Suppression
The Season 1 finale of Freud begins with the Count and Countess arriving at the People’s Ball, where the Crown Prince shows up soon after. Meanwhile, the police arrive at Freud’s house, as Kiss exits and implores the police to listen to him. While they do, Sophia and Viktor bid farewell to one another as they start whispering that Taltos will come over them. Chaos erupts as the massacre begins…until Fleur arrives and stops them all in their tracks. The police shoot both Viktor and Sophia, killing them instantly, while the Crown Prince becomes maniacal, chasing his Father through the labyrinth outside the house. Just as he’s about to kill him, Rudolf’s Father desperately pleads with his son to sleep, chanting “Taltos orders you to sleep” and subsequently halting him into a trance. The next day, Freud is ordered to follow the police as they show him the Crown Prince, tied up and now unresponsive. Freud contemplates what this means, as a solitary soldier continues to repeat “Taltos orders you to sleep” to keep him at bay. Freud decides to hypnotize Rudolf and after hearing his story, speaks to the officers about trying to find a cure. Inspector Kiss kills another officer, while Freud finally embraces his family as Martha announces that she and Freud are going to get married. His Father looks at him proudly and it’s enough for them to finally accept him into the family. Kiss meanwhile heads down to the Vienna Canals and as he walks along the footpath, he growls angrily and disappears into the shadows. The next morning Freud resigns, telling the Professor the methods aren’t working for him anymore. With Taltos no longer haunting Fleur, she decides to go on the run, imploring Freud not to tell her story to anyone. Instead, she tells him to write many books and they bid each other farewell. As the episode closes out, Freud heads back home and thinks over all the different people he’s helped and met over the series. Martha greets Freud when he returns home and tells him there’s a patient waiting next door for him. Freud heads into his apartment first and makes sure everything is in order. As he sits at his desk, he clears his throat and calls “Next one, please”. In terms of season finales, it’s hard not to feel a bit underwhelmed and disappointed by this one. Sophia and Viktor being killed off-screen and with little fanfare after so much build-up is a bit disappointing and although the Taltos angle is wrapped up satisfyingly enough, the lack of violence, bloodshed and nudity (which the middle portion of episodes had so profoundly) give the impression that this portion of the show is almost something completely different. While the show does well to give everyone a conclusive ending and all the big plot points are wrapped up by the end, Freud ends its run with a whimper rather than a roar.
