I've just learned that this season has only eight episodes (as opposed to last season's ten) which certainly explains why things are moving at such a brisk pace this time around.
It's only to be expected from a police drama/political thriller, but I like it when investigative teams are depicted as good at their jobs, as is the case here. Their efficiency is probably to do with the reduced amount of episodes in which they've got to find their targets, but it's always satisfying to see people making proper conclusions from the evidence that's been gathered, especially when the audience is more aware of what's actually happening than the characters are.
After broadcasting the police sketch of Rosa on the television, a man comes forward claiming to be her father. He correctly describes the scar on her eyebrow (a detail the police withheld from the public) and reveals that Robert Fournier was his graduate student. He's obviously legit, but can shed no real light on what exactly Fournier is trying to achieve.
As Elise says, there have been no demands made or claims of responsibility, though it's a little clearer to the viewer that there's a method to his madness. Last week his gunman deliberately shot one person of each religion at the conference (a fact I missed while it was happening) and now we see Fournier directing Rosa as she edits a Truth Terrorist-inspired manifesto, which will presumably be posted online at some point.
And as much as I’d like to say that footage of a gunman shooting unarmed people would have the opposite effect that Fournier desires (of bringing more people to his cause), the show itself lets me know that's not true. Laura and the new nanny talk about the fact that assholes on the internet are applauding the death of Aamira, and Laura herself later becomes the target of racist comments when she tweets something about a Tory supporter.
It's like Angel Coulby's delayed response to all the crap the Merlin fandom slung at her.
Soon she's getting creepy texts that suggest someone is watching her, which you'd think would lead her to at least draw close the curtains at night.
***
Alongside all this is the as-yet-unconnected subplot of the immigrant brides; specifically one who attempts to leave the country on her fake passport and is promptly taken into custody. After some tension between the French and English investigators as to her fate, Karl gets turned away when he goes to see her in her holding cell.
The final scene of the episode has her falling to her death and landing on the bonnet of a car parked outside the building after ... what? Throwing herself out of the window? Getting pushed out the window? It's almost certainly the latter, though how this will connect with everything else that's going on remains to be seen.
***
I'll admit I was a little disappointed in Rosa's motivations for joining up with Fournier. Apparently it's down to some daddy issues and a belief she's in love with a much older man? Really? I was hoping for something less clichéd than that.
Thanks to record keeping and technology Karl manages to track down Rosa's address from the pharmacy, and after a brief gunfight she's brought into the station. I'd say that's a real win for the team, though the fact she was willing to shoot herself in the head (before realizing she was out of bullets) demonstrates just how all-in she is.
Miscellaneous Observations:
A woman walks through an airport with a giant black eye, and no one asks about it? I get the feeling that's depressingly realistic.
I recognized Stanley Townsend from an episode of Jonathan Creek, where he also played a police inspector – and he hasn't changed at all from the 90s.
Elise and Karl get a chance to finally talk about Adam – and naturally they're immediately interrupted. This show never allows for any proper fallout from its tragedies: not for Adam, not for Aamira, and I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Chloe again either. Closure is not The Tunnel's strong point.
Regarding Eryka, I have to admit I didn't quite follow all of what she was saying. Something about her parents being (or being mistaken for) Nazi sympathizers? In any case it would seem she's heading into "not as suspicious as initially appeared" territory when it comes to her rapport with Elise.
Poor waiter boyfriend. He doesn't stand a chance against Elise's commitment to her work.
And to round off the episode, there's one more extraneous subplot which may or may be get woven into the bigger picture: a Frenchman spots a refugee stealing from a grocery store and decides to take justice into his own hands by kidnapping him with a group of his friends. I've no idea how this is going to fit into everything else that's been going on, but we'll see.
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