Summary
Not only is Liaison lacking in real tension or enticing hooks, but now it is also needlessly complex, with a truly convoluted, vague plot. There is, however, some trashy fun to be had with that final sequence and those shocking revelations though.
Apple TV+’s espionage thriller Liaison continues trudging towards its season finale with the penultimate episode, “Family Album.”
In this installment, Gabriel (Vincent Cassel) and Alison (Eva Green) reunite with their old freedom fighter comrades as they attempt to smuggle Samir (Aziz Dyab) and his family over to England from France. Meanwhile, the French try to ensnare Didier (Stanislas Merhar), the sneaky mole who is working for the evil company Antropa and Richard (Peter Mullan) finds himself in a bind back in London.
Liaison Season 1 Episode 5 Recap
Following on from the raid in the previous installment, we find Gabriel roaming Jack Rowdy’s home in the dark. Alison escapes from the panic room with a gun in her hand and dodges the enemy soldiers, who have now thoroughly infiltrated the house.
Gabriel takes down a soldier and steals their identity, taking on another disguise. Whilst Alison uses more hidden hidey-holes in the house to evade capture as she heads for her car. But she is unaware of Gabriel’s distraction tactics. Gabriel causes an explosion, blowing up a car, before escaping with Jack. Alison takes the other car and speeds away.
The trio reunites further down the road, having all escaped the raid. Gabriel drives them to the nearest hospital, as Jack is bleeding out. Gabriel was the one who shot Jack, but he says that he never wanted to kill him; he was just forced to act.
En route, Gabriel flashes the videotape and says that Jack was being pressured into a dodgy deal. They leave Jack hooked on a life support machine and continue their mission.
Why does the old gang hate Alison?
Alison and Gabriel meet with the old gang, the freedom fighters they used to work with over twenty years ago. Tensions are high; nobody trusts or even likes Alison after the way things ended back in 2000.
Alison mysteriously disappeared after Nathalie’s death, and Gabriel was imprisoned and accused of killing the protester. It seems there was a love triangle between Gabriel, Alison, and Nathalie, but the circumstances remain vague. Gabriel quickly changes the subject; they are here to keep Samir safe.
READ: Liaison Season 1 Episode 4 Recap
While Alison and Gabriel get reacquainted with old colleagues, Dumas keeps a close eye on Sabine and secretly records her conversations with Didier. The French mole, who works for Antropa, needs Sabine’s EU passwords and threatens the woman when she refuses to hand them over, mentioning the possibility of jail time for her actions.
He explains how Antropa have infiltrated the UK government; they are a powerful organization that should not be messed with.
What does Antropa want?
Dumas shares this footage with Sophie Saint-Roch, who works for the French Government, someone who can be trusted. However, Sophie refuses to show this to the President, believing that this wouldn’t stop Didier’s plans and would only get her fired.
She delves deeper into the Antropa conspiracy and discovers their main goals. They want a list of flaws in the security systems of all the EU countries. Dumas believes there is a mole working within the British Government. He’s also noticed that Antropa has invested millions in office blocks near the Thames river.
Who is the boss of Antropa?
Didier meets with Bob to discuss the whereabouts of Samir. But Bob isn’t interested in the Syrian hacker anymore. The Brits have signed the deal, and Antropa has won. Didier reveals that he is a board member of Antropa and has been in close contact with their boss, Francis Miller. Their boss even asked Didier to accompany Bob to London.
It seems Didier is higher up in the organization than first thought, claiming he has successfully found a way to attack all EU countries and get them all under contract. Will Didier use the same cyber-attack tactics on other countries now that Britain has signed the deal?
Alison and Gabriel board the boat containing Samir and his family. They want to head to London immediately, although Samir’s wife, Myriam, has reservations. Gabriel asks Samir to make a copy of the USB drive.
The hacker signs into the USB drive and shows them highly classified photos. The photographs are of Antropa operations and include plans for future terrorist attacks in the UK. Samir explains that he hacked into Antropa’s web servers with Walid’s help after hacking Assad.
Why did Samir go to the French Government?
Samir mentions going to Mark Bolton and the National Cyber Security Center with his findings first, long before the French. However, Mark missed their appointment. They were forced to take their top-secret information to the French instead, hoping to sell on their findings.
Alison informs Samir that Mark was killed by Antropa. This spooks Samir, and he immediately refuses to go to London anymore. Gabriel says he will speak with the French Government, but Alison needs to return with Samir, or else her life is practically over.
Next, Alison and Gabriel meet with Dumas and Sophie to come to an agreement. Sophie wants to arrest Samir, who is suspected of complicity in the London attacks. Alison needs to take Samir to London, though, and offers a copy of the USB drive in return.
Sensing a negotiation, Sophie asks for a little more in the exchange; she asks them to stalk Didier, who will be in London tomorrow for top-secret meetings. They suspect he is meeting with Francis Miller, Antropa’s CEO. Alison agrees to provide intel on Didier in exchange for Samir’s safe passage back to England.
Liaison Season 1 Episode 5 Ending Explained
Back in rainy London, Richard tells Alison he is being forced to sign the Antropa contracts by the PM’s assistant Toby. He needs strong evidence to change the PM’s mind; he needs Samir. Coincidentally, Alison is sent a letter from Mark that very day. The letter works as a confession, where Mark admits to his collusion with Antropa, that they were paying him for his silence. Alison’s partner Albert finds this letter and passes it on to Richard.
Who killed Nathalie?
On the boat, Gabriel is pressured into watching the VHS tape by his boss Dumas. He tries to watch the video privately, but the old comrades soon barge in on his viewing. The video of the riots plays again, showing Alison arguing with Nathalie. She throws a Molotov cocktail at Nathalie, and the woman accidentally catches fire, going up in flames. Alison is the one who inadvertently killed Nathalie.
The crew retaliates instantaneously, attacking Alison and pouring gasoline onto her body on the top deck. They are about to set her on fire when Gabriel comes to her rescue.
Gabriel reveals the true history of what actually transpired in 2000. He never actually went to prison for Nathalie’s murder. He was working for Military Intelligence; he infiltrated their group and provoked them into fighting one another.
It looks like Gabriel caused a rift between Alison and Nathalie on purpose. Because of Alison’s father, Jack Rowdy’s high profile in NATO, they couldn’t have Alison involved with a terrorist group anymore.
Gabriel’s plan worked, but he may have fallen in love with Alison in the process. After this revelation, Gabriel, Alison, Samir, and his family all head to England on a dinghy, quickly arriving by the coast.
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