Summary
“Nora” finds Gone for Good with its strongest episode and its most intriguing storyline: the evolution of a woman who went from Nora to Judith.
This recap of the Netflix series Gone for Good episode 4, “Nora”, contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Netflix’s French thriller series Gone for Good has a structure for each episode. Something jarring and unsuspecting happens within the first five minutes before the title card, followed by Guillaume (Finnegan Oldfield) and his group of friends attempting to investigate murders and disappearances, ending with another twist before the end credits roll. None of the first four episodes have deviated from this structure, and the success of each episode directly correlates to those surprises, as they each describe the past of another central character.
Gone for Good episode 4 recap
The penultimate episode of the series, “Nora,” continues the pattern, but based on the strength of the character and the acting by Nailia Harzoune, it becomes the current high point of the series. Beginning in Argenteuil in 2015, we see a woman named Nora, who we’ve always known as Judith, being abused by her then-husband. She narrowly escapes after he attempts to kill her, running from him into Sardinia, Italy.
In the present, Guillaume and Daco realize that the dead Judith Conti is not the same Judith that’s been working at the social work center, not the same Judith that Guillaume proposed to only a few days earlier. To try to understand more, they revisit Louis Menighetti, the mean, old pimp being kept in a woman’s basement. The woman living in the home describes Menighetti’s anger towards the original Judith for leaving, actually running off with Fred (Nicolas Duvauchelle), Guillaume’s brother. He cut up the woman’s face with a hunting knife for a minor transgression, so for Fred’s taking of Judith, he would have done anything to kill him.
In Italy in 2015, Nora meets Judith and Fred and their daughter, Alice, with all four of them staying at the same hostel. They strike up a friendship, with Alice and Nora becoming friends to the point that the young girl gives Nora her necklace, the one that Guillaume recognized in previous episodes. But her abusive husband finds her, but before he can hurt her, Fred comes and saves the day, killing him on a terrace in Italy, forcing the both of them to leave Italy. After hearing about Guillaume’s kindness from Fred, Nora moves back to France and gets a job as a social worker, intertwining the brothers with this woman who assumed the identity of Judith Conti in order to start a new life.
So, that’s the majority of the past in regards to Nora and Fred’s relationship, as well as the truth behind the name of Judith Conti. Creators David Elkaïm and Vincent Poymiro adapted Harlan Coben’s novel into a web of interconnected characters and families, staying just out of reach of the audience’s comprehension.
Guillaume becomes closer to finding Nora throughout the episode, first by questioning Alexandre Kesler (Grégoire Colin), Fred’s childhood best friend, and a rich, cocky car dealer. Kesler hired Ostertag (Tómas Lemarquis), their other childhood friend, to find Fred and harass Guillaume and Nora. Though they kissed in episode three, Guillaume and Inès can’t last, so the latter leaves the apartment after a chat about their shared grief, hopefully moving on with her life.
The ending
In a desperate attempt for answers, Guillaume sacrifices a kid’s place at a foster home to find a big-time drug dealer, finding out that Nora is staying at a hotel and about to hop on a plane out of France with a new identity. Before she leaves, he finds her and they embrace in a swirl of emotions and camera movement and kisses combined with tears. He convinces her to stay, learning about her involvement with Fred and her concerns for her safety. Because he has a heart of gold, Guillaume goes and saves the kid, placing him in the foster home before getting beat up by the drug dealers for betraying their deal.
Oh, and Nora continues on her journey to just trying to have a normal life, being interrupted by Ostertag showing up at her hotel room. The final episode is set up for Guillaume and Fred to meet up and save Nora. The two brothers will finally reunite.
Highs:
- Awa forgives Daco for being a neo-Nazi and now they can be parents together! Very sweet even if it feels improbable.
- Good for Inès for leaving Guillaume and everyone and hopefully she can become a landscape artist, which she said is her dream job?
Lows:
- Guillaume’s cell phone gets flicked into the water by Kesler while he’s intimidating him on a cliff.
- The name Judith Conti and the real Judith Conti.
Ramblings:
- Nora and Guillaume have sex in the hotel once they reunite. As they’re laying in bed, Guillaume’s shirt is off and he looks absolutely awful. He has massive bruises all around his chest and stomach and I’m shocked he has the stamina and ability to fight, run, or have reconciliation sex.
- She looks more like a Nora than a Judith, so good on the writers for that one.
- Lots of revenge in this episode, especially with the prostitute keeping Louis in her basement, keeping him just alive enough to suffer. Real dark stuff.
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