Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Call Me Sam

Was Monsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 6 the end of the story, or just the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the venerable detective?

With the superb cast, masterful writing, and one of the few times that viewers and critics connect, it’s hard not to imagine everyone involved hoping this was only the first chapter of a new book about Sam Spade and his exploits in Bozouls.

Of course, it would be odd to have so much happen in the quaint town, but even during the finale, it was noted that it’s not so quaint after all.

If you’re not a fan of tales being tied up with exposition, you may have been disappointed in Monsieur Spade’s final hour.

But if you’ve been enjoying the banter filling the canyons of Bozouls, then it hit the mark.

This was a highly stylized finale.

The cinematography brilliantly cuts between the expansive vistas of the French countryside and the dimly lit tight alleys that run throughout Bozouls. All of Monsieur Spade Season 1 enjoyed similar shots, but this was breathtaking.

It also wrapped a rather dramatic season on a light note, as bringing everyone and their signature wit together in one place ensured every word spoken was utterly delicious.

There was an enormous amount of dialogue (much of which I captured in our Monsieur Spade quotes), but there was plenty of action, as well.

With a show this smartly thought out from beginning to end, there must be more to come.

All the action and snappy repartee still didn’t manage to wrap things up with a pretty bow. There were plenty of questions left unanswered by the time the credits rolled.

Virginia Dell appeared out of nowhere, surprising everyone.

While every government entity and The Church were working toward their own ends, Virginia saw through them all and had largely determined the whats and whys of each’s mission.

But even she didn’t have it all figured out. As she dismissed the parties one by one after their conversational coup de grâce, they left carrying as many secrets as were revealed.

Alfre Woodard has always brought her A-game to any role, but she was perfection as the enigmatic Virginia.

Virginia went toe-to-toe with Spade in ways no others had been able to, and it’s especially interesting that he was the last person standing after the others were summarily dismissed.

It was quite clear that of all the people gathered, it was Sam she held in the highest regard. His past is portable, as she said, and while she said it with a touch of disdain, that she’d researched him so thoroughly speaks volumes.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine potential future Monsieur Spade seasons where Virginia Dell and Dean Winters as a Vatican-infiltrating CIA agent required the help of someone like Sam, who, by now, can act as the everyman where others may not be so equipped.

Woodard and Winters offer so much to the show, but they were used very sparingly. Does it hurt to imagine that was purposefully done to include them in broader future storylines?

The finale brought Sam’s story full circle by reminding us why he was in Bozouls and projecting what his future might look like.

Living and dying on your own terms should be a fundamental human right, but it rarely works out that way. The whole season proved that there is always someone poking their fingers into your life uninvited. We often react more than act.

But both Gabrielle and Jean-Pierre chose to live and die as they saw fit.

For Gabrielle, it was the war and her death sentence that freed her to take control of her life. For Jean-Pierre, it was his love for Marguerite.

Death is a profoundly personal experience. We didn’t ask for and don’t remember our birth, and we don’t ask for or, in most cases, have control over our death. Gabrielle and Jean-Pierre changed that for themselves.

Gabrielle wanted her own and Sam’s memories of their love to remain intact. She believed it would be tarnished if she died with him at her side.

Jean-Pierre needed to atone for the guilt he felt about many of his decisions, and he believed doing so would protect the woman he loved.

Marguerite and Sam share a connection through friendship and the lounge, and how they lost their spouses adds another layer of commonality.

Their last scene together hints at a future in which that relationship will grow even further.

We didn’t get to experience the Sam who smiled easily and laughed contagiously as we witnessed at the pool moments before Gabrielle shared her plans.

While we would never want Sam to change too much, we’ve already seen him soften a bit because of Teresa.

He’s maintained his edge and moral code. Joining him as he experienced yet another personal resurgence would be entertaining.

Teresa has proved to be Sam’s daughter many times over, and he’s reluctantly admitted in actions rather than words how much she means to him.

Putting the craziness of the season behind them, a father-daughter detective duo seems promising.

She’s got Sam’s keen sense of people and a similar code of conduct. They’re more likely to clash with each other over altering clothes and late nights out than about anything that matters.

We knew the series would explore Sam Spade at a different phase in his life, but what shaped up by the end of the season was better than we could have imagined.

Sam never expected to find an idyllic life in the French countryside, but meeting Gabrielle was life-changing. For four years, he understood love in a way that, whether he’d admit it or not, changed him profoundly.

The pool is his connection to Gabrielle. It is firmly rooted in the beginning of their relationship and the end. His happiness is in that water, and by the end of the hour, his past, present, and future all meet there.

Sam packed away his past but second-guessed losing his signature chapeau.

A bare-assed poolside Sam sporting his fedora teased that while he was staying put, donning his hat again wasn’t a one-time thing.

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.