The Tripods (1984) Episode 5

The caps don't work, they just make you worse

 

 

A badly wounded Will is taken to Chateau Ricordeau, where he is given treatment and put to bed. Awakening, he meets the daughter of the Count who owns the Chateau. She explains that her cousin, the Duc de Sarlat found him on a hunting trip and that Will's friends have been taken care of.

 

IB - Ah, the beginning of the long and never-ending chateau sequence of episodes. Although I do have a fondness for them now that I didn't the very first time I watched them.

 

JL - Will should have been naked in that bed during this scene, we could have had some fun with the innocent Eloise attempting to get a look at his boy parts because she's never seen one before. Just like in that film Far and Away with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

 

IB - You assume she's not seen boy parts before.

 

JL - Yeah, she might be an outright and total slag. In a lilac turban.  Why does she wear that, it doesn't go with anything else. I bet it's to hide a Tripod cap or something that'll be revealed at some important point in the narrative.

 

IB - Pamela Salem, the statuesque beauty that is Toos from Robots of Death. I love the Who spotting: there's a treasure trove of it here.

 

While Will tries to overcome a fever, Henry and Beanpole take jobs at the Chateau and live in the employees' quarters. With their now having such an easy life, they are tempted to stay. The alternative is especially attractive for Will who falls in love with the Count's beautiful daughter Eloise. They decide to stay for a while but the stay may not turn out to be pleasant, as the Duc de Sarlat begins to see Will as a rival and only wants the three boys to leave.

 

IB - Sarlat is gloriously slimy and despicable.

 

JL - 'Venez!' the booted cad insists as he stalks off, even though he knows that Will est malade. Boo!

 

 

 

JL - Will in jodhpurs. Yummy. It's all gone Mr Darcy.

 

IB - Will's falling in love with Eloise is blatantly signposted. She's the first female with a speaking part and she's the same age.

 

JL - The old count. That's no way to speak about your host, sir!

 

IB - How are astronomy and geography the Count's favourite subjects if he's capped?

 

JL - I shall tell you. His cap fell off and was lost in a plot hole.

 

 

JL - Will in a cravat. Yummy.

IB - The slower pace and constant setting lets the character's relationships unfold and evolve naturally. I love these sequences.

 

JL - I'm with Henry on this one, it's boring and I want to be off on the quest. Will's love for Eloise is so poorly set up and there's no emotion there at all. 

 

IB - Viewers at this point usually moan there are no Tripods in The Tripods. Fair enough, but it does mean their eventual appearance carries more weight. It's better to anticipate than to arrive. Or something.

 

JL - Will in riding boots! Can you see where I'm going here?

 

IB - His acting is ok in this one. Henry's isn't.

 

The Duc desires to turn them in to the Black Guards but the Count insists in allowing the travellers the temporary comforts of Chateau Ricordeau. But those comforts will be short lived if the Duc de Sarlat has any say in the matter.

 

JL - Sarlat's summoned the Black Guard. The snake! Look at that grin. In fairness he was always going to.

 

IB - The Count isn't having any of it and outsmarts Sarlat by offering the boys the protection of the Chateau and his hospitality. The Guards go away empty handed, hoist on their own petard.

 

JL - The Count is a hero, I think he's in love with Will, I think his cap can't work.
 

IB - He's shrewd as well as kind when helping the trio.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED...