've got the French subtitles now. Good thing, because my French sucks!

The village green looks pretty much as I imagined it. It's fun to "see it."

Clara seems too young and too neat. Didn't she always have paint and food in her hair?

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I just started watching the first episode, and they've got the French subtitles now. Good thing, because my French sucks!

The village green looks pretty much as I imagined it. It's fun to "see it."

Clara seems too young and too neat. Didn't she always have paint and food in her hair?

Glad to hear the subtitle thing is fixed.  For me, it was mostly just an annoyance, but I know the lack of subtitles would be a no-go for many.

Yes, Clara is very “cleaned up” in this.  I was hoping for someone closer to the age of the book character and who looked more like a non-TV character, but I do think the actress captures Clara’s insecurities well.  Also, I think if they had gone all in on how messy Clara is in the book, it would have come off as corny and unbelievable in a visual medium.

Also, Peter is not at all how I pictured him, but I kind of like it.  He’s my least favorite of the Three Pinesians, so being able to laugh a bit at him is fun.  That being said, what is NOT funny about him (but I think an interesting choice) is to play up his controlling and jealous side regarding Clara.  It will be interesting to see what they do with that.

[NeenerNeener]

Molina is ok as Gamache, but not how I imagine him, and Sutherland looks too old for Jean-Guy, and the actresses playing Clara and Myrna are too young. The Still Life movie from 2013 had a better Jean-Guy (Lemke) and although Nathaniel Parker was really too young to play Gamache back then, he has the right look now. 

I don't remember Ruth hatching the duck egg this early in the books.

Edited December 2, 2022 by NeenerNeener

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, NeenerNeener said:

I don't remember Ruth hatching the duck egg this early in the books.

No, Rosa didn't come in until later in the series.  I kind of wish they had waited because the story of Ruth and Rosa was actually quite sweet.

[Jenniferbug]

I really liked this and am excited to see more. Hopefully it will get more than 1 season.

Molina is pretty close to how I pictured Gamache in my head so his accent (or lack of) doesn't bother me. I also think he has the gravitas and warmth to pull off playing Gamache perfectly. 

Jean-Guy is not how I imagined at all, but I do think the actor cast captured his character well in spite of that. I'm interested in seeing how they handle his arc long term since he seemed to take a backseat to Lacoste in these first episodes. Not that that's a complaint because I always wished Lacoste would get more focus in the books than she does, and I'm glad to see her get it in the show. 

The villagers could use some fleshing out but there's a lot of characters and it's only the first couple episodes so I'm sure that will come. Peter was probably the most unrecognizable so that's interesting. Clara was far too young which is a bit disappointing. I'm grateful they put an end to all the mess from the books. I can see smeared paint and whatnot as an artist but the mentions of crusted food in her hair every book were gross. 

I agree the corruption story is working better here than in the books so far. I think it's more blatant here from the start which helps, as I feel like the series started as small town mysteries and then suddenly it was a story about police corruption. It's been about 4 or 5 years since I read the first books I'm the series though, so I may be misremembering. 

Overall I think I'm really going to like this series. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Jenniferbug said:

I agree the corruption story is working better here than in the books so far. I think it's more blatant here from the start which helps, as I feel like the series started as small town mysteries and then suddenly it was a story about police corruption. It's been about 4 or 5 years since I read the first books I'm the series though, so I may be misremembering. 

This is where I am with the corruption story line.  In the books, it was always sort of in the background and I felt like it was taking away from the main plot.  Here, having it more upfront and immediate (as opposed to action that had taken place before the story began), it makes more sense. Also, as I said above, it seems like they've flipped it a bit.  In the book, it was all corruption that just happened to be discovered because of a missing Indigenous woman.  Here, they are tackling the issue of indigenous women going missing and, if you've read the books, you know the corruption is under there, but it's secondary to the other issue.

[Irlandesa]

21 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I was totally planning to watch this tomorrow, so I'm quite grateful to whatever intern accidentally dropped this a day early!  (J/K...who knows why it came out early...)

