Yes poor Laure but what about the late licence for those jolly nice club owners?
Yes it was a bit of a plot strand that went nowhere - unless it served to cement the relationship of Gilou and Amina, or aspects of it are going to be revived in series 5.
And Roban closes down on Marianne, having hinted to her that he had feelings for her, just as poor Marianne turned up having made an effort to look extra attractive.
I know, that was a shame. Hope he wasn't just using her all along, she was dropped like a hot potato when no longer needed.
2 brilliant, climactic episodes to end the series. I found the ending incredibly tense and then very emotional. All the actors are excellent, even those in the background roles, and Caroline Proust was devastatingly convincing at the end. What I like about Spiral is that it is so multi-layered. It isn't a cop show, it's not a legal show, it isn't a political saga and it's not an urban soap, it' combines so many elements and gives us an insight into contemporary France that we don't get anywhere else. I shall be back for Series 5 whenever it comes, hope it's not years away!
2 brilliant, climactic episodes to end the series. I found the ending incredibly tense and then very emotional. All the actors are excellent, even those in the background roles, and Caroline Proust was devastatingly convincing at the end. What I like about Spiral is that it is so multi-layered. It isn't a cop show, it's not a legal show, it isn't a political saga and it's not an urban soap, it' combines so many elements and gives us an insight into contemporary France that we don't get anywhere else. I shall be back for Series 5 whenever it comes, hope it's not years away!
It'll most likely be some time away. :( They don't take into account people like me who will forget all the loose ends to be tied up in the next series!
Are the police representative of real French men? I've only stayed overnight in France on the way to Lake Garda so have no idea. It's just that they're supposed to be great lovers but the police in this are a bunch of scruffy, unwashed (that's what the look like ) indviduals - mostly! And you wouldn't want to touch them with a bargepole haha
Hah! I have spent a lot of time in France (admittedly, not in cities and not with career type people) but the men I knew were on the scruffy side outwardly, but fantastically passionate (about life I mean, not just in relationships) and enthusiastic. I had one brief fling with a Frenchman and while yes he could appear scruffy he was amazing. Really. Aaaanyway...
2 brilliant, climactic episodes to end the series. I found the ending incredibly tense and then very emotional. All the actors are excellent, even those in the background roles, and Caroline Proust was devastatingly convincing at the end. What I like about Spiral is that it is so multi-layered. It isn't a cop show, it's not a legal show, it isn't a political saga and it's not an urban soap, it' combines so many elements and gives us an insight into contemporary France that we don't get anywhere else. I shall be back for Series 5 whenever it comes, hope it's not years away!
They're filming it now, I think it's on in France in early 2014.
Brilliant last two episodes. I think Roban just finds it hard to relate to someone else or to show his emotions. That, and he couldn't continue with Marianne professionally as his clerk if they started a relationship.
I noticed nobody posted during the actual programme, unlike some others. Obviously Spiral has a better class of viewer.
I can just about cope with Twitter during the programme, no way I could cope with a forum too!
I think Roban is so used to being very formal and distant that he finds it hard to be anything else. Don't forget, the last woman he was close to, that awful Ledore woman not only dumped him, she then went and spoke against him at his hearing so was a main cause of him being kicked out of the judiciary. When he was at his lowest he did realise how much Marianne meant to him, but I think he sees that as weakness, and now he's back again, feels safer being distant. If you're a French speaker - he never tutoyes Marianne, always calls her 'vous' (as she does him) which shows his distance and respect. In fact, I don't think I've heard him using 'tu' with anyone at all this series, and I can't remember how he addressed Mme Ledore last series, although I suppose he must have used 'tu'. I certainly don't think there was any calculated malice or meanness to Marianne, just that he's not any good at being close to anyone.
Oh I don't know, I thought Sami was sex on legs However I'd still have gone for Vincent - more reliable. I don't like it when men disappear without warning and then turn up again just as suddenly, expecting to resume once I'm in another relationship. But then Laure never was known for her healthy and stable relationship patterns.
Yes there is the odd exception. But Sami wasn't French was he? I'm easily confused so I could be wrong
It'll most likely be some time away. :( They don't take into account people like me who will forget all the loose ends to be tied up in the next series!
Brilliant last two episodes. I think Roban just finds it hard to relate to someone else or to show his emotions. That, and he couldn't continue with Marianne professionally as his clerk if they started a relationship.
I noticed nobody posted during the actual programme, unlike some others. Obviously Spiral has a better class of viewer.
Mais oui! (I don't remember very much more of my schoolgirl French it was soooooo long ago )
Am I being too precious? But I was royally p-eed off with the BBC4 continuity announcer before the finale. She said something like:
"And now for the explosive finale of Sprial..."
Now, we know the series has involved the purchase of explosives and the possibility of a bomb but we didn't know whether there would actually be a bomb. Or whether one would actually explode.
