With just one more week to go in Season 1 of X Company, Wednesday’s cliffhanger left Tom’s life in question. “Quislings”—named after Vidkun Quisling, who headed a Nazi collaborationist regime during the Second World War—focused on the team taking out three French targets in Paris who had been helping the Germans.
Harry, who was still getting over his injuries from last week, was pretty much left out of the equation, though he was chased from the apartment by soldiers with radio-detecting devices. Luckily, Harry had a hand grenade—and a new radio—both of which he used to take out the trio of baddies who tracked him down.
That left Tom, Neil and the duo of Aurora and Alfred to carry out the mission. None of the targets was easy, but Aurora’s was personal. Michel, a local baker she and Rene had hung around with, was accused of accepting money from the Germans in exchange for ratting out his pals. Nineteen pals, in fact, including Rene. Aurora, thrust into the role of team leader when Rene was killed, has evolved from an emotional mess into a cold-blooded killer. She mercilessly shot Michel in the back of the head for his actions and warned his sister would meet the same fate if she revealed anything.
Meanwhile, Neil was still battling his emotions surrounding the death of the German radio man. And what better way to his head back in the game than engage his target in a bare-knuckle brawl? Warren Brown’s face is so expressive; you could read the torment over the radio man in his twisting features. Could he ever kill again? Yes, he could, completing his mission after a bloody, physical battle involving furniture, a wine bottle and neck-breaking chokehold.
Finally, Tom’s target proved not only to be elusive but the storyline was a historical game-changer. After tracking his female target to an apartment, Tom wasn’t able to pull the trigger. He did stick around to speak to the man she had been giving medical attention to, a Jew who produced sketches and a tale of hell on earth: concentration camps. The woman’s arrival back at the hide-out—followed by German soldiers she tipped off—left the episode unfinished. Will Tom use his German accent and/or charm to win the day or will the team suffer another tragic loss?
We’ll have to wait until next week to find out.
X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