Amazon releases their shows at midnight Greenwich Mean Time.  For most of the US, that makes shows they advertise as Friday releases come out on Thursday evening. It's the best. 

14 hours ago, dleighg said:

I just started watching the first episode, and they've got the French subtitles now. Good thing, because my French sucks!

My French is decent but with a Quebecois accent?  Putrid.

I haven't read these books so it's all new to me.  No preconceived notions.  And I enjoyed it. I especially like that they're releasing it two episodes a week telling one story.

[marybennet]

So, I was watching and giving it a chance.  I like Alfred Molina's face, and his eyes to me have the sadness that I associate with Gamache.  But at the end of episode 1, there's a moment when Gamache talks about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which he suggests he has read, and says that at the end of the story, the villagers are rejoicing because they killed the monster.  We're supposed to think that's about Three Pines and the murder victim, fine.  But that's not at all what happens in Mary Shelley's novel.  This made me mistrust the writing of the series.  There's a dishonesty, a failure to do the work of writing in that.  I'll keep watching, but it's lost me a little.

[Kiss my mutt]

I just turned this on and am thrown by the absence of an accent. I think Alfred Molina looks like I pictured Gamache but not his voice. I listened to the audiobooks and the narrator has a European accent and speaks French so I’m spoiled. I wonder if he has any French lines in the series.  

[3 is enough]

I just started reading the first book so I have no preconceived notions.  I was interested because I grew up in Montreal and we had a  cottage on a lake in the Eastern Townships so it is all very familiar to me.

I like that they switch between French and English and it is authentic Québécois French. Trying to figure out exactly where it was filmed but google has not been helpful.

I do wonder if the emphasis on the indigenous storyline is in response to the residential school revelations that surfaced last summer. There were no residential schools in the Townships- and I have not read the second book yet so I don’t know if the fact that CeCe lived in a former residential school was part of the story.

All in all I found it well done and Gamache’s lack of accent did not bother me.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, 3 is enough said:

I do wonder if the emphasis on the indigenous storyline is in response to the residential school revelations that surfaced last summer.

I had assumed some of it was altered to be more timely. In the books, it's not even Indigenous women who are going missing.

Spoiler

It's Indigenous men.

But I know there is a longstanding epidemic of Native American and First Nations women disappearing in both the US and Canada that gets scant media attention, so I can understand why they wanted to alter it, though the original storyline is pretty timely too since it deals with

Spoiler

police brutality

. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

I like that they switch between French and English and it is authentic Québécois French. Trying to figure out exactly where it was filmed but google has not been helpful.

It's filmed near Ormstown, Quebec.

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

There were no residential schools in the Townships- and I have not read the second book yet so I don’t know if the fact that CeCe lived in a former residential school was part of the story.

It's not in the original book. 

I'm putting this under spoiler tags as I'm not sure if you've finished the first book yet...

Spoiler

In the original book, CeCe lives in the house previously owned by Ben Hadley, which was central to the plot of Still LIfe.  CeCe had purchased it at a bargain price.

[rhygirl720]

Loved the setting. Exactly as I imagined.

There are a lot of good casting choices here. Ruth is spot on. Molina captures Armand's spirit. 

Jean guy for me is a miss. The actor's appearance is ok, but he is missing JG's edge. I imagine him sizzling and so far, he is fairly subdued.

Myrna? way too young

Clara ...too young too pretty and not nearly messy enough.

Peter not Anglo enough. I imagine a very reserved wasp.

I liked the storytelling so far though.

[raven]

I've never read the books but was intrigued enough after watching this to pick one up today.  Love the setting for this show.  I figured out who the murderer was pretty quickly so am much more intrigued by the missing indigenous woman storyline.   Could CeCe have been any more awful??  She tells her daughter she wishes she had never had her.   Never mind the whole murdering your mother thing.  Plus she takes her daughter on her little murder trip!  Who does that??   Also, the daughter picked quite a convoluted way to kill CeCe.

I thought the actress playing Emily was very strong, though I wasn't fooled by her "confession".  

