Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Million Dollar Question

We are still not much closer to the full picture of the boy and how his mere presence has created such an uproar in Bozouls, but Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 4 began fleshing it out in some detail.

There are many layers to this entertaining mystery, and as one is peeled away, another is revealed.

The past and present are intricately reliant, and the more we know about one, the more we’ll know about the other.

The previews for Monsieur Spade had already hinted at Sam’s turn at being a badass, but watching him in action, questioning his attacker with amazing physical prowess without ever leaving his chair, was a treat.

That scene spoke directly to Spade’s capabilities and what makes him such a formidable enemy and detective. Even after almost losing his life in a chokehold, he’s ridiculously calm and in control.

Filming scenes like that must be a hoot. How often do we see someone so commanding of attention while never bothering to get up from his seat?

Sam’s voice rarely changed tone because he managed the situation with his mind rather than his physical presence, even though he used physicality to drive home his points.

Sam Spade‘s brain never stops churning. He didn’t need answers from the guy; he already had them. But driving home what he knew with a boot to the face proved to the guy that he meant business.

He knew enough to read on the guy’s face whether he was on the wrong track; he wasn’t. Everything Sam sussed out was on the money.

The lingering question across the board, though, is why Zayd is so important. It’s also worth wondering why, if he is that important, anybody would entrust his care to Philippe, of all people.

Relationship entanglements keep coming to the fore, such as the fact that Philippe was at war because Sam arranged for him to go, as we learned on Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 3.

Sam was indirectly responsible for turning Philippe into a trained assassin, who, through that activity, became a trusted member of the powerful. That connection could add to Jean-Pierre’s agonizing over his past, too.

If he knew Sam’s involvement in Philippe’s deployment and later had to make a deal with the devil himself to escape that hell, it wouldn’t give him the warm fuzzies about Sam.

So it’s you then. The one they all kill for.

Jean-Pierre

Zayd is back in Philippe’s hands to get out from under Jean-Pierre’s thumb, but the way Jean-Pierre holds on to his pain and mistakes, this is sure to be something else that begins to eat away at him.

He may not have Philippe pressuring him for a favor, but the weight he’ll carry for turning over Zayd could be unbearable.

Jean-Pierre’s plan was already in motion when he learned that Marguerite visited his father and maintained a relationship with him while he was at war. Marguerite wanted Jean-Pierre back and made her own devil’s pact, which worked against her wishes.

When you think about it, there aren’t a lot of nice people in Bozouls. Is that what your country being torn in half during a war can do? No doubt.

How Pierre became such a menace goes well beyond what we learned on Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 1. Learning that Jacques was a Nazi wouldn’t have been enough for Gabrielle to be so frightened of him.

That Philippe saw her killing Jacques in conjunction with every other person in this story, though, is a reason to want him gone forever.

This isn’t the first time a story has taken a turn like this. Oddly enough, there was a docuseries on Sundance Now about a town in this same spot called No One Saw a Thing. Everyone who was questioned about a similar killing in broad daylight claimed to have seen nothing.

Our story was at least in the dark, but doing it high on a hilltop where the sounds reverberated across the canyon wasn’t ideal. We don’t know what people thought about Philippe at that time to even consider that committing a crime in view of his home would could have come to that.

It could be that Philippe and his mother were new enough to Bozouls that he hadn’t sufficiently rocked the boat enough for anyone to think he could be a threat.

They were busy with their own post-war troubles and steering clear of Jacques’s misdeeds and Nazi collaboration to worry about new residents.

We also have to ask how much Henri, a member of the French Intelligence Agence SDECE, has to do with all of this. Sure, he has a crush on Teresa and is related to Helena, but can it be a coincidence he’s just hanging around all of a sudden?

Is he tasked with getting his hands on Zayd, too?

What about the Fitzsimmons duo? Like I said above, Sam is always listening and connecting the dots. He sensed something was off with them, but after seeing the large satellite on their garage, he knew enough to consider investigating.

Patrice: That man is about as much a painter as I am a milkmaid.
Sam: That’s an image.
Patrice: And what about the garage? I’d love to know why there’s not room inside for their car.
Sam: I think their little sculpture on the roof might have something to do with it.

We know they are far more than they seem, but Sam doesn’t have the same information we do, but he’ll figure it out eventually.

It still begs the million-dollar question of how many people and organizations are looking for Zayd and why.

But now for the million-dollar question. What is so important about this little kid that everyone is willing to murder nuns or kidnap young girls in order to get their hands on him?

Sam

If he is, as I surmised in my Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 2 review, “a messianic deliverer who will fill earth with justice and equity, restore true religion, and usher in a short golden age lasting seven, eight, or nine years before the end of the world,” then why are world governments interested in him?

I often forget how influential religion is on the world’s stage, so I may have answered my own question.

Don’t forget that if you want a full recap of the events, you can click the episode link at the top of this page.

Are you enjoying the intricacies of this tale and how connected each individual’s story is to the next?

Drop below and share your thoughts on the million-dollar question, how the town killed Jacques, and everything else that comes to mind!

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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