Around the World in 80 Days Review: Season 1 Episode 4

On Around the World in 80 Days Season 1 Episode 4, we explore the notion of flawed heroes. By that, I mean Fogg behaves like a complete ass, and Passepartout poisons him for it.

Okay, okay, some clarification: Passepartout bucks my expectations and uses the substance given to him in the previous episode on Phineas. In fairness, he probably only expected it would give Fogg a bad stomachache, though messing with something you can’t identify almost always backfires.

It’s also fair to say that, if not for the whole “almost dying” aspect, Fogg would undeniably deserve some karmic consequences. In treating Passepartout as a servant to insult and dismissing a bride’s distress after losing her fiancé, he’s approaching a line that’s hard to cross back.

The delusion that results from the semi-inadvertent poisoning helps to win back some empathy, particularly as he babbles at Fix about a woman named “Estella”, who left him heartbroken and recklessly doing things like making bets about circumnavigating the globe.

Still a lot of shows—and, admittedly, a lot of audience members—do have a strange tendency to celebrate characters for being edgy and emotionally detached when they’re really just treating people horribly. For two episodes in a row, we can’t make excuses for how Phineas acts.

Thankfully, we remember he is in fact supposed to be a good person when he shows up at the military hearing for a groom accused of deserting the Indian army for love. I’m sure the speech he makes will come back to Estella, but it’s also the biggest and most needed appeal to his humanity.

He progresses back from being a man more focused on his goals that the pain of others. This newfound clarity, helpful spurred by the bride’s lovely mother asking some pointed questions about why he’s actually doing all this, helps him find some clarity.

The spirit of adventure spurred Jules Verne’s novel and now spurs this show. But how much of that do we really feel in a race that’s all about beating a time limit? His awe over the ill-fated hot air balloon aside, how much have we seen of Phineas truly appreciating all that’s around him?

We can’t expect this to become a slow-paced travelogue from here on out. There’s too much money on the line for Fogg to upend his financial motivation altogether. What we should hope for is that this theme of mindfulness and appreciation lasts in the series.

While on the subject of jerks who are written for us to sympathize with, we get a glimpse of Fix’s father in deep depression after his daughter shreds his reputation in print. This is also known as facing the consequences of his own actions.

It’s troubling that his state of mind stems only from his feelings that Abigail is abandoning him rather than remorse for his own actions. We could see a good redemption story play out on the background, but we’re a long way from that potential now.

I am worried, mostly for our Fix’s sake, because she’s already stopped writing and her father’s mood is drastically dark. If he “does something”, it could be difficult for her to recover. This is already a less lighthearted adaptation that others before it, but I hope that doesn’t go too far.

There’s also a little less of the action/adventure element in this episode, though the ending scene suggesting further attacks against Fogg and co. promises that part will return. I have no fears they’ll change things up enough to, say, kill off main characters, so let’s just enjoy the ride.

 

What did you think of this episode of Around the World in 80 Days? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Around the World in 80 Days airs Sundays at 8/7c on PBS.

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