The bookstore set is fantastic, as is the set of indigenous art gallery.  

Looking forward to seeing more as well as reading the books.  The fact that they're different is generally expected and not an issue.

[gesundheit]

I haven't read any of these books and didn't know what to expect, but I like the structure. Two episodes for a short mystery, and a season-long arc as well. I love me a good murder show, but sometimes they can get a little exhausting dragging out the story to fit 6 or 8 or 10 episodes, and you know that nothing really matters until the penultimate. But I also like a reason to keep coming back.

The first two episodes were okay for me, a little too corny in some spots but enough to bring me back to see if it settles in. Only two or three of the actors looked familiar to me at all, so that's always fun to get to know new faces. I can tell I'll struggle to remember who's who for a while, since I have no idea who most of the characters folks in this thread are talking about! No clue or Clara or Myrna or Peter are. I think the names I retained were the detectives, the murder victim, and Crie. Oh and Ruth, she was fairly memorable (but overwitten -- one of the things I hope settles).

[retired watcher]

Was the Hangman the book she wrote to use in English classes for adults?

[Zella]

Just now, retired watcher said:

Was the Hangman the book she wrote to use in English classes for adults?

Yes it is! I read it without knowing that before reading the rest of the series and thought it was still a pretty engaging little mystery. 

[OtterMommy]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

Yes it is! I read it without knowing that before reading the rest of the series and thought it was still a pretty engaging little mystery. 

Interesting! I never knew that...I thought it was just one of those one-off short stories that authors sometimes write to entice people to try their series.  The truth is much cooler!

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Interesting! I never knew that...I thought it was just one of those one-off short stories that authors sometimes write to entice people to try their series.  The truth is much cooler!

Yeah she talks a little about it here:

https://www.facebook.com/louisepennyauthor/posts/450098548394463/?paipv=0&eav=AfaHTJbc1h7PaJ7vG1Rl1ZztS8mnnjiffWUaGfNW2j6uRrsuk22iClUSNLKVnBU9u64&_rdr

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, gesundheit said:

No clue or Clara or Myrna or Peter are. I think the names I retained were the detectives, the murder victim, and Crie. Oh and Ruth, she was fairly memorable (but overwitten -- one of the things I hope settles).

As a long-time reader and lover of the books, Ruth isn't being overwritten, LOL. She's over the top in the books. Clara and Peter are a married couple, both artists. Myrna is the Black woman who owns the book store. They didn't get much to do in these first episodes, but Oliver and Gabri are a gay couple who run the bistro.

It's been so long since I started the series, I had no recollection that there was ever a "first time" that Armand visited Three Pines, LOL. 

[catsitter]

I haven't read the books but I love Alfred Molina and I love Canadian cop shows, so this is heaven for me. It seemed strange that they only looked at the photographer's photos of the curling event, and never asked everyone else for their photos / videos.

[Zella]

8 minutes ago, catsitter said:

It seemed strange that they only looked at the photographer's photos of the curling event, and never asked everyone else for their photos / videos.

I agree that is strange, but I think that may be a dated relic from the book, which was written in 2006 before cell phones were quite so ubiquitous. It would definitely be something for the showrunners to update, though. 

[AnimeMania]

Three Pines    December 9, 2023         Prime Video    

Episodes 3-4    Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E03: The Cruellest Month - Part 1

Gamache returns to Three Pines to investigate the disappearance of the popular resident Marc Fortier but it soon becomes a murder case that leads Gamache and his team into the heart of the village’s dark past at St Anthony’s. Meanwhile, Lacoste discovers a key piece of evidence relating to Blue’s disappearance has been faked, and with Gamache’s encouragement secretly reopens the case.

S01.E04: The Cruellest Month - Part 2

The villagers confront the truth of their past and exorcise their collective demons as Gamache makes a breakthrough in the murder case and realises Marc’s killer had a very personal motive. Meanwhile, Lacoste makes a discovery relating to Blue’s disappearance that seems to identify a key suspect.

