Spoiler alert: Season One of Three Pines
The latest episodes of Three pines titled Return Inspector Armand Gamache (Alfred Molina) to Canadian Country Village investigate yet another death. A body is discovered hanging in the woods just outside Three Pines by a search party for Blue Two Rivers and Tommy Kis. The Stranger is originally believed to have committed suicide, but as usual things are not what they seem and Inspector Gamache discovers that there is much more to it.
Episodes 7 and 8 also finally bring to an end a menacing mystery that has haunted Inspector Gamache throughout the first season. What exactly happened to Blue Two Rivers and her boyfriend Tommy Kis? And of course the ending of Episode 8 shocked us when Gamache was shot after confronting Blue’s killer, leaving us wondering if he will survive or is this the end for Inspector Armand Gamache? With this finale in mind, it also begs the question, will there be a season two or is this the end of Three pines?
What happened to Blue and Tommy?
In previous episodes, Inspector Gamache learned from Tommy’s brother Kevin that all three of them had been apprehended by the police. Kevin ran away and hid in the woods where he heard guns go off, and was later framed for their disappearances. But when Kevin is finally caught and arrested, he turns up dead in his cell. Of course, Inspector Gamache didn’t believe that Kevin was responsible for their deaths and when he turns up dead, Gamache is now sure there’s a cover up going on. But where are Blue and Tommy’s bodies, and who is responsible for the cover-up?
The final episodes lead Inspector Gamache to find out where their bodies are buried through a lead obtained while investigating the executioner case. After uncovering their bodies in the woods, Inspector Gamache is finally able to collect the evidence he needs to find out who is responsible for their deaths. Sending the bullets to a private lab for forensic analysis, he learns that Officer Chowski is the one who shot Tommy and to Gamache’s surprise, it was his old friend Pierre Arnot who shot Blue.
The two cops had demanded a cut in Kevin’s tobacco sales and when things went wrong they desperately tried to cover up what had happened and made it look like the two had run off and Kevin had mysteriously disappeared. But when Kevin returned to seek help from Isabelle and Armand, Chowski and Arnot are able to tie up that last loose end by having him killed and framing him for Blue and Tommy’s disappearances.
Is Inspector Armand Gamache dead?
Inspector Gamache is later informed by Officer Nichol that Pierre is now trying to frame him for Blue and Tommy’s deaths, as he had withheld the bullets from evidence. Gamache then decides to confront Pierre about what he discovered and when he arrives at Pierre’s cabin, he finds evidence of a battle and outback, Pierre burns Kevin Kis’ truck with Agent Chowski in it, already dead. Pierre continues to lie and make excuses, trying to distort what really happened, but he is unable to fool Inspector Gamache. Pierre then pulls out a gun and shoots Inspector Gamache in the shoulder.
Isabelle and Jean-Guy arrive in time to find Gamache, but Pierre has escaped. The episode ends there on a cliffhanger, leaving us to wonder if Armand will survive. It seems they are in time to save him, but he has lost a lot of blood and by the time they can send an ambulance to him, will it be too late? Unless you’ve read the books, we can only guess.
Will there be a season 2?
With the shocking ending of episode 8, we also have to wonder if there will be a season 2 of it Three pines? The ending certainly opens up the possibility of a second season. If Inspector Gamache survives, his next move may be to track down Pierre Arnot, as he is now responsible for four deaths and an attempt on Armand’s life. However, the status of the show at this point is undetermined. Prime Video has not renewed it for a second season and the show has not yet been canceled.
If the show is renewed for a second season and we see Inspector Gamache return, we wonder what other mysteries he’ll uncover in the strange town of Three Pines. There are certainly more dark secrets yet to be revealed and if anyone can get to the bottom of them it would be Armand Gamache.