A French Village Season 5
The Allies are coming! The Allies are coming! Finally, it’s 1944, France will be free and the struggle will be over… scratch that. The struggle is only beginning. Not content to lay low and allow the Allied forces to clean up the mess around them, rogue members of the Resistance now turn aggressively proactive, fearing that local collaborators and Laval’s white-nationalist French militia will escape unpunished. Tensions, to say the least, are high, and the town is caught up in chaos as assorted factions scramble to evacuate and vigilante justice reigns. Looks like rebuilding a society is difficult! Who knew? Well, to start with…
The saint
Marie Germain, the bravest of all Resistance fighters, is perhaps Villeneuve’s only remaining cool head. Even though it would probably thrill her more than anyone to seek revenge, she saves her energy for the arrival of the Allies, who immediately put her and her group to work. No big deal — they just want her to blow up a bridge! It’s an impossible job, but she gives it everything she’s got, as usual. Schwartz, devoted to her, must watch as she takes increasingly frightening risks to get the job done. And he must be there to pick up the pieces when things go off the rails, because…
The bad match
Antoine, who should be helping, is lured into a truly ill-fated romantic interlude by Suzanne, who should ALSO be helping. Rather unfortunately for their compatriots, all their lack of chemistry gets them is a better position from to witness a horrific crime carried out by…
The sadist
I can’t say I’m upset that we went four seasons without getting to know Janvier, Alban’s godfather and loathsome middle-manager of the Vichy militia. Pardon my French, but he’s a real &**%($. There’s no question that the thread that weaves this series, and especially this season, together is that no one in this conflict can truly claim the moral high ground, but WOW, can this guy claim the low. He’s dragged young Alban along with him, and is evilly going about his plan to take Villeneuve down on the way out, until Suzanne, in righteous indignation, enlists Antoine on a mission of justice. I can’t blame them, but it does complicate matters when they’re picked up by…
The butcher
Maybe Marchetti’s heart was never really in all his police activities, but the guy sure didn’t hesitate to follow orders, no matter how odious they were. With Paris liberated, he sees the writing on the wall and, knowing he’ll now be on the receiving end of an angry local mob, he decides to make a run for it. Except, well, where do you run when you have zero friends? With the defeatist air of the perpetual reject, he plans to hop the last train out of town, when he comes face to face with Rita and his baby son, David. Seems the Nazis aren’t willing to make a get out of Dodge without finishing what they started, i.e. killing innocent people. No one ever accused those guys of being inefficient, ugh. So, here’s Marchetti’s big chance to do the right thing, and he takes it. Still, don’t call him a hero – absolutely no one else is. I’d say he’s still Public Enemy Number One, but the list of candidates for that title is getting pretty long, and naturally includes…
The travelers
Hortense and Heinrich are having quite an adventure trying to get out of Villeneuve. Maybe if the poster boy for the Aryan Nation had just worn a hat, he might not have been so easily identifiable. None of his border crossing attempts seem to be working out, and all seems very close to being lost when they’re picked up by the U.S. Army. Seems bad, but they’re the only ones who don’t know who he is. Mistaken identity is becoming a bit of trend, actually, because over at the school…
The comebacks
When a Panzer division retreats through Villeneuve, Lucienne experiences a reunion that turns her world upside down. Again. Just as she is dealing with this, Bériot returns, as well. Well, isn’t this a cause for celebration? Seems he’s been gone for a year since their uncomfortable farewell following her life-changing interlude with Marguerite, and has been moving up the ranks of De Gaulle’s new government. Named as Villeneuve’s new deputy prefect, he’s in position now to bring the community back together. To put it mildly, he finds it to be a complicated undertaking. The distressing compromises begin immediately. It’s good, then, that he has an experienced former mayor on whom to rely for putting plans together. But…
The scapegoat
Poor Dr. Larcher. He’s not a perfect man – he did kind of steal a baby, after all – but you can’t say he hasn’t done what he’s had to for his community, taking great hits to his heart and soul. And what thanks has he received? Absolutely none, and none will be coming any time soon. Abused by the very people he’s spent his life caring for, rejected by Gustave, and seeing no avenues for clearing his name in the heat of the moment, he returns to his favorite pastime, trying to save Hortense from herself.
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About the author:
Allison Lowe Huff is a freelance writer and editor with an overly concentrated interest in mystery stories from anywhere and everywhere. Follow her on Twitter @lowehuff.
