Revu: Vortex, Episode 1/6

This Netflix series is really fascinating, in terms of having found a non-time travel way to travel back and forth in time, sort of. It really works. Ok, as long as you overlook one tiny tech detail, but apart from that, it really really works. Very well. I love the first episode and how it sets up our heros Melo and her husband Ludo, a very loving young couple, each ambitious and hard-charging in a slightly different way. It gets off to a very interesting start that shows the relationship without being melodramatic, and I love how we see how strong Melo is, and how much her husband Ludo admires her, while still being different enough from each other to respect one another and take turns caring for their new infant daughter. It looks like a smooth and enviable relationship, which, of course, is quickly demolished by tragedy. This is a series, after all. Then, we follow Ludo twenty five years after the tragedy, running into a very painful mystery on the same crucial location of the original scene. He seems to be dealing with it just fine, as his colleagues check in with him quickly on it, and that is when things get to be really fascinating. It’s set in Brest, which is another unusual point, given that this is the first show I have seen set there, rather than in Paris or one of the other large cities of France. I had to rewatch a couple of scenes to catch fast-moving phrases I’d forgotten like “que dalle” (which I’ve heard used as “c’est le dalle” but not as “que dalle” before). The speech rhythms in this series were quite different from those I heard spoken by Bretons when I lived in Morbihan, aka ‘le 56’ in that area. Brest also seems like a much more modern city now, than it did ten years ago, when I visited frequently from just across the Rade. And apparently it rains less there, now.

Here are some of my notes while watching, which I take either in French or in English, as the thought strikes me. If it’s a spoiler, I will leave the thought in French, untranslated, unless someone requests a translation or comment.

Est-ce que les policiers utilisent vraiment maintenant réalité virtuelle ? / Do police really use VR now?

Et aussi ,  que-ce qu’on dit quand  la petite amie de ta fille refuse de la rembourser l’ordinateur qu’elle a jeté par la fenêtre quand elles avaient disputées  et maintenant elles disent qu’elles sont ensemble mais elle n’a rien remboursée a ta fille ? / And also, what exactly do you say when your daughter’s girlfriend refuses to pay for the laptop she threw out the window when they were arguing, and now they say they’re back together, but she still hasn’t reimbursed your daughter?

Next note:

Also, the photo right there of the dead wife, Melo, and their daughter as an infant, along with the photos of their friends from before her death. 

He’s never let go of her, all this time.

And how did she not manage to smell the cigarette smoke on him, if he smoked behind her back?  It stinks to high heaven.

Un sosie… like a doppleganger, or a look-alike.

And, this might be a spoiler, so ask me if you want a translation, please: Classer des dossiers tout de suite ?! Comment suicide même s’il y a des évidences qui cloches ?!  Pour le coût de test ADN ?!

And, Sleepwalking: I love this kid: (7 minutes from the end of episode 1..)

-Ludo:  Tu dors pas ? / You aren’t asleep?

-Kid: Sí.  Je suis somnambule. / Yes (the French argument yes for contradicting someone…). I’m a sleepwalker.

!!!   !!!

But, the Rings: Excellent ending, except that I would have imagined that a husband would know all of his wife’s rings, except that since I don’t have any rings, it suddenly occurs to me that some people have many rings, and also, maybe many spouses do not know all of each other’s accessories.  Recalling a cousin with more purses and shoes in one room than I have ever owned in my entire lifetime.

Excellent episode. Stay tuned for next Friday’s review of episode 2. I guess I’ll have to add these reviews to the TV and Shows review page, on the ShiraDest website menu…