Un Village Français 3.06

La java bleue

or The Blue Java

25 Oct 1941

Daniel finds out, from Madame Estabet, that Marcel stole the missing gun. He goes to Marcel and tries talking to him about it but Marcel refuses to listen. He takes his brother's warning seriously enough. He sees plain clothes policemen following him. He loses them. He tries warning his Communist comrades but they have moved up their time table and refuse to change their plans or lay low for a while.

Kurt has less than 24 hours before he gets shipped off to the Russian front. Lucienne doesn't know what to do. Kurt wants to see her that night but there is a celebration at the school that she has to help organize. She suspects that Beriot might have been the one to tell on Kurt.

Beriot gets on Jeanine Schwartz's bad side. First he insists that there is nothing wrong with having Madame Morhange, who is Jewish, sing at the celebration. Second, he stands up for Lucienne and calls Madame Schwartz out as the one who sent anonymous letters to Kollwitz.

Marceau tells Gustave that he told his mother about Lucienne and Kurt.

Hortense continues her affair with Muller. She comes home briefly to see Tequiero but she is staying at a hotel and isn't ready to return home.

Beriot suggests to Lucienne that he could pretend to be the father of her child. She doesn't know how to respond.

Raymond runs an errand for Cremieux with Marie. It gives them a chance to get caught up. On the way back Raymond sees that Caberni's body has been pulled from the river.

The celebration happens. Madame Morhange sings. Servier does not approve but he does not step in to stop it. Kurt shows up just before the dancing begins. Lucienne takes his hand and pulls him on to the dance floor.

The episode ends with Daniel Larcher going to Kollwitz about the hostages who are being held. He asks to take their place.

Thoughts

The title of the episode is a reference to a song that Judith Morhange sings at the celebration. A java is in this context, according to my research, a type of dance that was developed in France in the early 20th century.

I'm not sure what is going to happen with Marcel and the other Communists other than their plan is going to fail spectacularly.

I'm curious to see how things go for Raymond Schwartz. All we got in this episode was an appetizer. Presumably at some point things are going to get awkward or difficult for him.

This was a decent episode but not a really good one. I thought the very end lacked punch. The scene where Lucienne dances with Kurt was more intense. I don't think Daniel is in much danger, in part because he is the mayor, in part because I know his character does not drop out of the story, and in part because he hasn't done much of anything to anger the Germans.