Maigret Season 1 Episode 2 Review: The Lazy Burglar, Part 2
On Maigret Season 1 Episode 2, “The Lazy Burglar, Part 2,” we slow down just enough to get to know this contemporary version of George Simenon’s detective a bit better, but there’s still plenty left to learn.
After losing their most likely source of information, Kernavel orders Maigret to share leader duties with Carver. Yet when he pushes on waiting for the gang to commit the big heist they’re planning, she relents and gives him 24 hours before they’ll be arrested.
Unfortunately, while Maigret is busy with Honore’s mother and girlfriend, learning he sent them the stolen Monaco pendant, the gang seems to vanish into thin air, threatening Maigret’s job. He persues anyway, and his team catches them breaking into a bank.
He remains most motivated by finding Honore’s killers. He’s finally able to interrogate Rafik and his girlfriend. Though they are resistant, when their violent crimes are recreated in front of them, they’re arrested, albeit without satisfactory proof of their guilt.
There’s also the matter of Gustav’s suspected conspiracy. Sure enough, he is soon being transported “to hospital” with Rosalie on her way to visit him. The squad intercepts them as well. If they really are in love, they’ll at least get to be together in prison.
Not everything ends smoothly. Emile, who employs Rafik as a source, is able to get those arrests overturned. Maigret punches him and stalks home, where he is at least welcomed by some more good news: his girlfriend, Louise, is pregnant!
After having a barrage of characters and story points thrown at us for the entirely of the pilot episode, the conclusion to this plotline does a better job of tacking the various interwoven elements separately, drawing each to its own conclusion.
Maigret’s dedication to Honore and his loved ones is especially intriguing. Our only canon evidence for this right now is a couple police interviews with the man, but there must be something deeper, especially as his mother invites Maigret into her home.
If nothing else, I doubt we’re going to stand by and let his killers get away, so odds are we’ll hear more of this storyline. The others, meanwhile, are wrapped up a way that feels both more final and considerably more satisfying.
It’s also interesting to see tensions shift. Kernavel starts out as antagonistic towards Maigret as in her first appearance, but eventually works to help him. Carver then becomes the focus of much of the team’s ire, and a likely foil in future episodes.
I’d still like to spend more time getting to know these characters better. Having neglected to note this is an adaptation of a classic work previously though, I’ll acknowledge we can at least turn to Simenon’s original work for some of that substance.
Still, this is an adaptation—and a modern one. Maigret and his crew are naturally going to lead different lives and face different situations than their original selves who existed in the early 1900s. We deserve to know these characters as they are now.
What did you think of this episode of Maigret? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Maigret airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.