‘Cannes Confidential’ Recap: ‘Love and Let Die’

8/2/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Jamie Bamber and Lucie Lucas as Harry King and Camille Delmasse in Episode 106 of ‘Cannes Confidential’ – ‘Love and Let Die’. (Photo Courtesy of Acorn TV/AMC Networks.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season One Finale of ‘Cannes Confidential’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve talked at length about the unique nature of the Acorn TV series, Cannes Confidential. For it truly is an unconventional television series, one that is a chameleon of sorts since it blends together so many genres and themes. But while it has been a joy to discuss the fun aspects of this show and revel in the majesty of the variety this series brings to the table… it was only a matter of time before the series went into more serious territory. After all, there are some real dangers floating about in this universe, and some heavy issues that Harry and Camille have yet to tackle and well… for the show’s season one finale… the tributes and fun were indeed put to the wayside to handle some bigger plot points.

Such as the whole mess with Boire and Camille’s father, and that did move in quite the powerful direction in ‘Love and Let Die’. But before we dive into that, we need to discuss the case that was present in this story as well. Since it allowed for Lea to take point as the lead investigator on a matter that involved her past. Since the assistant of a famous star, Celeste Badeau, died of what appeared to be an allergic accident in this tale. But something told Lea and Camille…. there was more to the case than that, and through digging they came to learn that the Celeste and the assistant, Zina, were in love and were enjoying a sorted affair that involved breaking the heart of Zina’s girlfriend, Eloise. Who… it just so happened, dated Lea back in the day, and well… in a fit of rage Eloise ended Zina’s life and worked to frame it as an accident to be free. Which was a crime that was quite somber in nature since it involved betrayal and murder in the LGBTQIA+ community in Cannes.

But in between those revelations, is where the other storytelling elements were advanced. For Harry was livid over the fact that Boire threatened his daughter and was ready to go to war to save her. Only to learn… she was actually fine. That she instead was paid by Boire to scare and mess with Harry and that… only emboldened Mister King further to go after Boire. Which meant Boire was under constant surveillance in this story, by Harry. For he was ready to find everything needed to bring the man down. Which prompted Harry to do a little down and dirty work to access every bit of data that Boire was hiding and that led… to quite the surprise. Not the takedown one might think, since Harry basically learned that this scumbag was nothing more than a pawn that followed orders. No instead, Harry’s attempt at revenge revealed a hard truth about Camille’s father.

In that… he actually was guilty of his crimes, and that the payoffs weren’t a lie, they were legit. That meant… his forthcoming release was likely going to be dangerous or deadly since he knew too much. Which in turn prompted Harry to tell Camille the truth to try and get her to stop this before something awful happened. But she of course… did not listen. She wanted her dad home, and she refused to believe he was capable of working with the other side, and that ignorance on her part, led to great heartache. For Harry was right, and on the day, Philippe was set free, he took a bullet from Boire. Thankfully though, Philippe survived his gunshot wound, and was able to give his daughter a warning. That she should trust no one, and that this whole mess went deeper than she knew.

That of course… led to an epic reveal of the real villain of the season, giving rise to unfinished business and a new direction for Camille to follow if she really wants to clean up the streets. But the ending of this story wasn’t all sorrowful and shocking. For Harry did reconcile with his daughter, and he did turn over everything he collected to prove to Camille she was dealing with something ugly and well… all that does is set the stage for a powerhouse season two and hopefully… we get just that. Because not only do we need to know how this story will end and whether or not Camille can do some damage to the criminals running free in Cannes… but television also needs more of this delightful show. For it is refreshing and fun, and feel-good television is a necessity in the 2020s. But while we wait for that good news, we can celebrate one amazing finale and a season of storytelling that informed us… that crime shows can be fun, when quality writing, respect, and dynamic characters come into play.

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