Spiral Series 8 - BBC 4 from 2 January 2020 - Week by week - no spoilers please!

[stumbledin]

This will be the final series of Spiral. And I hope to come to this thread to be able to ask questions of all the bits I will not be able to understand or will have missed!

All the previous series of Spiral are currently available on BBC iPlayer and there is a discussion thread about them here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/4099550-spiral-fans

So for those like me who need a helping hand with this French wizardry which I am addicted to can we keep this thread to whatever is going to unfold as from 9pm tonight? Thanks!

And maybe those who are going to binge watch (assuming the BBC makes all episodes available) would want to have their own thread to freely discuss?

So looking forward to watching. So sad it will all soon be over.

re Gilou

Series 7 was quite complicated about money laundering.

At one point Laure and Gilou wanted a businessman who was paying workers cash to provide informaiton about how the system worked. And they took (not within police procedure!) a large amount of money he was carrying round.

Laure did mark it up as though police evidence but they were later reported for having stolen the money. TinTin was involved in investigating this and tried to cover it up bu didn't suceed.

Gilou decided he would take all the blame because he thought Laure should start building a relationship with her daughter.

ah yes I remember now, thanks. Feels like about a decade ago that I saw that!

I only remember as I binged watch series 1-7 over christmas.

At the time I first watched series 7 I was totally confused.

But second time round I just about understood the plot (I think!).

Anyone watching?

Unusually for Spiral, I seem to be able to understand the storyline (almost).

I'm confused by Josephine. Is she in a relationship with her lodger? Wasn't she her brief in S7?

Josephine and Edelman seem to be the only Briefs in the city.

I think this series isn't as complex (yet!) as previous ones. And they haven't had much to do but crossword puzzles.

How could you not remember the wonderful relationship built between Lola and Josephine as cell mates?

And after being released from prison Josephine had to get Edelman to take Lola's case because she was disbarred.

And as to their relationship .... ? Isn't it that Josephine has despite herself found she is attracted to another woman but Lola is much more wary because she is effectively dependent on Josephine?

I think they have somehow made Edelman really soppy in this series. I know Josephine gave him his comeuppance for trying to stop her getting her right to practice law again, but he seems to have just turned into her lap dog.

Its funny how in the series recap that the Guardian does there are some men who make really gross remarks about Josephine calling her a bitch, and hoping she dies, whilst I also think of her as a street fighter and was thrilled to find she has taken up fighting rape cases.

But ignoring the few men who find Josephine a bit uppity there are some quite good comments about the relationship, or whatever it is, with Lola. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jan/09/spiral-recap-season-eight-episodes-three-and-four-everyone-wants-a-piece-of-josephine

I'm quite keen to see how this pans out. I'm hoping to see a lot more of Edelman - Il est très sexy.

I got confused by Gilou bailing on Laure at the restaurant.I thought he was on his way, realised that he was being trailed by Cisco's son and then went to the club instead: so he didn't deliberately bail on Laure.

It is a bit slower but I am enjoying it - no disrespect to the French, but it really shows the underbelly of Paris doesn't it

@HappyThursdays

It is a bit slower but I am enjoying it - no disrespect to the French, but it really shows the underbelly of Paris doesn't it

The views of the tent cities are so sad. The same with the Tower Block estates shown in all series - a side of Paris rarely shown.

I posted on the other Spiral thread but have watched the first 2 episodes of S8 - really enjoying it but know bad things will happen and quite anxious as to who will die!

As an aside it seems all the men grew beards for S8 - am hoping they allow JP to have some lines this time rather then just standing around or riding his motor bike - they let Nico and Tome speak .

Crossing fingers that Josephine finds happiness with Lola after the trauma of her childhood and then losing Pierre.

Woo hoo, I have found my people!

Could someone please remind me about the relationship between Josephine and Edelman? He seems very keen to please her and they seem close, but I can't for the life of me remember why … What's the history there?

@TheReturnoftheSmartArse

Woo hoo, I have found my people!

Could someone please remind me about the relationship between Josephine and Edelman? He seems very keen to please her and they seem close, but I can't for the life of me remember why … What's the history there?

Joséphine first met him when he was defending the policeman accused of running over a colleague.

After the trial he offered her a job at tge firm he worked for. Vern Snr then offered J partnership to vote out Edelman which she did. After Vern Jnr raped her he was her lawyer & got her out of prison. She initially thought E was the rapist. She went back to work for him but left when she discovered he was delaying her getting reinstated.

Also it would appear that since Pierres death J & E are the only criminal lawyers in the whole of Paris!!

