Set 1 of the BBC series Foyle’s War struck me with its unblinking exposure of the dark side of British involvement in World War II. In four episodes set in the autumn of 1940, Set 2 (2002) explores the theme of justice in a time of war: is it possible to achieve, especially when the outcome of the war is in so much jeopardy?
In “50 Ships” Foyle investigates the body of a man found on the beach — a drunk whose meaningless life seems to have led him to end it all. When they realize it was actually murder, Foyle, Milner and Sam Stewart dig deeper, in part with the help of a Nazi spy who turned up the same night on the beach nearby the dead man. It turns out that the investigation could jeopardize the American entry into war (through Lend-Lease), and that the spy — who’s no doubt going to be hung — is more honorable than the American and even some of the Brits involved.
“Among the Few” brings the viewer into Foyle’s son Andrew’s war. A pilot in the RAF, Andrew is involved in the murder of a young woman — aside from the killer, he was the last person to see her alive. After Foyle solves the murder, he’s faced with the choice of letting (or not) the killer continue wartime duties which really are making a difference in the British war effort.
“War Games” involves a British businessman who puts profit before war when he makes a secret pact with the Nazis. Foyle is refereeing a Home Guard war game on the businessman’s property when a young man is shot at close range and apparently not because of an accident during the war game, and it all unravels from there.
“The Funk Hole” begins with some food thieves being shot at by a warden. The food is for a “funk hole,” an expensive place for the wealthy to escape the privations (and danger) of war. Meanwhile, Foyle is accused of sedition and is barred from working on the case. Sam and Milner take on more important roles in this episode as a consequence. The resolution to it all turns out to be related to revenge for a wartime injustice in which many innocent people died — not intentionally, but because defenses didn’t operate as planned.
Michael Kitchen stars as Christopher Foyle, and he plays the quiet yet forceful character to perfection. Though he butts heads with military intelligence, the RAF, and higher level police officers, he never stops in his quest for justice for murder victims — but, be warned, even Foyle can’t always achieve it.
