Enriscochet
We begin episode 7 of Undercover Season 2 with Bob racing up to the ranch where he finds a shocked Nathalie sitting beside an unconscious Laurent, motionless on the floor. Phoning the emergency services, Bob does his best to try and resuscitate Laurent, who isn’t breathing. Together, they decide to set the new horse Stella go and make it look like Nathalie is innocent and the agitated horse kicked Laurent in the face. As she heads off to have a shower/bath, Bob stays outside as the ambulance arrives. JP heads up to the hospital with Yvette to check on Laurent. It turns out he’s got a fractured skull and is currently in surgery. While this is going on, Vinnie attempts a hit on Victor but thanks to some quick thinking from the police, they’ve moved him into a different room. Now they know for sure that JP wants him dead. Unable to sleep, Nathalie heads out in the morning to try and find Stella. When Bob returns, he finds the girl in a grief-stricken and shocked state. She apologizes and admits that she’s told Laurent the truth about him being a cop. Now things really are getting complicated. With Bouman’s trial coming up in 4 days, he phones Bob and demands he find Danielle for him. Frustrated, Bob simply brushes aside the call and tells him to deal with his own problems. Afterward, he heads back to the hospital where he learns Laurent may actually pull through after all. In the midst of this, JP tells Bob that he’ll accept the deal and do business with Enrico after all… on one condition. He wants Victor’s location given he “has a bone to pick with him.” Nathalie arrives at the hospital and finds Laurent breathing but in a coma. After getting rid of his Mother, she stands and deliberates over whether to kill the man, squeezing his oxygen tube for good measure. When the machine starts beeping, she quickly lets go and the noise brings JP into the room. He’s suspicious about the horse story and wonders whether it was agitated beforehand or not. While Nathalie manages to navigate this minefield of questions, it remains to be seen whether he buys this story or not. Bob meets Patrick and reveals that the deal is set to go ahead soon. Despite promising to crack this case no matter what, Patrick warns him against working outside the parameters of the law. Enrico introduces Bob to his trio of goons and together they work to track Victor, bundling him into a white van and taking off without anyone noticing. Bob phones JP and tells him Enrico has “agreed” to meet him. Out in a secluded area, Bob takes the blindfold off Victor and tells him they’re trying to protect him. JP is on his way and because of them, they’ve made it look like Victor’s betrayed him twice. It’s simple – either he work with them or they’ll hand him over to JP. With an unceremonious “F You” in reply, they put the blindfold back on and leave him to JP. When he arrives, Enrico and JP agree to do business – with the former handing over his shopping list. It’s a pretty expensive list but one that sees them come to an agreement – but with the ball still firmly in Bob’s court. They want to see the gear first before handing Victor over, buying themselves an extra week to put this plan into motion. Back at the stable, Stella is brought back much to Nathalie’s relief. Only, that relief is short-lived when it’s shot dead by Yvette. Elsewhere, Bouman sends an incriminating audio clip to Marc, one that confirms they were wire-tapped in their previous operation. With the hand-over delayed for now, Victor is taken to a safe-house with Enrico’s men keeping watch. Enrico warns Bob about the dangers going forward, especially with his plan starting to get out of hand. Bob tells him he’ll find a way, given “he always does” but Enrico is not so sure he will this time. Nathalie and Bob meet in their usual spot, with the former still grieving about her horse being killed. She starts to lose faith but finds it again in Bob whom she winds up making love with in his car. As the episode closes out, Laurent wakes up from his coma. Uh oh.
The Episode Review
This series could easily be reduced down to 6 or 8 episodes. The story has been dragged out a fair amount up until this point and this episode in particular exemplifies that perfectly. Do we really need a 5/10 minute segment of Nathalie riding her horse? To make matters worse, this episode really doesn’t move the story forward that much. Aside from the exchange (which really wasn’t an exchange given there’s a week delay), there isn’t a lot else going on here. While the series still manages to exude some decent atmosphere, the story itself fails to inspire much in the way of memorable set pieces. There’s still time for that to change of course, and hopefully this one ends with a bang.
