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Thursday, 12 October 2017
The Halcyon Series 1 Episode 3 Review
June 1940
Another air rid siren sounds and another night is spent in the shelter, well the basement; as Garland (Steven Mackintosh) tells them it's not the ideal place but it's the best place they can be. Also it's not a good place for Betsey (Kata Tointon) as she isn't able to perform to the best of her abilities due to lack of space. However they're lucky this night as there's no bombing and the 'all-clear' sounds. A new guest arrives in the form of the Comte De St Clair (Eric Godon) from France accompanied by Lucian D'Abberville (Charles Edwards) who is his 'lacky' of sorts and is also known by Priscilla Hamilton (Olivia Williams). She of course would get friendly with him and finds his jokes extremely amusing. Also blabbing to him how Toby's (Edward Bluemel) been assigned to the civil service and you can just see D'Abberville's eyes light up. Though she tells him he's going to be just a civil servant but his clothes are suited for his job. Not a moment ago she got hold of his hand and told him how they grew up too quickly.
Billy (Ewan Mitchell) turns 18 and is impressed with the Comte's gun, a family heirloom. Billy's going to join the Royal Engineers and Lillian (Annabelle Apsion) doesn't really want that. She recalls the last war and how they came back and if they did return, how they weren't in one piece. Which gives Garland another idea to interfere, he asks Feldman (Mark Benton) if he knows anyone and he replies it wouldn't be "patriotic" but he does know a man. Garland: "we look out for our own." Garland also wants him to keep watch on the air raids since they can't rely on the sirens.
Joe (Matt Ryan) visits the airfield for a story and to see how well prepared the RAF is, or aren't, and they're on their way to Dunkirk to provide air cover for the ships and survivors. As a Spitfire engine catches fire, showing how ill prepared they really were. Joe calls them "foreigners" which Emma (Hermione Corfield) finds appalling since he's one too, but he's a clean living American, as opposed to the Jews and other Europeans, so he doesn't count. "You check the temperature out there. People are increasingly suspicious about foreigners..." Nothing changed there then!
As the gun is stolen, Garland conducts a search of the staff lockers, he doesn't find it, but does find Hamilton's cufflinks in Klein's (Nico Rogner) locker, calling in the police. Klein is arrested, but he stole them as they were just lying around and he needs the money to find his family in France. Emma checks his locker and finds the photo of his wife and daughter. As well as the letters which have been returned to him. She asks Joe for his help and he wants to read a letter, but she says it's not right. It is after all the only way they'll get a lead.
Joe tells her about seeing Freddie (Jamie Blackley) at the airfield and how it's not really a fair fight. He tells her about how they're "flyboys" and growing up in Farmsville, Illinois, he knew a boy, Danny and he went away to Nicaragua. As the scene cuts away from the rest of the story....Kate (Lauren Coe) tells Billy she knows he took the gun and he needs to return it; telling him to put it back when the Comte's at lunch. However when she takes towels to his room, the Comte looks the door and shows how much of a rat he really is. Or should that be a French frog, oops sorry! But you know those were the times of such insults! She tries to comfort him, but he makes a move on her and kisses her. She doesn't tell anyone, but next day. D'Abberville gives her money to keep her mouth shut. She manages to tell Billy and he confronts the Comte with his own gun, even pulling the trigger, which wasn't loaded.
As Billy tells this to Garland, he also tells him about Kate and relaying this to Priscilla, he wants to do what's right. She tells him he has full leeway since he shamed her and her hotel with his behaviour. Any fleeing royalty should be welcomed here but they won't come if they have a reputation. Garland tells D'Abberville that the Comte left two hotels, the Dorchester and the Savoy, so why was that. Informing him of Joe and his radio broadcasts which are very popular, so he's always looking for a good story. D'Abberville will relay this to him on the basis he can have his room here as he's leaving his employ; yes and going into espionage; no doubt.
Emma is still angry at her father as he refuses to help with Klein and she joins Joe for a bourbon. She tells him he only thinks of himself, however he thinks of Jim Beam! (Bourbon.) Saying they should go and see Klein. Klein tells her he must get out since he needs to find his family, his daughter is only 7, even more so now that France has fallen and has asked for an Armistice with Germany. Leaving Britain as the only one in arms and fighting. Emma ask Priscilla to drop the charges and she refuses until she tells her that Garland is against it too and she'll have one up on him. Garland is angry as a manager that Emma did this, but as his daughter he is surprised and proud. Also leaving her to take control of the situation with the chef, whom she fires since he won't work with Klein, appointing Klein as sous chef. Garland also being proud of her then too. So wonder what he thought when he saw her kissing Freddie when he returns. Freddie telling her thy didn't make a difference in the air since the German planes just came and rained down hellfire on the survivors in the water. Which is what Joe said, when he spoke of Danny and how young he was, coming home with a flag over his body.
Dark days for everyone indeed. Even for the show which contained a mish-mash of stories, which looking back should've been more interspersed and spread throughout the series instead of being put into one episode. Several little things stood out like why Garland didn't fire chef himself and waited this long for Emma to do the dirty deed. That wasn't really a challenge of her ability at all. Anyone could've done it. Then seeing Freddie when he turns up after fobbing him off, after Joe mentions he saw him and she just starts up an intimate relationship with him now. Then there was D'Abberville who just was a plot point especially in this episode and coincidentally knowing Priscilla from before. Of course his addition is to add more 'intrigue' to the proceedings. Charles Edwards played Michael Gregson in Downton Abbey: Edith's love interest who vanished when he went to Germany in an attempt to be able to marry Edith one day. He was also a newspaper man.
The Comte was another despicable character who didn't last long and was dealt with quickly, D'Abberville deciding he didn't want to be in his employ only now, now he finds out about Toby and his employment. But he didn't seek to leave his service at the other two hotels they'd stayed at. Billy and the gun incident didn't add much to the story either except finding out about Kate. The cufflinks weren't very interesting either, Klein was desperate but would he really have stolen them. When there were plenty other things he could've stolen at the hotel, not something so obvious.
Some of these reviews just seek to berate and demean Joe and his character but heck man, you don't say you couldn't see the point of him visiting the airfield in one line and then quote how Joe's doing an ace job with his reporting!! Cos yeah he would visit an airfield that's what his job entails and particularly as Dunkirk is a pivotal turning point in the early stages of the War, as well as seeing what Freddie is doing. Not out of any sense of any love rivalry, but human interest story. As Joe says, "they might get scared, but they won’t let fear win the day. That’s the thing I’m learning about the Brits... they know how to make the best of a bad situation." This was also an education for Joe and learning how the people of his 'adopted' country behave during adversity. So yeah leave Joe alone! ha.
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