But, for me, this announcement gave away the fact that there was going to be an actual explosion. So in the final 5 minutes when they found the bomb (and we still hadn't had an explosion) I just knew it was going to explode in his face.
Anyway, great series. A few too many story lines and characters for my liking and a few episodes that seemed to get a bit lost but excellent overall. All the main characters are superb. I loved the Killing 1 but got thoroughly bored by the political story in the Killing 2. I never get that with Spiral.
Love the actors who played Jorkal and Murat too. Proper nasty
PS When Jorkal's car exploded I thought that his henchman had meant to fiddle with Pierre's car but got confused in the dark as both cars where the same colour and shape......
2 brilliant, climactic episodes to end the series. I found the ending incredibly tense and then very emotional. All the actors are excellent, even those in the background roles, and Caroline Proust was devastatingly convincing at the end. What I like about Spiral is that it is so multi-layered. It isn't a cop show, it's not a legal show, it isn't a political saga and it's not an urban soap, it' combines so many elements and gives us an insight into contemporary France that we don't get anywhere else. I shall be back for Series 5 whenever it comes, hope it's not years away!
I completely agree with this post. I absolutely adore Spiral - I've just watched the two final episodes this morning and it was absolutely incredible! The final ten minutes had everything - it was tense and then emotional! Caroline Proust was brilliant in the final few minutes - her grief was so raw. Poor Sami I had a feeling that he was going to die. And poor Tintin has suffered another trauma again... how's he going to recover from all this? I have a feeling he's going to go further off the rails in Series 5.
I thought Roban was very naive to think that he had won as an individual fighting for justice and there wasn't any work going on behind the scenes. I think the 'will they? won't they?' strand between him and Marianne will continue into the next series.
I was really worried for Pierre when he just walked out of that building and Jorkal and his men were following behind with their guns - I thought he was going to get shot! It was such a surprise when Jorkal actually got blown up. Nice to see Pierre and Josephine get together, though I get the feeling it's not going to last... and Laure and Bremont aren't going to last either! I wouldn't be surprised if Laure is single again at the start of the next series.
Herville is a great character - he's so slimy and someone you love to hate. I don't know if he'll be around in the next series, but I hope he is. I want to see the power struggle continuing between him and Laure.
Ahhh waiting for the next series is going to be torture! I'm going to order the Series 3 and 4 DVDs next week and hastily rewatch them all!
I can just about cope with Twitter during the programme, no way I could cope with a forum too!
I think Roban is so used to being very formal and distant that he finds it hard to be anything else. Don't forget, the last woman he was close to, that awful Ledore woman not only dumped him, she then went and spoke against him at his hearing so was a main cause of him being kicked out of the judiciary. When he was at his lowest he did realise how much Marianne meant to him, but I think he sees that as weakness, and now he's back again, feels safer being distant. If you're a French speaker - he never tutoyes Marianne, always calls her 'vous' (as she does him) which shows his distance and respect. In fact, I don't think I've heard him using 'tu' with anyone at all this series, and I can't remember how he addressed Mme Ledore last series, although I suppose he must have used 'tu'. I certainly don't think there was any calculated malice or meanness to Marianne, just that he's not any good at being close to anyone.
That clears up a lot. I wondered why Marianne had a dejected look on her face when it seems she was waiting for Roban to say something else, and the disappointed look was apparent.
If you're a French speaker - he never tutoyes Marianne, always calls her 'vous' (as she does him) which shows his distance and respect. In fact, I don't think I've heard him using 'tu' with anyone at all this series, and I can't remember how he addressed Mme Ledore last series, although I suppose he must have used 'tu'.
I agree with all you say but tagging on to the tu / vous observation - vous is normal in business / professional situations. It doesn't necessarily denote distance - it often does reflect context though and the context in this instance is professional.
I agree with all you say but tagging on to the tu / vous observation - vous is normal in business / professional situations. It doesn't necessarily denote distance - it often does reflect context though and the context in this instance is professional.
Oh absolutely, as with the use of titles like Maitre and Juge all the time. But Roban isn't the 'tu' type anyway! Even alone with Marianne out of a work context, he's still not calling her tu. I think it's just an extra layer of Roban's personality - is there anyone he's close to? Marianne would probably be the only one, although the most relaxed I've seen him was when he was with Laure, but he's still a formal type of guy.
I agree with all you say but tagging on to the tu / vous observation - vous is normal in business / professional situations. It doesn't necessarily denote distance - it often does reflect context though and the context in this instance is professional.
Interestingly, when I visited the Paris facility (well, Evry actually) of my international computer company, I was told to tutoye everyone "because we are all one big family"
I thought Tintin would definitely be for the chop when he got the call about his wife giving birth when him and Sami were about to defuse the bomb.
