'Monsieur Spade' Episode 1 Takeaway: Is Philippe Saint-Andre dead?
Contains spoilers for 'Monsieur Spade'
BAZUEL, FRANCE: The first epiosde of 'Monsieur Spade' premiered on AMC on January 14. The American-French neo-noir television series created by Scott Frank and Tom Fontana features Clive Owen in the lead.
The plot follows the story of Samuel Spade (Clive Owen), the greatest private investigator in San Francisco, who comes to France to deliver Teresa (Cara Bossom) to her father, Philippe Saint-Andre (Jonathan ZaccaI), after her mother, Brigid O-Shaughnessey dies.
While Philippe is missing, his mother refuses to accept Teresa as her grandchild. However, Sam, for whom Teresa was a paid assignment, eventually sends her to the local convent while he marries Gabrielle (Chiara Mastroianni), a woman with whom he fell in love during his visit to France.
8 years later, Philippe returns to the town and Sam speculates that he has his eyes on Teresa's trust fund.
What happened to Philippe Saint-Andre?
'Monsieur Spade' Episode 1 leaves us on a cliffhanger with many questions unanswered. Sam Spade gets a call from Philippe asking him to stay away from Teresa. During the conversation, Sam hears gunshots and he wonders if someone has shot at Philippe.
Sam goes to the police station to report the incident and when he returns home, he finds 15-year-old Teresa outside his home. While short of breath, she tells that her father has been shot and that he came to see her at the convent.
Upon being enquired further by Sam, Teresa says that the Monk might have shot him as he barged into the convent and was heard shouting.
Even at this point, it is quite unclear if Philippe is dead or alive. Teresa says that she saw her wounded father but then he left. However, his visit was shortly followed by Monk which indicates that he might have followed Philippe to kill him.
Is Philippe Saint-Andre behind the murders of the nuns?
While Philippe's status, whether dead or alive, remains unclear, the episode prompts speculation about his potential connection to the murder of the nuns at the convent.
However, after Teresa tells all about the incident, Sam rushes to the convent to investigate. He finds the girls locked in a chamber while the nuns can't be found anywhere. Upon searching further, he finds them dead under mysterious circumstances.
The episode ends with the viewers wondering who could be behind the murders of the innocent nuns and if Philippe has anything to do with it. It also raises the question of how Teresa escaped the convent while other girls were locked inside.
The mystery behind Gabrielle Spade's death is also yet to be unfolded with the first episode hinting that Philippe was behind it.
'Monsieur Spade' Episode 2 will stream next Sunday, January 21, only on AMC.