Monsieur Spade (Season 1 Finale), Episode 6: The final episode of AMC’s “Monseiur Spade,” the return of the iconic American detective from the mind of Dashiell Hammett, is here. Clive Owen’s Samuel Spade is a more jaded and world-weary version of the dogged gumshoe we saw Humphrey Bogart play in “The Maltese Falcon.” Created by Scott Frank and Tom Fontana, the mini-series started well to blend the lore of Samuel Spade in a modern setting. The old-school 1930s noir vibe went quite well in the backdrop of an idyllic French village. But for a six-episode mini-series, the story is littered with too many players trying to get their hands on the MacGuffin. The final episode suffers, as a result, as it needed to deal with a lot of expositional elements within a considerably short time.
Clive Owen remained an asset through and through. The show is enjoyable due to his humorously dated but timelessly enigmatic portrayal of Spade.
Monsieur Spade (Season 1 Finale), Episode 6 Recap:
The final episode starts with the aftermath of the last episode. The death of Jean-Pierre (Stanley Weber) reverberates through everyone, especially his wife, Marguerite (Louise Bourgoin). Chief of Police Michaud (Denis Menochet) and Sam Spade (Clive Owen) break the news to her. Marguerite understands that Jean-Pierre was killed by Philippe (Jonathan Zaccai) when he tried to rescue the mystery boy, Zayd.
When Spade returns to his house, he encounters Mr. Kahn. He recognizes him as the person who appeared at the foot of the stairs when he was about to have a shoot-out with Philippe. Mr Kahn reveals himself as a private investigator working on behalf of Zayd’s “family.” He mentions a plan to bring the boy to his rightful ‘owner.’ We know that in the last episode, Philippe made a deal with Kahn to deliver the boy. In return, Philippe will get what he always wants: more money. Kahn now warns Spade not to get involved in this. He explicitly asks him to sit this one out. Spade does not necessarily oblige.
Teresa (Cara Bossom) confronts Henri (Oscar Lesage) about being part of the rebel French militants. While coming back to the house, she stumbles across the murderous monk (from the first episode) who killed the six nuns. The monk immediately overpowers her. He is still under the impression that Teresa could lead to Zayd, who he was after from the beginning. Michaud’s brother, Maurice, tries to help her but gets injured in the scuffle with the monk.
Marguerite pays a visit to the Saint-Andre household to return Philippe’s gift to Jean-Pierre, a gun. As she converses with Audrey Saint-Andre (Caroline Silhol), Philippe is readying himself for war. The deal involving Zayd is to go down in front of his house. So, he could have Kahn in his crosshair. On Philippe’s instructions, Gazala (Ines Melab) brings the boy to meet with Kahn. Just like Philippe, Henri is also present there, from Kahn’s party. Henri’s sniper is aimed toward Gazala, as inevitably, with eager fingers on a trigger, a gun battle ensues.
Monsieur Spade (Season 1 Finale), Episode 6 Ending, Explained:
What Happens in the Final Shootout?
Philippe starts the shooting first. He shoots Kahn straight in the face, killing him. Everyone in the vicinity hears the gunshots. Spade, who was already roaming the streets searching for Teresa, rushes towards the battle zone. Meanwhile, Henri misses his shots. Gazala escapes with the money, jumping from the bridge. All the while, Zayd remains in the background, shots firing around him. While Henri and Philippe turn their guns towards each other, Zayd runs away. The French Inspector Suchet, who previously wanted to take the case from Chief Michaud, tries to follow Zayd. He seems to be the accomplice of Kahn. But Philippe’s incessant firing thwarts his efforts.
As if it is not enough, the mad monk infiltrates the scene. Grabbing Teresa by the neck, the Monk comes to the place where Zayd has just fled. Both Philippe and Henri hold their fire, not wanting to hurt Teresa. Zayd comes back as he also doesn’t want to see Teresa hurt. Seeing Zayd, the supposed God’s incarnation, the monk lets Teresa go. Spade appears and tries to shoot the monk but misses. However, Henri, Philippe, and Michaud, who arrive on the scene as well, do not. The monk is dead.
Who is the United Nations representative that decides the fate of Zayd?
Just when Philippe tries to flee, his path is obstructed by Cynthia (Rebecca Root) from the British Intelligence. On the bridge, an authoritative figure arrives with machine-gun-wielding bodyguards and asks everyone to lower their weapons. Everyone, including Zayd, gathers in the Saint-Andre household, which is the nearest accommodation. The authoritative figure introduces herself as Virginia, the Undersecretary General for the United Nations’ Council for Peacetime Conflict Resolution. It is implied that the complicated nature of the title does not diminish the fact that she holds the power to decide the terms now about Zayd.
Everyone, from British Intelligence’s Cynthia Fitzsimmons to French Army’s Inspector Suchet, stakes a claim on Zayd. Virginia negates them one by one. Zayd’s British passport does not give the British the most rights as Zayd has other passports, too. Suchet claims Zayd as he was born in Algeria. Suchet also claims that Zayd’s family worked with the French Army. But Virginia’s probing reveals that the French Army does not have the family with them anymore. Virginia chides the Church as well as the massacre of the six nuns is on their hands.
What Happens to Spade and Teresa?
Virginia is clearly from the United States Intelligence. She has come to act on the United Nations’ behalf to stop the matter from escalating. Virginia’s conversation with Spade reveals that they plan not to hand the boy to anyone who could play a role in escalating the war. When Virginia leaves, Spade finally seems to be accommodating to the idea that Teresa might be his daughter. Teresa, on her mind, also has accepted Spade as her father. She explicitly mentions that Philippe is not her father. Like Marguerite, she seems to have done the math, too.
Was Henri the Biker Shooter?
The final episode answers some of the other mysteries, too. It is revealed that Henri was the person who shot at Spade and Teresa and then fled on the motorbike back in the second episode. Henri claims that he was sure of not hurting any one of them. He is revealed by part of OAS, the Secret Army Organization that worked against the French Government. He is a radical, to say in simpler terms. Henri wanted to find Philippe, and scaring Teresa seemed his way of checking if that led to Philippe.
What happens to George Fitzsimmons and Gazala?
In a last-minute twist, we see Gazala and George (Matthew Beard) being together, romantically. Both of them are planning to undermine their respective bosses to flee with the money. However, George’s boss, Cynthia, gets wind of it. She brutally murders him, showing once again that there is no second chance when it comes to global espionage.
