Maigret Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Maigret Comes Home, Part 2

On Maigret Season 1 Episode 6, “Maigret Comes Home, Part 2,” the story connected to our hero’s memories comes to a jarring conclusion.

By the time he meets her, Sophie regrets her harshness and again pleads for his help. But soon after they return to the church from his dreams, she dies of an apparent heart attack. Though she’d mentioned such health issues, it’s a shock to him.

As Maigret coordinates with a grieving Marcus, we see how true her concerns were. A doctor prescribed medicine that spurred her heart attack and her new estate manager has been underselling her properties to his own advantage for years.

 Marcus tears down both men and a third who took photos of his mother. He’s able to keep the estate, allowing Jules to return to Paris and the chaos that awaits his case. It’s chaos Cavre is using as a chance to besmirch the man’s reputation.

The killer is revealed to be a troubled young man who’d killed before in a fit of rage and has been left both traumatized and seeking the same thrill. He follows up on continued threats and enters the Maigret home, taking Louise at knifepoint.

Thankfully, she’s more than competent, convincing him to give up with weapon with minimal help from her husband. As she recovers, Marcus invites the couple to a weekend at the estate. Cavre, meanwhile, resigns his position before he can be fired.

While I’m only mildly surprised about Sophie’s demise (the discussion of her heart conditions was clear foreshadowing), to have it happen so early and quickly, and for the tone to be closer to another case than a major character death is disconcerting.

Maigret’s own grief is subdued, whether from shock or how few real interactions he had with the adult version of the girl from his dreams, and that carries to us as viewers. Thankfully, the transition to focusing on Marcus gives that weight back.

I appreciate him being the one to confront all three men who either tormented his mother or had a role in her fate. While I wish we’d met him sooner to heighten our connection to him, it’s still great to see him leading them to face justice.

My concerns about the established murder case being sidelined do feel at least partially warranted, as for half the episode it’s used mostly to establish Cavre as an antagonist and only in the second half hands us a culprit with in-depth backstory.

Still, the final scenes are prime drama. The spouses of main characters are often treated merely as sounding boards. Louise has proven her knowledge and wit before, and here she saves herself from a violent death, barely needing her husband’s help.

Procedural dramas are also notorious for killing off said spouses purely for the on-screen angst. I admit there were a few moments where I genuinely feared that happening here. Thankfully, both Maigret and Louise prove themselves better.

The story wraps up neatly with closure regardless of whether we get more seasons. While I’d prefer Cavre be more established as a villain, I love the team uniting against him, and a love the happy couple escaping to a deserved weekend away even more.

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Maigret airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.

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