Presumably during Season 5 Prosecutor Machard will try and put pressure on Judge Roban to help on some case, using the help the Masons gave him as leverage.
What Herville and others probably meant by Armed Response
Oh absolutely, as with the use of titles like Maitre and Juge all the time. But Roban isn't the 'tu' type anyway! Even alone with Marianne out of a work context, he's still not calling her tu. I think it's just an extra layer of Roban's personality - is there anyone he's close to? Marianne would probably be the only one, although the most relaxed I've seen him was when he was with Laure, but he's still a formal type of guy.
True I noticed how Roban seemed to get long quite well with Laure as evidenced when he was locked out of his room and he persuaded the workmen to let him in to retrieve his raincoat then, upon leaving the room, during a comedic moment, craftily pass on to her a hastily written arrest/search warrant.
Every time I see Roban wearing that raincoat I'm always reminded of Columbo.....
Was the bomb wired up poorly or is 5kg of cemtex that weak? The police knew it was 5kg from the bust so if they'd known it was that weak then they should have just got everyone away as far as Laure was and then just hid behind a desk and everyone would have been fine! No need to defuse it at all.
Was the bomb wired up poorly or is 5kg of cemtex that weak? The police knew it was 5kg from the bust so if they'd known it was that weak then they should have just got everyone away as far as Laure was and then just hid behind a desk and everyone would have been fine! No need to defuse it at all.
I thought the bomb in the station was a bit of a damp squid. Maybe I need to watch it again but I didn't find the finale that exciting. The characters are great and the scripts have real promise, but I feel the writers are too fixated on gangsters and they should have focused on the terrorists to make this series distinct form the others.
They seem to think series 2 was the best and want to recreate it. I saw no reason to bring back Sammy although he was a great character. With twelve episodes a lot of it is padding and its a shame because it means the main theme can lose momentum. Saying that if you go back to series one, it was a set of individual story's with a main theme.
I suppose I would have liked to see the terrorist going an rampage and the cops trying to anticipate their next move. On the other hand the Judge and main terrorist storylines ended very cleverly.
Was the bomb wired up poorly or is 5kg of cemtex that weak? The police knew it was 5kg from the bust so if they'd known it was that weak then they should have just got everyone away as far as Laure was and then just hid behind a desk and everyone would have been fine! No need to defuse it at all.
I thought it was a small explosion too. Someone on the Guardian who I gather worked for the armed forces said:
Trouble is she put it in a very confined space in a building that appears to be made out of concrete with a corridor structure.
She'd had been better leaving it on her back and blowing herself up in the more open area in the ground floor, for maximum boom.
Otherwise it would mostly funnel and flatten and although I think it would have done more damage upwards it would have been pretty contained (as would all the shrapnel they added to it with the nuts and screws).
I thought the bomb in the station was a bit of a damp squid. Maybe I need to watch it again but I didn't find the finale that exciting. The characters are great and the scripts have real promise, but I feel the writers are too fixated on gangsters and they should have focused on the terrorists to make this series distinct form the others.
I found the terrorist plot by far the least interesting. It didn't help that Thomas Riffaut came across as more of a berk than sinister.
Comments
Yes it was a bit of a plot strand that went nowhere - unless it served to cement the relationship of Gilou and Amina, or aspects of it are going to be revived in series 5.
I know, that was a shame. Hope he wasn't just using her all along, she was dropped like a hot potato when no longer needed.
It'll most likely be some time away.
Hah! I have spent a lot of time in France (admittedly, not in cities and not with career type people) but the men I knew were on the scruffy side outwardly, but fantastically passionate (about life I mean, not just in relationships) and enthusiastic. I had one brief fling with a Frenchman and while yes he could appear scruffy he was amazing. Really. Aaaanyway...
They're filming it now, I think it's on in France in early 2014.
I noticed nobody posted during the actual programme, unlike some others. Obviously Spiral has a better class of viewer.
I think Roban is so used to being very formal and distant that he finds it hard to be anything else. Don't forget, the last woman he was close to, that awful Ledore woman not only dumped him, she then went and spoke against him at his hearing so was a main cause of him being kicked out of the judiciary. When he was at his lowest he did realise how much Marianne meant to him, but I think he sees that as weakness, and now he's back again, feels safer being distant. If you're a French speaker - he never tutoyes Marianne, always calls her 'vous' (as she does him) which shows his distance and respect. In fact, I don't think I've heard him using 'tu' with anyone at all this series, and I can't remember how he addressed Mme Ledore last series, although I suppose he must have used 'tu'. I certainly don't think there was any calculated malice or meanness to Marianne, just that he's not any good at being close to anyone.
Yes there is the odd exception. But Sami wasn't French was he? I'm easily confused so I could be wrong
Yeah, me too
Mais oui! (I don't remember very much more of my schoolgirl French it was soooooo long ago
That storyline was finished when Gilou retrieved his bullets, that they were going to get him into trouble with, from their safe.
