Agatha Christie's Poirot: Five Little Pigs

June 8, 2022 11:13 AM - Season 9, Episode 1

Poirot is called in 14 years after the fact to re-examine the murder of renowned painter Amyas Crale - whose wife Caroline was hanged for the crime - when their grown-up daughter Lucy presents him with a letter written to her by her mother, declaring her innocence.
posted by Carillon (2 comments total)

This one really affected me tbh. You have some great actors like Aidan Gillen, the story is pretty brutal, the resolution isn't anywhere near as neat and tidy as they usually are. Plus trauma to multiple young children and some potential closeted homosexuality. I thought this was super well done, very bleak, but evocative.
posted by Carillon at 11:17 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

A big departure in tone from previous seasons. Gone are the little indignities that Poirot must suffer. Inspector Japp, Miss Lemon, and Captain Hastings are no more. This is a somber Rashomon tale so mostly Poirot is listening to the other characters while viewers are seeing flashbacks.

A couple things. Why did Caroline take the poison from the laboratory? And why did Angela steal the valerian and put it in the beer in the first place? It’s just a “sleeping draft”. And completely out of the blue! there was that back seat of the taxi confession of “special feelings” towards Elsa by Meredith Blake.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:59 PM on June 8, 2022