Un Village Français 6.03

La Corde

or The Rope

27 Aug 1944

Marie is on her way back to the bridge with two American soldiers when they get attacked. One of the soldiers is killed. Marie takes off running while the other American stays and returns fire. She makes it most of the way back to the bridge but she's ambushed by a few German soldiers and taken prisoner.

Marchetti and Servier try negotiating with the Resistance. They agree to release Antoine and Suzanne in return for promises of safety for their families and a fair trial. The Resistance led by Anselme finally agrees to their terms. 

Suzanne fears that they will be tortured while they wait for Marchetti to return. She has a suicide pill. She wants to take it but Antoine talks her out of it.

Heinrich and Hortense talk about what they will do. The Swiss border is no longer a viable option. Heinrich decides that they need to head for Germany.

Marchetti returns to the police station. He tells everyone else to leave, including Antoine and Suzanne. The militia is on their way there. The militia takes Marchetti into custody. They take him to the school where the Germans are getting ready to execute six citizens of Villeneuve, in reprisal for the killing of Janvier. Marie is brought in as the executions begin.

Schneider, the German commander, has no interest in executing Marie. He is only interested in executing the innocent. She is handed over to Marchetti. She berates him verbally. She calls him a coward. He hangs her.

The men at the bridge spend most of the episode waiting for Marie to return. They get word that a large group of German soldiers is coming through. They hide and watch from a distance and then start to celebrate.

The episode ends with Marchetti, carrying a suitcase, walking down an empty street in Villeneuve.

Thoughts

There was no sign of Gustave, Lucienne, Jeanine, or Jules in this episode. 

This was not an upbeat episode, despite the fact that the Germans finally left Villeneuve. The death of Marie will probably hang heavy on everyone once it is discovered. There are still nine episodes in this season. I will be surprised if there isn't more killing or fighting. I'm not sure what exactly to expect over the course of the rest of the season but I'm guessing that while there might be some celebrating that it won't be filled with celebrations.