Maigret Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Maigret’s Failure, Part 1

Maigret meets two figures from his childhood on Maigret Season 1 Episode 3, “Maigret’s Failure, Part 1.” One is the Sophie he keeps dreaming of. Another is a once-bullied acquaintance who is now both very rich and extremely unpleasant.

When they were both young boys, Fumal was mocked relentlessly for his weight and grew to resent Maigret, who disapproved but let it happen. He has gone from being a butcher’s son to a billionaire whose bitterness turns off everyone around him.

Upon receiving death threats, he recruits Maigret in part for the chance to antagonize him. But the team is already busy. A young influencer named Layla has gone missing, and with the attention from thousands of fans, there are actually too many leads.

The most promising is Marcus, a fitness instructor who has been stalking Layla and is now also missing. When frenzied followers break into his apartment, the squad is forced to ask Layla’s frantic parents call them off to protect their daughter.

Fumal harasses Maigret until he nearly snaps. What influence this has on his determination the man is sending the threats himself is unclear, but it comes back to bite him when Fumal is shot dead in his own home by someone he appears to know.

The detective won’t learn about this until the next day. In the meantime, he is briefly united with the Sophie he keeps dreaming of, now an adult herself and asking for his help. Despite his feelings—and with a pregnant wife at home—he refuses.  

The writers may be a little too good at making a character despicable. By the time Fumal dies, I don’t think anyone watching feels much besidess concern for the consequences Maigret will face. Nobody, even Fumal’s wife, will be too aggrieved

Our inspector himself may be the most affected as he reckons with not interfering enough with the childhood bullying. The narrative still gives very little room for sympathy. Fumal treats everyone terribly and his grudges just feel exhausting.

The team is going to have to find justice for him anyway, and that’s likely to be an especially tense process. No matter how valid Maigret’s theories are, he’s essentially gotten a man of great influence killed, and the consequences will be dire.

Layla’s disappearance follows a more conventional “missing person” arc among crime dramas shaped by influencer culture. The more famous someone is, the messier the investigation gets, and this girl’s well-meaning fans take that to the extreme.

Marcus initially feels like a garden-variety creep (one the police should have noticed much sooner), but having a bunch of kids trying to track him down effectively muddies the waters to the point it’s hard to know what to believe.

As in the first episodes, two cases mean we don’t have a lot of time for personal lives. I love the dynamic Jules and Louise have, but we only get a few minutes with them. We spend more time in Maigret’s head, watching his dream play out.

That does make meeting the present-day Sophie a very intriguing experience. Between her and Fumal, it’s clear our titular character is haunted by plenty of incidents from his past.  For her part, we’re just starting to touch on what that could mean 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!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

Maigret airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!