S01:E10 -- "He's Here to Help" -- FINALE

[SusanSunflower]

SYNOPSIS: 

Spoiler

Wiki:  Ashton kidnaps Adam and mentally tortures Karl by leading him to a number of dead ends in his search for his son. Karl decides to resign from the case. He acquires his grandfather's pistol, and begins searching for Ashton alone. Meanwhile, Elise discovers that Ashton had also been a Peloton operative, and returns to France to meet Fabien Vincent, who reveals the location of a safe house in England used by Peloton, where Elise finds Adam. Ashton calls Karl to arrange a meeting with him at a Channel Tunnel ventilation shaft near the tunnel entrance in Folkestone. There, he tells Karl that that he has killed Adam with a morphine overdose. Elise realises that Ashton wants Karl to kill him as way of bringing his "mission" to an end, and goes to the ventilation shaft to persuade Karl not to do so. She tells him that Adam is alive and in hospital, but Karl sees that she has been crying, and deduces that she is lying. Surrounded by armed officers who are willing to shoot Karl if necessary, Elise talks him out of killing Ashton, but during a struggle for the gun Ashton is blinded when the pistol discharges. After Ashton's arrest, Karl decides to leave the police force, and he and Elise say their goodbyes.

[humbleopinion]

Elise is a compelling character as was DCI Tennyson was in Prime Suspect.

Clémence Poésy is terrific.

[zxy556575]

30 minutes ago, humbleopinion said:

Elise is a compelling character as was DCI Tennyson was in Prime Suspect.

Clémence Poésy is terrific.

I think Elise was 80% of why I enjoyed the show so much. I haven't seen any of the other versions of the story so wasn't spoiled, but the mystery itself wasn't that compelling; the show was more of a character study to me. I wasn't all that drawn to Karl himself, but loved his partnership with Elise (and the French detectives in general).

[Brattinella]

The finale was extremely satisfying with terrific acting, directing, even though it was scary/sad in parts, it wrapped it all up.  I'm glad I stuck with it!

[Eliza422]

So was there any point to the drug girl, her brother, and the pimp he killed? That feels like it was from a completely different story.

[Brattinella]

8 minutes ago, Eliza422 said:

So was there any point to the drug girl, her brother, and the pimp he killed? That feels like it was from a completely different story.

I don't see any point to it, but I will be doing research on this story.  Hopefully there is a lot more I can learn.

[SusanSunflower]

yes, as I said after last week's episode, I was dismayed that this became a wholly Karl-centric story ... an awfully personal and "specific" grudge to have involved such a complicated sophisticated high-tech first half. I was half-spoiled by something I read that suggested vaguely the fate of the son, but aside from Dillane's excellent performance, frankly I never cared much about the son and the wife seemed remarkably calm and unemotional about her stepson throughout  in contrast to Elise was more torn-up, mostly about Karl's impending pain/loss wrt his son. The wife was not even particularly solicitous as far as I saw.  She somehow went back to being a cipher as she was in the beginning, even though "that man was in my house"

Meh. The acting was superb and sights and cinematography and ambience also ... but no, I'm doubtful it will stand up well to story/plot scutiny ... I'll be happy to find out from y'all re-watchers that I'm wrong. 

Edited August 23, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[DHDancer]

Did anyone figure out what the initials Adam left behind were and what they meant? (AR? AK?)

I found the conclusion satisfactory and glad they didn't have the 11th hour rescue of Adam and big reconciliation -- they did hint it wouldn't be like that I guess when Adam said he had never not loved his Dad so big fail Mr TT.  Having said that I wasn't really sure until the end that Adam had died so the suspense worked for me.

I do agree that it became very Karl-centric and looking back, I think I'll just suspend any plot holes: I enjoyed it and its differences from all the other guff being served up on TV.

[SusanSunflower]

I think it was AR for Adam Roebuck ... his own initials in a longtime favorite book, from his childhood even ...  touching.

[zxy556575]

12 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

So was there any point to the drug girl, her brother, and the pimp he killed? That feels like it was from a completely different story.

Seems like all the side stories, like the runaway girl and crazy samurai wannabe guy, were just red herrings on our way to the real TT. I never thought Stephen Beaumont or the sword guy was any sort of criminal mastermind, so those subplots felt like irrelevant time-wasters. I mostly enjoyed the series as a character study of Elise and Karl and their interactions.

[izabella]

This was a satisfying ending, and I'm glad I watched the series because I found it very interesting.  I didn't like that it was all about Karl - seemed like a hugely elaborate and convoluted way for TT to get his revenge.  But I loved Karl's relationship with Elise and the England/France interactions and cooperation. 

