Maigret Season 1 Episode 1 Review: The Lazy Burglar, Part 1

We’re introduced to our latest Masterpiece detective and his team  on Maigret Season 1 Episode 1, “The Lazy Burglar, Part 1.”

A house burglar is killed and left with his face bashed in. Maigret, the head detective of his unit, knew Honore, but is told by his own boss, Kernavel, to focus on a series of bank robberies instead. He still pushes his team to investigate both crimes.

After speaking with Honore’s mother, they’re convinced the crimes are related. None of the robbers have actually hurt anyone, but then the group of thieves hits a jewelry store and are shot at. One, Jacques, is hit, and two bystanders are killed.

The connections grow wider, drawing in Gustav, imprisoned for his own crimes, Gustav’s rich fiancé Rosalie, and his former cellmate Nicholas. Maigret now believes Nicholas is orchestrating everything with methods he learned from Gustav.

The central piece becomes a flashy necklace that Honore died attempting to steal, but getting into the rich businessman’s home will be difficult. The squad determines Jacques is their best bet for information, but he’s kidnapped before they can talk to him.

All this doesn’t leave a lot of room for Maigret’s home life, but we do see him with his wife, telling her about a strange dream in which he’s a child at church. The church’s floor is covered in leaves and he sees a young woman asking him to come home.

To sum up my feelings in one sentence: While I’m very impressed with nearly every aspect of the show—characters, plot, writing, acting, etc.– I’m not sure how well it works as a pilot episode, because there’s just too much going on.

The first episode of most crime dramas usually involves a fairly straightforward case with perhaps one big twist. They’re more devoted to introducing us to each cast member, giving hints of their backstories, and seeing how everyone interacts.

Maigret hits us from the start with a highly complex series of intertwined investigations. It’s actually a very intriguing case that draws us in immediately. That it requires our full attention at least tells us that these investigators must be good at their jobs.

The thing is, there are a lot of them. Though its titular character is of course the central focus, there are enough members of his team for this to qualify as an ensemble drama, too. Along with his wife and hints of recurring members, it’s a lot to keep track of.

Most good pilots start us out with at least some conflict, and we do see that, mostly between Maigret and Kernavel. But everyone else is packed in together, making it difficult to discern more than a small tidbit about any one of them.

I am pleased to see a main character who has a healthy relationship with his spouce (though I hope their happiness isn’t a bad omen), and I can’t wait to explore more about the dream he describes. I just hope we’ll have time at this galloping pace.

Overall, this is a very strong hour of drama, but I’m hoping it slows down enough over the next few episodes to explore its central figures and concepts in more depth. I am, fortunately, excited for what we’ll learn when that happens.

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Maigret airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS

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