The espionage series at Apple+, starring Vincent Cassel and Eva Green dropped its fourth episode this week, and like every previous week, it left us asking several questions in the end. In “Liaison” Episode 3, we saw of the wirily handsome Gabriel Delage (Cassel), he had chatted up the beautiful Sabine Louseau, an important official of the EU, and the two retired behind closed doors to make love to each other. Alison Rowdy (Green), on the other hand, worried about her colleague Mark Bolton and headed to the washroom, where she found the man hanging by his neck. As the situation kept getting more complicated, we hope “Liaison” Episode 4 can help answer some of the burning questions from the previous weeks. Here’s a breakdown of “Liaison” Episode 4, along with theories for the next.
Spoilers Ahead
Alison Has A Name
In Brussels, after a session of passionate lovemaking with Jean Marc, aka Gabriel Delage, Sabine Louseau gets a call from the office that Mark Bolton has committed suicide inside the EU’s offices in Brussels. Sabine has to leave immediately, so she goes in to change, and Delage waits for her to get ready. While constantly reassuring her that he’s here for her, he surreptitiously installs a bug on her laptop that allows Delage’s boss Alain Duman to peep into her private life.
At the EU, as officers question Alison Rowdy, she insists that Bolton was murdered; it wasn’t a case of suicide, and the two intimidating men she saw in the mirror were trying to scare her. In her home, Sabine calls Didier Taraud and says Bolton is dead, and Alison suspects it’s a murder, but Taraud dismisses her concerns and informs her that Bolton was taking bribes from private companies, and now Sabine is duty-bound to report his actions to the Anti-Fraud Office. She argues that’ll only mean the British will not be able to sign with the EU if an investigation begins, and Taraud says that’s nothing but good news for Antropa. Sabine makes up her mind, catches up to Alison outside the EU, and confirms her suspicion that Bolton was indeed murdered. Sabine confesses that she’s being used, and Bolton was murdered so that the Anti-Fraud Commission would investigate him, thereby putting a hold on the contract signing, but when Alison asks for proof, she says “they” monitor all electronic exchange, and if Sabine helps her, she’ll be killed. Alison thanks her and reminds her not to trust the man she saw Sabine with that afternoon, and immediately she becomes defensive and asks if he’s a part of Antropa. Alison knows the name of the suspicious organization.
In Dunkirk, France, Samir is waiting for his Syrian refugee friend Krimo, and together they extract money using some random person’s phone and debit card, and later Samir calls Myriam and says he’s at Dunkirk and they’ll meet soon. Alison storms back into her hotel and tells Gabriel that her colleague Bolton is dead and Sabine is being controlled by someone outside the EU, while he tells her that she’s to return to London immediately, or else her life might be at risk. He then informs Myriam that they need to leave for Dunkirk in the morning because Samir is in the city, and Alison demands to tag along because, without him, she’ll be dead.
Antropa And Its Goals
At the Telkis HQ, Duman walks in to find Taraud waiting for him, who asks Duman for everything they have on Alison, and Duman hands him an entire file and a copy of her phone and asks why Taraud never mentioned Antropa. The organization is known in his line of business as a dealer in cybersecurity, missiles, and spy satellites, and unless Duman is aware of what he’s becoming a part of, he refuses to be a part of any further. Taraud then explains that the French president believes that Antropa can be the first sector that can supply security services on a global basis, and Taraud’s responsibility is to oversee the signing with the UK, which of course, violates multiple EU regulations. Therefore, it’s mandatory that no one finds out that a private French organization wants to spread its business across the globe. Satisfied with the explanation, Duman hands Taraud a tape that has something about Alison, and Taraud replies he’s not a part of Antropa but is being forced to do something for France.
The cyberattacks in London continue, and this time there’s the possibility of an even bigger catastrophe. A jetliner has lost contact with the tower, and it continues to descend in altitude in a highly populous area as Minister Richard Banks takes notice of the plane flying dangerously low. While repeated attempts at contacting the jetliner keep failing, a few shady individuals can be seen keeping note of the imminent collision. With moments left until the aircraft collided with a structure, the shady individuals called off the attack, the pilots were able to re-establish contact with the tower, and the day was saved. While Alison is discussing the recent attack with Richard on video conference, she leaves to answer a knock on the door, and it’s none other than her boyfriend, Albert. After exchanging pleasantries, he tells her that DI Hobbs is waiting for her downstairs, and she has some questions. There’s someone at the door again, and this time Alison opens to find Gabriel, who immediately shifts upon noticing Albert, and she says she’ll be there in 10 minutes. While Gabriel and Myriam sneak out of the hotel and reach their car, Richard tells Alison over the phone that the PM’s advisor, Toby Gleason, is threatening the Minister to sign with a private organization called Antropa for cybersecurity. Alison immediately picks up on that and says there may be a link between the organization and the cyberattacks, so Richard agrees to give her a little more time, but the only way the UK will be able to escape the mess will be through the Syrians, and Alison is their only hope.
Upon meeting with DI Hobbs, Alison learns that she’d been spotted with Delage in the hospital after the King’s Cross crash, and she lies very convincingly that she had no clue it was the mercenary in the room with her. She then confronts Hobbs, asking her if she thinks Alison is in any way to blame when a text message from none other than Gabriel asks her of her location. In Brussels, Sabine walks in to find Taraud playing with Pierre, and after sending the kid away with his nanny, he tries bribing her again for more of her secrets, but Sabine is done. Taraud asks her to rest up, and they’ll speak again at night.
