The serpent

[the80sweregreat]

Anyone going to watch this?
I've never heard of this person before.

I think they got that far as Charles had lots of connections

Many would have overlooked his crimes

Imagine that drive though, Paris to Bombay .

I wonder how long it took them

And going through some areas that were not safe

This really grew on me - struggled to get into it but persevered and really pleased I did. Thought all 3 lead women were excellent and thought both Ellie and Jenna were perfectly cast and accents amazing. Does Jenna sound like a real French lady (or French Canadian) when she speaks?! Seems like she did to me!! She is beautiful too...

I wouldn’t say she sounds quite french, but she sounds like someone who speaks very good french. Like degree level.

And the québécois accent is slightly different, so that covered it too. I have a french degree and thought she was fantastic. I think someone on here said she learned french for the role (and yes, so beautiful too).

She was so complicit wasn’t she? And then came over all religious etc - was that real or put on? Did she suddenly realise what she had done? A fascinating woman (from a psychological perspective).

I read somewhere that the real Angela felt her role had been diluted - that she had helped Herman much more.

Herman was interviewed on Loose Women this week. He came across as a very intelligent man, he really considered his answers. I’m sure Angela did help a lot. She was clearly very smart.

I have just finished watching. Was an excellent series and I had never heard of him before.

I thought that he had killed Ajay, but apparently there was a sighting of him, but then never again.

I didn't understand Juliette, and what happened to their child. I assume she stayed with Juliettes mother, but have to wonder if Charles saw her again.

Enjoyed it though. It's taken a week to watch. Have to find something equally good.

I am not understanding the love for this. Am on Episode 4.

Charles is not charming enough. The real Sobhraj was v charming. He' got a 23 yr old to marry him in Nepal.
The choppy timeline is super annoying.
This may sound insensitive, but the hippies are so absolutely silly, even given it was the 70s.

On the plus side, Jenna C is v good and I love her styling.

@Frequentflier - hang in there. I struggled to engage with first 4 but half way through episode 5 I really got it. Please persevere!

Well I actually felt a tiny bit of sympathy with Monique/Marie tonight. The penny finally dropped and she's realised what Charles is like but it's too late now she's embroiled in all those murders.

As for Juliette, I don't get it at all. She knows he's a serial killer and yet she's still in love with him.

[quote Hels20]@Frequentflier - hang in there. I struggled to engage with first 4 but half way through episode 5 I really got it. Please persevere![/quote]
You have asked so nicely that I will:) I just read in another thread that it was actually filmed in Margate? That's so amazing.

God there is a lot of retching in this too.

I wonder about Monique. I think she loved him and the lifestyle so went along with alot of it but soon realised what he'd done and that she was part of it majorly.

Yes I somehow felt sorry for Monique, but I was wrong. She knew exactly what was going on and did nothing to stop it because she liked the lifestyle.

@Honeyroar

I agree, last night was the first time I felt a hint of sympathy for her. For the main she has come across as complicit, pathetic and at times just as callous as Charles. I think the sympathy stems from the fact that she loves him so much and she's realised he has never loved her at all. So all of it has been for nothing. Stupid woman.

Just finished it last night, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Like many posters here I had never heard anything about the case at all, but it was gripping (apart from the back/forth timelines) thought the atmosphere of the scenes in places was excellent, JC also played an excellent part.

The house's with all open sides and all the Windows open in the flats were setting my teeth on edge, mozzies everywhere, outside standing water, ..........anyway I can do easily see how people were taken in by them and can also see how it could still happen now

I stuck with this and so glad I did. Got so much better and pacier. I am from India and just about old enough to remember when Sobhraj was arrested in Goa. The Indian press definitely made him out to be Robin Hood when he was actually such vile scum. lots of Bolly movies about him too.
Really loved:
Herman and Angela
Nadine
Sobhraj's snarky mother
Thought the actor who played Ajay did a really good job.

What on earth was Juliette thinking going back to Charles?!? As great as the actor is, I don't think the series conveyed just how charming and manipulative Charles is. He sees to charm everyone he meets and even in prison has had a good life by all accounts.

I felt quite angry at the end that he was never convicted in Thailand of all those murders and I presume Charles gets off on the fact he has got away with so much.

Just finished, wow, that was intense. I don't think Sobhraj was meant to be a compelling character, the writers didn't want that. They wanted it to be more about the victims and their story. From what I've read the ending with him going to Nepal wasn't as portrayed, and that's annoyed me. Instead of him going there and posing infront of the poster for a photographer he went there undetected and was followed by a journalist for two weeks before his cover was blown. That makes a lot more sense.

Having said all that it was a brilliant and tense series and I thought it was really well acted.

Yes, I totally get that the writers would want to play down his charisma but just found it difficult to understand how he managed to charm everyone he met.

I read up on him last night and by all accounts he is still manipulating everyone around him. He knew exactly what he was doing getting his sentence in India extended. Meant he could never be charged for all his murders in Thailand (and would have presumably faced the death penalty) as they had a 20 year time limit to prosecute.

I suppose that at least the families know he is in prison but I do wonder how many more unknown victims there are where families are still waiting for their loved ones to come home.

Very compelling series and loved the little updates at the end.

I really liked the updates too.

Sorry, late to the thread. Found this really compelling, cried at the end - what did it say? For all those intrepid travellers who never came back .

I spent years backpacking all over those parts of the world and thank my lucky stars I never came across people like that

I've just watched this.

I don't understand the casting of Charles. He's supposed to be half Asian, and they go on about the hard time he's had because of that - but he doesn't look Asian at all. He looks like a guy with bad make up. I found that really distracting as it was something they mentioned more than once.

I'm surprised nobody else has said it

He was entirely Asian actually. His father was Indian and his mother Vietnamese. You make a good point. I didn't feel Tahir was right for the part.