Episode description: “When Néro is betrayed by his ruthless master to a mysterious witch, the assassin must reunite with Perla, his long-lost daughter he abandoned at birth 14 years before, whose life is now in jeopardy.”
This series is set in southern France in 1504. Note, this is not a 1504 that ever existed. Yes, Europe recently made contact with the New World, and the tech seems in line with what I know of the time (not much). But other things have been redone to make things easier for the actors and the audience. Although the women usually wear dresses, sometimes they wear pants – loose fitting but much more practical – when out wandering in the wilderness (which happens a lot).
The setting also includes a terrible drought, which means the region is full of desperate people who are both hungry and thirsty. Many believe their sins are responsible for the lack of rain, leading to a large vicious army called the penitents.
Anyway, the episode opens with Néro saying what should be on his tomb. He’s got reason to think death is imminent. He’s got a noose around his neck; he's precariously balanced on a rock that could roll in any direction, and no one is near to save him. And then someone approaches. Néro doesn’t see the person clearly – unsurprising that in his condition his vision would be blurry – and he calls out for help. However, when she comes into focus – a woman with only one eye, who we meet in this episode as the witch – he surprises us by kicking away the rock beneath him. Death, in Néro’s mind, is preferable to whatever the one-eyed witch has planned for him. Intriguing!
The rest of the episode occurs in an earlier time, with events that will lead to Néro standing on a stone with a noose around his neck (although we don't get there in this episode). When we meet him, he explains who he is: an assassin working for Rochemort, the vice consul of Lamartine. Néro also describes Lamartine: “the largest trading city round here. Which means it's the wealthiest, and the most corrupt. And the most fun!” These words match the tone of the series. We also learn his goals in life: to be considered part of the vice consul’s family, and to dine at his table.
Vice consul Rochemort, another important character, wants power and riches. He had Néro kill his daughter Hortense’s fiancé so he could arrange her marriage to someone else: the prince of Ségur. Vice consul Rochemort wants access to the tin in the prince’s realm. However, the consul of Lamartine knows what Rochemort has done and tells him that Hortense will never marry the prince from Ségur.
The ruthless Rochemort wants to kill the consul and take his place. His group of assassins tell him they have tried many times, but it is impossible. Rochemort says he has a way. That night, the consul dies, murdered in his bed with the aid of a one-eyed witch, allowing Rochemort to become the new consul – which is how we’ll call him from now on.
After the funeral for the previous consul, Rochemort invites Néro to a casual family dinner. This is Néro’s dearest dream come true: acceptance by Rochemort. Néro assumes it’s thanks for having killed Hortense’s fiancé, and he prepares by getting instruction in the use of forks. He’s flattered, too, when a servant delivers a necklace, presumably a gift from Rochemort. But at dinner, the fork doesn’t help much as he’s confronted with a songbird that’s too small (the others eat theirs with fingers). Then he learns that Rochemort needs to pay the witch, and the payment is Néro.
Néro is confused and tries to get away, but the witch has powers and controls him. But the witch is also disappointed. She thought she could use Néro’s blood for an important ritual, but as Néro has children, his blood won’t do. The search is on for Néro’s child. And this forces Néro, who has never had anything to do with his daughter before, to go in search of her in order to protect her. Since she didn’t know her father was alive this meeting is not so easy.
The episode is full of many twists, and it’s fun to see how resourceful Néro is. He gets out of a locked room in the orphanage; even though appearing at the consul’s home unarmed, he procures a weapon, and at the end, he manages to escape with his daughter out of the locked city. But things never go quite as planned.
Title musings: The title of the episode is either “The Assassin” or “L’assasin” – the original is in French but I’m seeing both titles in Netflix. This episode introduces us to Néro, so it’s a reasonable title for the episode. It's also the title of the series.
Bits and pieces
This series is in French but the English dubbing is pretty good.
Because Netflix has arranged for it to be dubbed in so many languages, the credits go on forever. The streaming service will usually take you immediately to the next episode, but it helps to know that an episode that appears to be 50 minutes will really only last about 40.
It seems as if most of the writing that we see is in modern English, even a book being read by a monk in the Holy See in Rome! Well, the goal is to entertain the viewers, not to teach us about the Vatican libraries in the early sixteenth century.
The name Nero may conjure up the idea of the decadent and incompetent Roman emperor, but the word also means black in Italian and is often used as a nickname for someone with dark hair.
Néro’s last name is "misericorde." This word can refer to mercy or compassion, but it's also a specific medieval weapon, a dagger designed for delivering a mercy stroke. Interesting last name for an assassin! It also has other meanings: a place for elderly or infirm worshippers to sit during prayer (usually people stood) or a room in a monastery where people eat.
The name Rochemort combines two French words, rock and death.
The name Toussaint means all saint(s). But it also sounds like the French word toussant, which is a word for coughing. Toussaint, involved in some sort of ritual that apparently teleported him to the consul's bedroom, coughs a lot afterwards as that ritual has an a bad effect on him.
Lamartine is not, as far as I can tell, a real city in France. There is a Milly-Lamartine, a community of about 2500 persons, but the Lamartine was only added to the name in Milly in 1902. There is a Lamartine in Wisconsin.
Forks were not widely used at this point in time, so it's not surprising that Néro is not familiar with them.
Quotes
Néro: I don’t decide who lives or dies. My boss does.
Néro: I followed the classic career path. Orphanage, to the street, then prison.
Rochemort: You could smile.
Hortense: This is a funeral. You smile too much.
Hortense: You were an orphan and now you're dining with the most powerful man in Lamartine. I can barely imagine the things you've done to merit that.
Rochemort: We agreed on Néro, you got that. This is no longer my problem.
One-eyed witch: You'd prefer to have me as your problem?
Néro: Thank you.
Toussaint: Don't thank me. Just knife the b¡tch. It's too late for me.
Rochemort: He'll already be far away. Then you have to dispatch all your men after him. You don't know Néro. You can't catch a ghost.
Zineb: My lord, he's here.
Rochemort: You see, that's the problem. From now on, I would have to trust you, after I betrayed you, wouldn't I? I've looked at it from all angles, but there's no going back.
Néro: Of course you betrayed me, my lord, but that's our job, huh? I betray you, you betray me, we all betray each other. You're the best at this game, my lord. So why would I be upset? I mean, it's an honor, really.
Horace: I am here about a child. A child I care for.
Priest in confessional: What about her?
Horace: She has to die.
Priest: But why?
Horace: She is the last descendant of the devil.
Perla: Why didn't you tell me that I had a father?
Horace: I never spoke of him so you wouldn't hope in vain. Your father isn't a good man. He's not a man of his word. He is a godless, lawless man with no scruples...
Néro: No, go on, will you? Go ahead. Because you forgot to mention -- I'm a liar, thief, -- uncouth, a cheat, debauched. Uh -- An addict, a ne'er-do-well -- Did I leave anything out?
Thief 1: What are you doing? Are you stupid or what? She's stiff.
Thief 2: So what? Me too!
Overall rating
This episode was entertaining and engaging, with its many twists and turns, or shall we say, forks? Three and half out of four forks.
Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.
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