‘Transatlantic’ Ending Explained: What happens to Varian Fry? Madame Letoret's espionage exposed
Spoilers for ‘Transatlantic’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The Netflix period drama 'Transatlantic' is based on Julie Orringer's book 'The Flight Portfolio', which chronicles the events of the Emergency Rescue Committee led by American journalist Varian Fry, whose task was to save as many individuals as they could from German forces.
Anna Winger and Daniel Hendler created the miniseries, which stars Gillian Jacobs, Lucas Englander, Cory Michael Smith, Ralph Amoussou, Deleila Piasko, and Corey Stoll. Stephanie Chuat, Veronique Reymond, and Mia Meyer directed the series. Winger also co-produced 'Transatlantic' with Camille McCurry.
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What happens to Varian Fry?
After being dismissed, Varian Fry decided to stay on his tourist visa and help as many people as he could, ultimately rescuing 257 people as stowaways with the assistance of Captain DuBois and Vice Consul Hiram Bingham. Marc Chagall and his wife, who had previously refused to leave France despite Varian's efforts to persuade them that they were in danger, are finally prepared for their departure when the French authorities seize their identification documents.
Fry and Thomas, who have been together since they reconciled, go to bring Chagall's works of art because he will not depart without them. Thomas attempts to convince Fry to leave his spouse and flee with him, making him understand just how crucial it is for him to be true to himself, but Fry does not respond and instead concentrates on helping the Chagalls. They will have trouble trying to leave France because they lack identity documents. Bingham suggests that Fry steal Patterson's car since a diplomat's car is not stopped at the border.
Fry steals the car and decides to drive the Chagalls himself and then sail to New York with them because he does not believe his relationship with Thomas would be successful in the real world. He tearfully bids Mary Jayne and then Thomas farewell. Fry simply asks for forgiveness from Thomas and exits with the Chagalls with a broken heart. He crosses the border without altercation and safely exits France.
Did Albert leave for the United States with Mary Jayne Gold?
After Mary Jayne Gold understands that it is no longer secure for them to remain in France, she insists Albert Hirschmann accompany her to the United States so that they can help the people of Vichy from there, and Albert, after pausing to think for a while, accepts to accompany her but asserts on first freeing Paul, who was arrested as a result of the prison break-in. Albert does come back to Mary Jayne Gold, but only to bid farewell because he desired to remain and join the resistance with Paul. The pair tearfully bids goodbye to each other.
While Paul grieves and buries his little brother, he and Albert continue to carry out the resistance operation. Patterson learns that his secretary Madame Letoret was the spy who planted the microphone in the villa and was acting as an informant for the Germans. Since he has always been loyal to Commissaire Frot, he notifies him that Fry managed to steal his car and fled Marseilles. However, Commissaire Frot refuses to take action against them since they're no longer an issue in Marseilles, which causes Patterson, who continues to remain in Marseilles, to reevaluate his actions.
By the end of the war, the Emergency Rescue Committee had saved over 4,000 lives. This is to say that the ERC's objective was met. Of course, they could have done far more, but their resources were constrained, and the forces opposing them were far too powerful.
Parting thoughts on 'Transatlantic'
The final episode of the limited series 'Transatlantic' concludes with Varian Fry trying to decide to return to the United States with the Chagalls. The limited series, an adaptation of Julie Orringer's 'The Flight Portfolio', continues to struggle to find the right balance due to too many subplots, and viewers unfamiliar with European art movements may find the series challenging to comprehend, particularly the symbolic importance of the entire operation.
One thing that should be mentioned is that the entire time Varian Fry and his team were constantly striving to rescue artists and philosophers, there wasn't much discussed in the story since they were reduced to just a couple of cliched dialogues. While the series was idealistic, it wasn't able to provide much in terms of intellectual or emotional depth. The end credits are certainly important to mention; they could represent the most exciting aspect of the series.
The seven-episode series is streaming on Netflix.