[OtterMommy]

The Cruelest Month is the one book in the series that left little impression on me.  I can barely remember what happened in the book (although, according to Goodreads, I apparently liked it enough to give it 4 stars), except that it involved the house, so this all seemed new to me.  I do think they were stronger episodes...up until the bear.  That was kind of ridiculous.  

But, other than that, a strong episode with  more of the Three Pinesians.  I feel about Peter in the show pretty much exactly how I feel about him in the books, which is that he's annoying and unlikable.  I loved seeing a softer side of Ruth and the actress did a wonderful job with it.  I also enjoyed seeing the interplay between Jean-Guy and Isabelle.  

I think the Indigenous story line is working well here and I liked how they tied it in, ever so slightly, to the main mystery here.  I was never invested in the corruption subplots in the books, but I am invested in this.

Finally, bless their heart...they tried so hard to make it seem like it was Spring in Three Pines (the book is expressly set during Holy Week and Easter, but the show in the show they never mention when it takes place.  However, the title refers to April), yet all the trees changing colors and leaves on the ground kind of ruined that facade.

ETA: I think that if Agent Nichol was a series-only character (like Bea), I'd quite like her.  As it is, I'm just annoyed that she is pretty much the polar opposite of her literary counterpart.

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

As it is, I'm just annoyed that she is pretty much the polar opposite of her literary counterpart.

In what way? (I'm terrible at remembering things after I've read them)

[sugarbaker design]

12 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

The Cruelest Month is the one book in the series that left little impression on me.

I loved this one!  I still remember the conversation Myrna had with Gamache about the Near Enemy.

12 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I feel about Peter in the show pretty much exactly how I feel about him in the books, which is that he's annoying and unlikable.

12 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I also enjoyed seeing the interplay between Jean-Guy and Isabelle.  

12 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

As it is, I'm just annoyed that she is pretty much the polar opposite of her literary counterpart.

But on these points we agree!

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

In what way? (I'm terrible at remembering things after I've read them)

In the show Nicholl is portrayed as a hapless, inept, local cop (so far), in the books she is far more menacing.  And she really got on Gamache's nerves.

I'm three episodes in and I haven't heard “I was wrong.” “I am sorry.” “I don't know.” “I need help.”.

[OtterMommy]

44 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

In the show Nicholl is portrayed as a hapless, inept, local cop (so far), in the books she is far more menacing.  And she really got on Gamache's nerves.

I'm three episodes in and I haven't heard “I was wrong.” “I am sorry.” “I don't know.” “I need help.”.

Yeah, Nichol is a foil for Gamache and team in the books.  She has a huge chip on her shoulder and is just outright rude to everyone.  At least a couple of times, she messes up the investigations with her attitude.  She actually plays an important role in setting up Gamache as a character: we get to see him with someone that everyone has dismissed and seeing the potentional in her, much like he did with Beauvoir earlier in his career (as they've refered to at least once in the show).  Also,

Spoiler

if I remember correctly, Nichol is really only a major player in books 1 and 2.  By book 3, the one these episodes are based on, I think Gamache has already found a "better fit" job for her in the Sureté and we only see her now and then after that.

Yes, I'm surprised that Gamache hasn't said his trademark line.  Of course, he originally says it to the literary Nichol and there is no reason for him to say it to the Amazon Nichol.

[Jenniferbug]

Re: Nichol and the books

Spoiler

It's been a while since I read them, but wasn't she sent in to be a spy on Gamache and his team as part of the corruption subplot? Or am I thinking of some other series? I like her better here despite being unlike her book counterpart, but I'm not convinced that she won't still end up being a spy for the corrupt higher ups. Viewers who haven't read the books would be surprised by that. 

I'm still really invested in the show and thought these episodes were better than the first two. I don't remember this book well at all so can't really say what was/wasn't changed. 

I like seeing more of the bond between Lacoste and Beauvoir here. It's nice to see their relationship outside of Gamache. 

The villagers seemed more like themselves here, probably because they seemed less hostile in these episodes. 