[Brattinella]

That TT killed and tortured ALL  those people, young and old alike, DOZENS of them, for, um, Karl screwing his wife? Seems hardly proportionate.

[humbleopinion]

To be fair to be on the cell phone listening to your wife and 9 year old son die in a car accident can mess with your psyche.

Blaming Karl for the accident is the twisted part but it follows that Karl behaved poorly and should have not slept with a friend's wife when a family was involved as well as friendship and loyalty breached.

[SusanSunflower]

remember all those people who burst into flames ... how does that -- in any realm of the imagination -- tie into this grudge?  

this is like staging some massive opera -- from scratch -- so you can assassinate someone during the final scene when the prop cannons go off to mask the noise of your gun. 

[humbleopinion]

Guessing the showy deaths was tabloid fodder to capture the nation and randomness of the victims was to hide the vendetta until TT lured Laura to the house and Adam to the field.

 

What intrigued me was watching the series, scripts written between 2011 -2013,  filmed Feb-Aug of 2013 in the context of Brexit.

[Quilt Fairy]

I can't say the ending was satisfying to me AT ALL, although about halfway through the series I figured that would be the case.  It seems the first 7-8 episodes were really only red herrings and sideplots that went nowhere.  I mean it's somewhat loosely tied together in this finale episode with a few throw-away lines of exposition by Karl, who gets to admit in front of the whole team that he's really a giant asshole who can't keep his dick in his pants to respect either his marriage vows or other people's.

You know the biggest plot hole for me? How would TT know, way at the beginning of this with the body in the tunnel, that it was going to be his old buddy Karl that was the British detective on the team? And if that didn't matter, then none of the other killings mattered, either.

I've also never watched a British drama where so many of the actors were unmemorable from week to week. Not in their acting, but in me being able to recognize them and understand what they were to the plot. There was a lot of "what's this woman doing and why?" and "here's another dark-haired guy, is he different or the same from last week's dark-haired guy?" going on in my head.

That being said, I do like the actors playing Karl and Elise, and I'm sure I'll be watching the next season if it ever makes it over the pond.

[humbleopinion]

Just like believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny you have to suspend common sense and just go with the flow.

Far fetched is a given sometimes and you spackle the holes in the plot with faith that it will all eventually make sense.

If you watch Game of Thrones there were plenty of actors to recognize in the Tunnel.

[izabella]

4 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I've also never watched a British drama where so many of the actors were unmemorable from week to week. Not in their acting, but in me being able to recognize them and understand what they were to the plot. There was a lot of "what's this woman doing and why?" and "here's another dark-haired guy, is he different or the same from last week's dark-haired guy?" going on in my head.

I feel like this show would benefit from a binge watch.  It would be easier to keep the characters straight, and to hold onto all the plot threads.

[Thumper82003]

11 hours ago, Brattinella said:

That TT killed and tortured ALL  those people, young and old alike, DOZENS of them, for, um, Karl screwing his wife? Seems hardly proportionate.

I think Karl was only the icing on top of his psychosis. It was also the politicians who stopped the investigations as well as the the French who considered him too unstable and so on. Karl was the last straw for his killing spree.

[Thumper82003]

I had a hard time determining if Adam was alive or dead. I had to put closed captioning on to see what was said. I only knew for sure once Karl was reading in Adam's room. I almost expected to see Adam in a coma there.

[kassygreene]

Wow.  Definitely wish I could do a binge rewatch, and at some point when I have the scratch I'll do the PBS passport thing.

Just, wow.  So many possible tropes avoided, suspense will played, and the hour just sailed right on.  Hope we get the second series next year.

[SusanSunflower]

crazy person does crazy things because he's crazy is one of my very least favorite plot devices, -- in which crazy, delusional people are able to plan and carry out many-stepped plans over days, weeks and months ... levels of organization that very sane people would have trouble achieving and which (almost all) crazy people would never be able to do because of the stress, anxiety and cognitive (not thinking well) issues that go with being crazy.

That even higher on my list than the innumerable female police officers who end up helplessly being held hostage ... usually after going some place dangerous, alone and at night. (or similar) 

Edited August 24, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[Brattinella]

4 minutes ago, SusanSunflower said:

That even higher on my list than the innumerable female police officers who end up helplessly being held hostage ... usually after going some place dangerous, alone and at night. (or similar) 

THIS just pisses me right the hell off!  They always go for the easy story, the tried-and-true damsel in distress. :(

[SusanSunflower]

yes, I remember when "Crossing Jordan" (law and order's Jill Hennessy as Jordan) debuted ... she played coroner/medical officer ... I said, I will watch this show until she is suddenly placed "in peril" ... as I recall it took 3 episodes. She was the star ... supposedly whip-smart ... tell me, where was this show going to go from there? Actually I kept watching for a season or two, because Miguel Ferrer played her boss and I found him most intriguing., and there was nothing better on -- she never learned not to imperil herself. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[Brattinella]

I never missed Crossing Jordan.  Pretty great show, except for the imperiled-woman thing.  Miguel Ferrer was very good (kind of a crush!)

