Summary
This true story gets deeper with each chapter — episode 3 shows how Charles used highly manipulative tactics to make his victims feel trapped.
This recap of the BBC and Netflix series The Serpent episode 3 contains spoilers. The drama is already out in the UK on the BBC, but it will be released on Netflix on April 2, 2021.
Episode 3 begins on 20 November 1973 – Paris, France; a young Frenchman heads on a plane to Singapore. The episode then flits to 2 years later in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The young man is sending his experiences in a letter to his parents. Charles introduces himself to the young man — Dominique. This chapter is about Dominque’s horror with Charles and his tense and lucky escape.
It happens to all of them
8 March 1976 – Bangkok, Thailand; Herman returns with Nadine and Remi Gires to ask questions about Charles. She doesn’t have much information, but they tell Herman that what happened to the Dutch couple happens to “all of them”.
A sick Dominique
The Serpent episode 3 shows how Dominique went from a normal healthy man to being sick and controlled as part of Charles’ system.
9 months earlier; Dominique is enjoying the company of Charles initially, but again, like everyone else, he ends up being really sick. Nadine wonders if he should go to the hospital, but Charles calls the hospitals in the country a death sentence. Charles asks Marie-Andrée to pour him “medicine” to make him feel better. Afterwards, Charles asks Dominique to help Marie-Andrée around the place.
Eventually, Dominique learns that the monkey Coco accidentally drank his medicine and died, and this was the start of the young Frenchman getting suspicious. Charles and the others tell Dominique to be careful. Dominique suddenly states he feels better and wants to leave — he asks for his passport back. When he opens his passport, it has Charles’ photo inside it; Charles tells him that he will change it back for him and that because he was sick and he didn’t renew it, his visa expired. He promises to sort it for him at the Embassy.
Charles has Dominique trapped.
He feasted on loneliness
Episode 3 highlights how difficult this case was — there was zero cooperation from authorities, and the governance above within the embassy was strong and purposefully obstructive.
9 months later; frustrations boil over with Nadine and Remi — Nadine explains how they helped bring clients for gem dealing. She believes Charles looks for loneliness in people and feasted on it. Seimons gets angry and tells them that they have no evidence to take this to the police and believes they should kill Charles. Herman disagrees and says they must draw up a report, so Siemons calls him a “functionary”. Angela gets angry and defends her husband. She thinks they should allow Nadine and Remi to keep talking.
Dominique is figuring it out
Four months earlier; Charles continues to manipulate Dominique and claims he told the authorities that he’s living here illegally but that he will offer him protection. Dominique starts to notice other people are collapsing and throwing up just like he did. Four months later; Nadine and Remi tell Herman that Dominique changed their mind about Charles, and they do not know where he is now.
A phone call to his parents.
Dominique’s state of mind eventually deteriorated, bringing an emotional second half of the third chapter.
Four months earlier; Dominique asks Marie-Andrée why everyone gets sick, but she avoids the question. The next day, Dominique rings his father, and he is extremely emotional and frustrated as they ask him to come home. He tells his parents that he loves them before putting the phone down and sobbing. He feels there is no way out of this.
Later on, Charles tells Dominique that he’s provided him a good life, and he’s finding it difficult to accept that he wants to leave. He explains that Dominique cannot go home as he’s seen too much; he confirms he isn’t going to help him leave as he is his brother.
Marie-Andrée looked scared
Three months later; Nadine and Remi explain that Marie-Andrée looked scared. Three months earlier; Charles, Marie-Andrée and Ajay go on holiday for a couple of months and leave the others behind. Charles tells Dominique that the police will be checking up on him from time to time. Dominique is desperate and speaks to Nadine and Remi about his thoughts on Charles — he gives them a list of people who have disappeared or being murdered that have shown up at Kanik House — it cannot be a coincidence.
Nadine and Remi help Dominique with his tampered passport to put his photo back in place, and they find a valid visa in another passport to replace the expired one in his. Scenes show Nadine tried to tell the authorities about Charles, but she was ignored.
Nadine questions where Dominque made it out alive?
Three months later; Nadine tells Herman and Angela that she never heard from Dominique, so they check his exit stamp. There is evidence that he left, but Herman and Angela wonder if Charles used his identity. They also learn that Wim and Lena exited the country even though they were dead in Thailand; Charles uses his victims’ passports.
A tense trip home
Three months earlier; a nervous Dominique heads to the airport, and he’s shaking. As he queues at the gate, he sees Charles and Marie-Andrée enter, but he makes it to passport control. His passport is stamped, and he makes it on the plane.
The ending
Three months later; Nadine receives a letter from Dominique, and he thanks her. Scenes show Dominique sobbing and hugging his parents. Charles returns and asks about Dominique as he’s been gone for some time. Nadine denies ever seeing him leave. Remi visits Herman and Angela and tells them that Nadine should have been home an hour ago.
This true story gets deeper with each chapter — The Serpent episode 3 shows how Charles used highly manipulative tactics to make his victims feel trapped.