Watching these is really making me want to reread the books. 

[OtterMommy]

4 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Spoiler

It's been a while since I read them, but wasn't she sent in to be a spy on Gamache and his team as part of the corruption subplot? Or am I thinking of some other series? I like her better here despite being unlike her book counterpart, but I'm not convinced that she won't still end up being a spy for the corrupt higher ups. Viewers who haven't read the books would be surprised by that.

Spoiler

If I remember correctly, Nichol was placed with Gamache as part of the whole corruption subplot, but she ended up turning on those who put her there and protecting/helping Gamache.  I think it is a possibility that she might still turn out to be a spy, but that would be a big switch for the Amazon Nichol.  This particular Nichol doesn't actually seem capable of that sort of thing (unless she was sort of an unwitting spy).

6 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

I like seeing more of the bond between Lacoste and Beauvoir here. It's nice to see their relationship outside of Gamache. 

The villagers seemed more like themselves here, probably because they seemed less hostile in these episodes. 

Watching these is really making me want to reread the books. 

I also really like how Isabelle is given something to do here.  She's just sort "the muscle" in the books and I've always wanted Penny to use her more.  And the fact that they were able to bring Isabelle into a more prominent decision without demoting Jean-Guy is a good move on the part of the showrunners.

In the books, we--and Garmache--are given the opportunity to get to know the villagers in the first book.  Since this series isn't doing the first book, it seems like we will slowly get to know them as the series progresses.  At this point, it would be a shame for Amazon not to renew it.  

Spoiler

We should get to know more about Peter and Clara next week as A Rule Against Murder is a very Morrow-heavy mystery.

I will say this now, though. It is not possible for me to care less about whatever secret Peter has.  I think Peter is the character most like his literary counterpart, and that's not exactly a good thing.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I will say this now, though. It is not possible for me to care less about whatever secret Peter has.

Oh so we don't know?  I was coming here to ask what it was because I felt I must have missed it.  It's good to know that I didn't.

[retired watcher]

On 12/8/2022 at 9:21 PM, OtterMommy said:

The Cruelest Month is the one book in the series that left little impression on me.  I can barely remember what happened in the book (although, according to Goodreads, I apparently liked it enough to give it 4 stars), except that it involved the house, so this all seemed new to me.  I do think they were stronger episodes...up until the bear.  That was kind of ridiculous.  

But, other than that, a strong episode with  more of the Three Pinesians.  I feel about Peter in the show pretty much exactly how I feel about him in the books, which is that he's annoying and unlikable.  I loved seeing a softer side of Ruth and the actress did a wonderful job with it.  I also enjoyed seeing the interplay between Jean-Guy and Isabelle.  

I think the Indigenous story line is working well here and I liked how they tied it in, ever so slightly, to the main mystery here.  I was never invested in the corruption subplots in the books, but I am invested in this.

Finally, bless their heart...they tried so hard to make it seem like it was Spring in Three Pines (the book is expressly set during Holy Week and Easter, but the show in the show they never mention when it takes place.  However, the title refers to April), yet all the trees changing colors and leaves on the ground kind of ruined that facade.

ETA: I think that if Agent Nichol was a series-only character (like Bea), I'd quite like her.  As it is, I'm just annoyed that she is pretty much the polar opposite of her literary counterpart.

Bea was in the books. She wasn't indigenous and I believe she was only in one book.

[OtterMommy]

12 minutes ago, retired watcher said:

Bea was in the books. She wasn't indigenous and I believe she was only in one book.

That’s right, she was one of the Three Graces, but her role in the show (even though she was still one of the Three Graces) is very different.

[WildPlum]

Haven't read the books so I bring no baggage in. I've enjoyed the first four episodes, although the plots aren't exactly difficult. But it is interesting and quirky and I love the duck woman and Bea.

It's not a spoiler because I haven't read the books and have no idea if I am right or not, but it's pretty clear to me that Gamache's buddy (Pierre?) has a hand in Blue's murder and subsequent cover up.