Summary
Director Neasa Hardiman’s stunning shots in this episode lead to one of the most haunting pieces of television I’ve ever watched.
It’s June 1941, and in Episode 4 of We Were the Lucky Ones, the Kurc family is forced to make decisions that will further divide them. Addy hunts down Elizabeth, and she decides to follow his plan. Mila is forced to part ways with her daughter to keep her safe, but things take a turn for the worse. And the Germans are set to invade Lvov, leading Halina, Jakub, Bella, and Adam to alter their plans.
The Radom Ghetto
We are in the Radom Ghetto in June of 1941, where we see Mila working at the factory with her daughter. A German soldier was set to check on things, so Mila hid Felicia. However, he made the ladies leave the workspace, meaning Felecia would have to stay hidden while they searched the place. Luckily, when they came in, she was still where they hid her and was safe.
At home, Mila is unsure what to do with Felicia. She says she can’t bring the baby to work anymore. Sol and Nechuma come up with the idea of hiding Felicia with a Polish family until they figure things out. Regardless of Mila’s feelings, she knows they can’t rely on waiting for Halina to come home with papers. So, she decides to send Felicia to the Polish family, hoping to reunite with her one day.
During work, Mila gets a note that the offer to keep Felicia is off the table because she looks too Jewish. She hits the streets and sees a passage heading to Israel, and she attempts to get Sol and Nechuma on the list, but they don’t have anything to bring to the table. Mila mentions that her husband is a doctor, and the man approves of her and him leaving.
Bloodletting
After being escorted out of her job, Halina was sent to the hospital, where she was forced to give blood to help the German soldiers. They kept taking more and more blood from her to the point of her passing out. Halina was finally let go, stumbled through the streets, and reached Adam’s house. Adam woke her up to let her know the Germans were set to invade Lviv, meaning they had to figure out where to go.
Halina and Jakub head to the city to pick up supplies but notice people have hit the streets and started grabbing and beating Jews to death in the middle of the street. They escape from the roads to an underground basement, where Halina, Jakub, Bella, and a few others have made it safely, but Adam is missing.
Addy is taken to a camp, but he uses his charm to convince the soldiers to take him into town to buy supplies for everyone. He runs into an old friend who tells him a boat will leave Casablanca tonight, but Addy is trying to find Elizabeth. Addy finds Elizabeth and her mother and explains how bad things are. Although her mother doesn’t support it, Elizabeth decides to go with him.
We Were the Lucky Ones | Image via Hulu
We Were the Lucky Ones Episode 4 ends with a haunting sequence
We see Mila and Felicia get on a cargo ride with many other Jews who are hoping to leave the country. The ride is short-lived, as we see the cars pull over and soldiers force everyone out of the cargo trucks, making them take shovels and start digging. A man tries to run away and is shot and killed. Later, a woman runs towards one of the guards, and Mila sees this as a chance for Felicia to run towards her and call her momma.
The plan works, as the soldier allows the woman and Felicia to get in the cargo truck to leave. They give the group orders to stop digging and take off their clothes. The episode ends with Mila taking off running.
RELATED:
