"Foyle's War" Sunflower (TV Episode 2013) Poster

(TV Series)

(2013)

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9/10
Protecting a Nazi
Tweekums12 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
As the first post-war series of 'Foyle's War comes to an end Foyle is given the task of protecting a vital asset in MI-5's operations against the Soviets. That asset is a former member of the SS who insists that he only worked behind a desk. He believes that somebody is after him; he has seen somebody following him and he has received a bullet in the post. As Foyle investigate several possible threats emerge; the people sharing a house with him clearly know dislike him, we've seen a man follow him in the opening scene and to complicate things further the Americans want him for reasons that aren't made immediately apparent. In a secondary story a man approaches Sam's MP husband to complain about a fraud involving his land which was compulsorily purchased during the war; Sam uses her MI-5 connections to track down the man responsible; something that is quite illegal and could get Foyle in trouble.

This episode was a good conclusion to this series; the plot involving the Nazi gave the story a war time element and raised the question about what one should do with former enemies who may have committed atrocities but happen to be more useful unpunished. There were a good number of potential killers who might try to kill the German so the viewer was left guessing. There were also one or two twists that I've endeavoured not to spoil here. The secondary story was unrelated to the main plot but didn't prove to be a distraction. As always the cast did a fine; Michael Kitchen was born to play Foyle and Honeysuckle Weeks is delightful as Sam; the rest of the cast put in good performances as well. The only real weak point in the episode was the way the Americans were shown as more than a little overbearing; still that is a minor quibble. I enjoyed this first new post war series and hope Foyle returns again.
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10/10
Intense viewing.
Sleepin_Dragon9 October 2017
Foyle is instructed to look after Karl Strasser, a Nazi defector and former member of the SS, now living as a Danish citizen under the house of Mrs Stevens. Strasser is key to British intelligence, but also wanted for war crimes by the US.

Foyle's War by this stage has definitely morphed into something different, I'm sure when the show was devised it's popularity was somewhat underestimated, this MI5 direction could have gone either way, personally I think it was a rousing success, with Sunflower easily one of the best latter episodes.

A brilliant story, the conflict between those seeking justice and wanting the Nazi's put on trial, and those that wanted to take advantage of the intelligence of those individuals who were quickly transported out of Germany. You can fully believe in the animosity felt towards Karl. There are enough twists in the plot to keep you guessing all the way through.

The acting is fabulous, Lars Eidinger was superb as Karl Strasser, giving a commanding and believable performance. He makes you dislike Lars instantly. Once again Ellie Haddington is brilliant as Hilda Pearce, her character has been a superb addition to the show.
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9/10
No Shrinking Violets
Hitchcoc25 September 2016
This is an interesting use of the series. Foyle is playing in the big leagues, working in high espionage situations. In this one, a man who was once a Gestapo agent has come to work as a professor at a university. Even though he has a checkered past, he seems to be "valuable" to Foyle's employers. A man who is suffering from serious injuries, both mental and physical, recognizes this man. The aforementioned Nazi senses that someone is out to get him. Many players are brought into the fold, working undercover, to protect this guy. Or are they? Anyway, there are some quick changes in this episode, a few red herrings, and some good twists. I really enjoyed this.
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8/10
Not much sunshine but lots of intrigue
TheLittleSongbird8 November 2017
Loved 'Foyle's War' and was immediately hooked when first getting into it. Love it even more now, on re-watches things that didn't quite make sense at first are clearer and things that were not noticed or appreciated before are and much admired. Everything that came over as brilliant on first viewings still are brilliant on re-watches.

The third of three episodes forming the penultimate season, "Sunflower" continues the change of direction 'Foyle's War' adopted when it was revived when it focused on the aftermath of the war and became darker. Not everybody liked this change and felt that it lost a lot of what made 'Foyle's War' so brilliant in the first place. Can understand that, and while the execution has not been perfect the change of direction has been interesting, although it's taken some getting used to. While it's not one of the series' best episodes, not even close, that is very much the case with "Sunflower".

Very much the previous episode "The Cage", "Sunflower" is at its least compelling with the character of Adam, still a bit flat and to me not enough has been done to develop him successfully (there was an attempt to do so in "The Cage" but added nothing to that episode). For a titular character too, Foyle could have been focused on more and considering that he is one of the most interesting detectives on television it does feel like he's lost his spark.