[Thumper82003]

On August 24, 2016 at 1:05 AM, Brattinella said:

I never missed Crossing Jordan.  Pretty great show, except for the imperiled-woman thing.  Miguel Ferrer was very good (kind of a crush!)

I loved Crossing Jordan. But in recent years, anything I liked has been cancelled. So I knew that show was toast.

[SusanSunflower]

We're old ... it was cancelled in 2007. I also liked Quincy which my mother scoffed at due to Klugman's scenery chewing, which I still prefer over the resignation of the world-weary but personally-conflicted street-smart police we see these days.  I worked in a pathology lab for 5+ years and it is fascinating, even without crime being detected. In real life, autopsies aren't particularly fascinating and are often disappointingly inconclusive  .... but the Sherlockian potential is still in the air with plenty of blind-alleys and red-herrings to dissect  and investigate. 

eta: Most pathologists I have ever known (I also worked in another department in another state) have been very smart and chose pathology because it is a field of constant learning and innovation that intersects with all the other areas of constant innovation (diagnostics and the war on cancer most obviously). Some were ill-suited for bedside manner, but less because they were jerks, more because they were easily bored and did not want to spend their days listening to the minutiae of patient complaints wrt the same 5-7 illnesses (most doctor visits represent a small group of complaints, often for chronic illnesses for which there are no easy answers).  

Edited August 27, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[fauxphysician]

Having watched "The Bridge" (and loved it),it was hard not to keep comparing the two as I watched The Tunnel. (Major plot points identical; execution of same  differed). So it'll be interesting to see if the Tunnel's second series follows the Bridge's.

[Brattinella]

2 hours ago, SusanSunflower said:

We're old ... it was cancelled in 2007. I also liked Quincy which my mother scoffed at due to Klugman's scenery chewing, which I still prefer over the resignation of the world-weary but personally-conflicted street-smart police we see these days.  I worked in a pathology lab for 5+ years and it is fascinating, even without crime being detected. In real life, autopsies aren't particularly fascinating and are often disappointingly inconclusive  .... but the Sherlockian potential is still in the air with plenty of blind-alleys and red-herrings to dissect  and investigate. 

eta: Most pathologists I have ever known (I also worked in another department in another state) have been very smart and chose pathology because it is a field of constant learning and innovation that intersects with all the other areas of constant innovation (diagnostics and the war on cancer most obviously). Some were ill-suited for bedside manner, but less because they were jerks, more because they were easily bored and did not want to spend their days listening to the minutiae of patient complaints wrt the same 5-7 illnesses (most doctor visits represent a small group of complaints, often for chronic illnesses for which there are no easy answers).  

What an interesting life you have!

[carrps]

I was left unsatisfied. I agree that it turning out to be super intelligent crazy person ... and as soon as my sister saw that James Frain was in the cast she said he was TT ... was rather lame. Besides with Karl being such a massive dick, I wasn't terribly invested in whether he survived or not. But it really drove me crazy that there's this HUGE serial killer able to control everything, and Karl's family was so casual about it. Like they didn't even know about TT! Like they lived in some media-free environment. Really bugged me. I didn't care much about what happened to anybody. Except Elise. I'm a big Clémence Poésy fan. I thought she did a great job. She was the only character who wasn't either a cipher or an asshole/

[sskrill]

Just finished binge watching season 1 (its on Amazon Prime) and I really liked it.  I've never seen any other version so I have nothing to compare it to so maybe that works in my favor.

I didn't care for Karl being a philandering pig but I really loved his relationship with Elise - and I outright loved Elise.  She was so off but seemed like sometimes she really wanted to try with relationships (Gael, Karl) and I liked watching her try to learn how to relate to them.

I didn't understand how some of the earlier threads came together - or if they were supposed to - or if we were just supposed to let them drop once the actors were off screen.

I agree that going after Karl was just the cherry on top of that whole pile of crazy - I don't think the entire plot was in response only to Karl.

Not perfect, but certainly better TV than most of the crap out there.

[SusanSunflower]

just noticed that Season 2 starts tonight  ... 

The Season Two forum is "all episodes" and despite having only handful of comments has many spoilers ...oh well