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The Serpent

E4 of 8
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The Serpent

Series 1 - Episode 4

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Review

This true-crime tale unfolds in its own hazy version of 1970s Bangkok, where so much feels adrift and unmoored from reality.

As our Dutch diplomat closes in on them, Charles (Tahar Rahim) and his accomplice-lover Marie-Andrée (Jenna Coleman) take a trip to Kathmandu and there, she snaps. All the robbing and the poisoning and the killing has got to her, finally: “I can’t do it again!” she complains. “I want it to stop!” No prizes for guessing if she wins that argument. 

It’s hard to work out what makes Marie-Andrée tick, but the story weaves a spell nonetheless, with stark moments and occasional reminders that even in the drug-infused milieu of drifting hippies, some things remain brutally real.

Summary

Charles, Marie-Andree and Ajay flee Bangkok for Nepal, where they scour the streets for victims, but tensions arise when Charles loses the group's money in a card game until Marie-Andree overcomes her crisis of conscience to deliver their next prey. In March 1976, Nadine helps Herman and Angela to accumulate evidence by taking undercover photos of the suspects and their private apartment.

Cast & Crew

Charles Sobhraj Tahar Rahim
Marie-Andree Leclerc Jenna Coleman
Herman Knippenberg Billy Howle
Angela Knippenberg Ellie Bamber
Ajay Chowdhury Amesh Edireweera
Paul Siemons Tim McInnerny
Laurent Carriere Benjamin Braz
Iris May Lucan Gillespie
Laver Damon Herriman
Remi Gires Gregoire Isvarine
Connie-Jo Bronzich Dasha Nekrasova
Thapa Pravessh Rana
Nadine Gires Mathilde Warnier
Poste Restante Manager Teeradech Tisanuruk
Graeme Stanton Stuart Bowman
Mrs van Dongen Nandhini `Noi' Sirisinha
Ambassador van Dongen William Brand
Laxman Darshan Jariwalla
Lawana Apasiri Kulthanan
Major General Janthasin Sahajak Boonthanakit
Director Tom Shankland
Executive Producer Preethi Mavahalli
Executive Producer Tom Shankland
Executive Producer Damien Timmer
Executive Producer Richard Warlow
Executive Producer Lucy Richer
Producer Stephen Smallwood
Writer Richard Warlow
see more
Drama
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