The Safe House Of Jack Rowdy
While waiting for Alison, Gabriel gets a call from Duman telling him that Samir’s pursuers won’t give up, so the Syrian’s death has to be set up, and also reminding him to stay away from Alison, just when she gets into his car. Taraud heads to the Antropa office and meets Bob, informing him that Alison has seen the killers he sent after Bolton, and when the Antropa guy says she too can be silenced, Taraud brings up Alison’s family. Her father is General Jack Rowdy, who spent 10 years as the head of NATO and was also the mentor of Minister Banks; now, he’s living the retired life in France and writing books. As an alternative to killing her, Taraud hands him the tape, which will work wonders. Gabriel and Alison reach Dunkirk with Myriam, where Krimo – Samir’s Syrian friend – is on the lookout to alert Samir that it’s safe. Upon confirming that it’s safe for him to reveal himself, Krimo signals his Syrian brethren, and Samir runs to embrace Myriam and his son and asks Krimo to join them. According to Richard’s suggestion, they head to Alison’s dad’s sprawling mansion, but when it’s time to introduce Samir, General Jack meets Krimo, who’s passed off as Samir. It’s clear Jack knows Gabriel and doesn’t like him, to say the least, but the military man takes Krimo to his secret bunker, and Krimo is in it just because he was paid by Gabriel.
Alison asks her dad to call Richard and assure him that everything’s alright while Gabriel looks around the mansion to check the security. Ms. Rowdy heads to her old room, skims through old photos of her and Gabriel, plays a song that definitely has some connection with her past, and takes out a leather jacket from the closet and puts it on, fondly remembering some memory. She’s jolted back to reality and calls Albert to inform him that she’s alright, but he tells her that Hobbs is certain that Alison is involved and asks for her location, but Gabriel’s arrival leaves her speechless, and the two stare at each other until there’s a guest at the door. Someone has left a parcel for Jack, and it’s the same tape that Duman handed Taraud. Jack pops it in the player, and an old video shows a radical protest group with Alison and Gabriel at the front (both a lot younger) protesting against nuclear powers as the police try beating them back. As Gabriel peeks from outside the window, Jack watches as a riot breaks out between the protestors and the police, with Molotov cocktails being thrown and the police beating the protestors mercilessly. However, what catches the father’s eyes is his daughter fighting with another red-headed protestor, and then a fire breaks out, and someone catches fire and burns to death, as Jack looks on, stunned.
Immediately afterward, the phone rings and Jack goes off at the caller, who’s apparently blackmailing him. Alison walks in and says the man in the panic room isn’t Samir but a decoy, while the real Samir is in a boat near Dunkirk with people Gabriel is friends with. Jack asks if, even after what she has done to Gabriel, she still trusts the Frenchman, and she replies that she’s trying to undo her past. In the kitchen, Jack asks Gabriel, who’s cooking dinner, why he’s really here, and he replies that Jack was the one who asked her to accuse Gabriel, who was nowhere near Nathalie when the accident happened. Jack blasts back, saying as a father, his sole duty was ensuring Alison’s happiness, and he also adds that Alison was pregnant when he had to take her back to the UK. When he asks Alison, she says Gabriel wasn’t supposed to know, but the tension is cut short when several cars arrive at the front door, and Jack goes out alone, threatening the intruders. Gabriel tries to reason with him, but the General won’t listen to a word and keeps arguing. As the cars break-in, Gabriel tries stopping Jack, and a scuffle breaks out, which leads to the mercenary shooting Alison’s dad in the gut before dragging his daughter inside. Gabriel pushes Alison inside the panic room along with Samir and the USB key and shuts the door to go deal with the attackers; as the intruders disconnect the power, the house falls into darkness.
‘Liaison’ Episode 4: Ending Explained – Who Are The Attackers, And Is Alison’s Dad Dead?
A lot of things happened in “Liaison” Episode 4 on every side, with more people getting involved in the mess that all started when two Syrian cousins wiped out the police files. Inside Alison’s dad Jack’s massive home, the General receives a tape that has something very incriminating about his daughter, bad enough to destroy the secretary to the UK’s Minister of Security. With bits and pieces of information, it turns out Jack made Alison blame Gabriel for the death of a girl named Nathalie, and it might be the same person we saw in the tape. We don’t see the exact connection yet, but it’s possible Gabriel was framed for her death. When the intruders come in, the situation gets even more intense, and Gabriel ends up shooting Jack.
The attackers must be a part of Antropa, the same ones who sent the tape to Jack. While Gabriel and Alison were arriving at Jack’s, drones could be seen recording them, even when Alison climbed into his car before they headed to Dunkirk. It’s possible that the drones are of Antropa build, given that they already specialize in spyware, so they could’ve followed Gabriel’s car to Jack’s home and then sent the armed men after them. In the scuffle, Gabriel ends up shooting Alison’s dad, Jack, because he refuses to listen to him. The old man collapsed to the ground, howling in pain, and it seemed like he might die. However, Gabriel won’t intentionally kill the father of the woman who can still help him in several ways, apart from being the one he still has feelings. However, we’ll be able to confirm if Jack Rowdy is dead or not next week, when hopefully more information about Antropa will be revealed.