It makes me never want to go to Paris again!

DH and I have watched the entire collection (1-8) in the last 3 weeks,we are Spiralled out! So sad that there won’t be any more although I really miss Pierre and Roban.

We are now watching The Serpent which although is completely different is no way near as good. Back to 4od and Netflix for some decent foreign stuff I think.

The Serpent was menancing - I have university aged kids and it made my blood run cold. Those poor people. I binge watched the whole thing, had also forgotten how much I love Tim McInnerny! It was very different wasn't it - loved it as much for the 70s architecture and the beautiful scenery!

I have to watch Spiral on my own as no one else likes it so I'm watching as it comes out on BBC4 so I'm a bit behind.

I LOVED both Pierre and Roban - they were such great characters

thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/could-spiral-be-getting-a-spin-off-this-year/?fbclid=IwAR2VZ6vXCQ-rp_kVeKRSfgmT_L3AsZITQVwLAQJ7788EMhr3H3zI_w6m9-A

I think one of the things about Josephine is because of her own back story, and her rather appearance which she doesn't tone down for court etc., is that she is an outsider. And the court politics means she doesn't get the level of cases her skills deserve.

Her first teaming up with Edelman was more out of necessity and she was aware he had very dubious clients. And he used her as much for the way his male clients reacted to her as a woman as an legal skills. And very often he put her in dangerous positions.

He was also very lecherous and if your remember her speech to Josephine about men, he (like her father) personified that.

But once she found out about him deliberately stopping her return to practicing law she lost all respect for him Another great Josephine put down of men.

But throughout whenever presented with a legal challenge, even if the crime was despicable she just cant stop quickly assessing the situation and coming up with a (just about) legal way out.

What I can never remember is why Roban disliked her, because despite his very high opinion of himself, when it suited him he too cut corners.

Just watched last episode. What does everyone think? I think it was well judged. Harsh as ever, but also with emotional resolutions of sorts. They didn’t go down the comfortable, uplifting ending route and that is in keeping with the series as a whole.

@HappyThursdays

I can't remember now why Gilou is in jail - can someone remind me?

I've just started season 8!

In S7 Gilou and Laure wanted to force the money laundering cartel into action so got the baddie (can’t remember his name) they were leaning on to arrange to pick up some money in a restaurant. They then took the money from him in the loo. Josephine was working for him (isn’t tgat always the way) after leaving Edelman and she reported them to the police complaints people (where Tin Tin is working) for extortion.

Investigation happened (Ali his money to save investigation). Crime solved then Gilou was told he was being arrested when they were celebrating. Gilou said he acted alone to protect Laure. Ali generally pissed off with them about whole thing.

^ ooops this has already been answered!

whataboutbob - this is a thread for week by week which means everyone is only half way through and may not want to know what someone thinks about the ending. Not exactly a spoiler but detracts from viewing with no preconceptions!

Thank you for the Edelman/Josephine explanations - really appreciate it, cause I came to Spiral fairly late - around series 5, I think - so have missed some of the backstory. I finished Series 8 last night (don't worry, no spoilers from me!) so I think I might start at the beginning again.

@TheReturnoftheSmartArse

Thank you for the Edelman/Josephine explanations - really appreciate it, cause I came to Spiral fairly late - around series 5, I think - so have missed some of the backstory. I finished Series 8 last night (don't worry, no spoilers from me!) so I think I might start at the beginning again.

Re Josephine I would really recommend starting from the S1 - her character is very complex and interwoven inextricably with Laure (esp regarding Pierre).

As an aside is the fact that Josephine completely stopped wearing skirts and switched to trousers after the rape relevant or am I making links where there are none?

@stumbledin

whataboutbob - this is a thread for week by week which means everyone is only half way through and may not want to know what someone thinks about the ending. Not exactly a spoiler but detracts from viewing with no preconceptions!

Ok, sorry, as all the episodes have been available on iPlayer for a while I assumed everyone had completed series 8. I don’t think I gave much away. 🤞

whataboutbob - yes I know - I succumbed and watched all episodes with I regret, but (although the thread has gone a bit quiet) I think we are all trying to go along with the fact that some are watching week by week.

And that's what I mean by regret. There's so much crap on tv at the moment and now I dont even have my weekly fix of Spiral.

I am bursting to say what I think!

Which episode is it up to now if watching week by week?

I’m halfway through episode 9.

@stumbledin do you have Netflix? Have you tried Call my Agent ( also French). I love it and series 4 starts Thursday

@stumbledin also if you haven’t watched it I’d highly recommend Trapped (Icelandic).