Arrrrrgh poor Sami.
I was surprised to see La Redhead and Pierre back together.
A very tense couple of episodes. Here's this week's series blog:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/16/spiral-state-terror-series-four-episodes-11-12
I'm sure I read the head writer say somewhere that she wants there to be a shorter time between each series from now on.
Now, we know the series has involved the purchase of explosives and the possibility of a bomb but we didn't know whether there would actually be a bomb. Or whether one would actually explode.
But, for me, this announcement gave away the fact that there was going to be an actual explosion. So in the final 5 minutes when they found the bomb (and we still hadn't had an explosion) I just knew it was going to explode in his face.
Anyway, great series. A few too many story lines and characters for my liking and a few episodes that seemed to get a bit lost but excellent overall. All the main characters are superb. I loved the Killing 1 but got thoroughly bored by the political story in the Killing 2. I never get that with Spiral.
Love the actors who played Jorkal and Murat too. Proper nasty
PS When Jorkal's car exploded I thought that his henchman had meant to fiddle with Pierre's car but got confused in the dark as both cars where the same colour and shape......
Yes he was French. The character himself is presumably a 2nd or 3rd generation immigrant. The actor is of Egyptian, Vietnamese and Italian descent.
I think I noticed Sami speaking French differently to normal when he was undercover pretending to be Kurdish a few episodes ago.
I completely agree with this post. I absolutely adore Spiral - I've just watched the two final episodes this morning and it was absolutely incredible! The final ten minutes had everything - it was tense and then emotional! Caroline Proust was brilliant in the final few minutes - her grief was so raw. Poor Sami
I thought Roban was very naive to think that he had won as an individual fighting for justice and there wasn't any work going on behind the scenes. I think the 'will they? won't they?' strand between him and Marianne will continue into the next series.
I was really worried for Pierre when he just walked out of that building and Jorkal and his men were following behind with their guns - I thought he was going to get shot! It was such a surprise when Jorkal actually got blown up. Nice to see Pierre and Josephine get together, though I get the feeling it's not going to last... and Laure and Bremont aren't going to last either! I wouldn't be surprised if Laure is single again at the start of the next series.
Herville is a great character - he's so slimy and someone you love to hate. I don't know if he'll be around in the next series, but I hope he is. I want to see the power struggle continuing between him and Laure.
Ahhh waiting for the next series is going to be torture! I'm going to order the Series 3 and 4 DVDs next week and hastily rewatch them all!
That clears up a lot. I wondered why Marianne had a dejected look on her face when it seems she was waiting for Roban to say something else, and the disappointed look was apparent.
Oh absolutely, as with the use of titles like Maitre and Juge all the time. But Roban isn't the 'tu' type anyway! Even alone with Marianne out of a work context, he's still not calling her tu. I think it's just an extra layer of Roban's personality - is there anyone he's close to? Marianne would probably be the only one, although the most relaxed I've seen him was when he was with Laure, but he's still a formal type of guy.
Presumably during Season 5 Prosecutor Machard will try and put pressure on Judge Roban to help on some case, using the help the Masons gave him as leverage.
What Herville and others probably meant by Armed Response
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_de_recherche_et_d%27intervention
True I noticed how Roban seemed to get long quite well with Laure as evidenced when he was locked out of his room and he persuaded the workmen to let him in to retrieve his raincoat then, upon leaving the room, during a comedic moment, craftily pass on to her a hastily written arrest/search warrant.
Every time I see Roban wearing that raincoat I'm always reminded of Columbo.....
She's facing a long jail term, and has royally screwed up her life.
She first got in way above her head by getting involved with Thomas, and then he dumped her, and vanished into the crowd.
I had a wee bit sympathy for her for the reasons you say but she was such a drip and easy to dislike...... and that wig was horrendous...
I thought the bomb in the station was a bit of a damp squid. Maybe I need to watch it again but I didn't find the finale that exciting. The characters are great and the scripts have real promise, but I feel the writers are too fixated on gangsters and they should have focused on the terrorists to make this series distinct form the others.
They seem to think series 2 was the best and want to recreate it. I saw no reason to bring back Sammy although he was a great character. With twelve episodes a lot of it is padding and its a shame because it means the main theme can lose momentum. Saying that if you go back to series one, it was a set of individual story's with a main theme.
I suppose I would have liked to see the terrorist going an rampage and the cops trying to anticipate their next move. On the other hand the Judge and main terrorist storylines ended very cleverly.
I thought it was a small explosion too. Someone on the Guardian who I gather worked for the armed forces said:
I found the terrorist plot by far the least interesting. It didn't help that Thomas Riffaut came across as more of a berk than sinister.