However, the quality of the production values are high. with beautiful costumes, the evocative way the characters are made up, the look of the houses and cars, pretty locations and authentic-looking scenery. The music is in keeping with the mood and doesn't overpower the drama while still making an impact.

Writing is intelligent, sophisticated and thought-provoking. Throughout, the story is hugely intriguing and very twisty without being overly-complicated. The theme of disenchantment is also dealt with quite movingly and the episode doesn't feel as rushed as "The Eternity Ring" for example.

One thing that wasn't picked up by me but now is and admired hugely is the tackling of what was seen as truths but some really misconceptions and seeing British during and after the war in a new light. This was a bold move and dealt with a lot of honesty and tact. The character tensions were also handled very well and added a lot of intrigue.

Michael Kitchen is truly superb as Foyle, subtle, intensely determined, commanding and above all human. Kitchen has rarely been better. Honeysuckle Weeks is charming and loyal, really like that Sam has become more interesting in development, and Hilda and Arthur are worthy regular characters, if not yet as interesting as Milner (who is missed but nobody is begging for him to return.

Supporting cast are all very good, with a particularly chilling performance from Lars Eidinger, although perhaps the character is written a little too obviously and like it's obvious too early that he is not one to be trusted.

In conclusion, intriguing and well done but not one of the best episodes. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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3/10
This ISN'T Foyle's War
andrewglencross6523 January 2014
I agree with so much of the above.

Foyle's War is off its game. There's a real sense to me of Michael Kitchen just going through the motions.

I had wanted to love this new series of the show and was willing to give it time to find its Cold War feet, but this ISN'T Foyle's War.

Even allowing for character development our beloved Honeysuckle now seems to be playing someone else completely - none of the jolly old Sam - just an austere sadness.

"Sunflower" was also practically incoherent and I just can't imagine the original Sam stooping so low as to produce the transcript of a tapped phone conversation for her Labor MP husband. Felt like his response "It's unthinkable" was more a commentary on today than the immediate post war period. If that's the case it's not very subtle Mr Horowitz.

And just to be really picky, but as a WW2 history buff - why not?. In the Normandy Nazi war crime scene, the American artillery officer is seen wearing his dress uniform - what he'd be wearing on leave in London - not in combat attire ala helmet etc with subtle reference to his rank. That seemed weird to me. A bit like the new Foyle's War in general.
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Good but sad but also happy
ctyankee120 October 2015
I want to say Foyle's War is a great series. Michael Kitchen/Foyle and his driver Honeysuckle Weeks/Sam are such good actors. It shows how a honest police man is investigating criminals and arresting them but war is on at this time and the military won't let him do his job.

This is a story like many others where the British protect war terrorist and killers so they can get information out of them by protecting them, giving them a different name and safe housing.

Sunflower is a field where many Americans were murdered and the man that ordered the murders is a Nazi but a confidant of the British who want to protect him from arrest from the Americans or retribution from the people he hurt.

There is a lot going on in this episode a high ranking man has a plot of land surveyed and orders the surveyor to double the price it is worth so the original owner does not buy it back. He claims his intentions are good but Sam's husband Mr Wainwright thinks his boss committed fraud and calls him out on it.

In the end Foyle goes against a lot of higher ups who have been protecting this Nazi that is given the British some of the Nazi secrets.

Foyle is kind of sad but knows he did the right thing. Sam on the other hand is pregnant and tells her husband. They are both surprised and happy.

It breaks my heart in many of the BBC stories there are so many secret agencies that are against each other protecting killers in war just to get them to give them information. To me this is a double slap in the face for victims of war.
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3/10
Proposing a new rule for successful TV writers
A_Different_Drummer20 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
For clarity. Scored 3 out of a possible 10 because even a wretched episode of Foyle is still darn good TV. But that misses the point. And the point that there should be an option, an accommodation, given to writers who really in their heart of hearts no longer want to have to keep a character of theirs alive. Who no longer feel the joy of narration they used to feel when they started writing the character. And who find themselves trapped by circumstances they cannot control into having to send said character once more into the breach, damn the torpedoes. If such an option were given, I am sure Anthony Horowitz would have taken it. I deduce this fact because of the utter lack of passion or joy in this, series 8. And I deduce here (this is a cheat) from an interview Mr. Horowitz did in 2013 in which he said, whatever the reaction to the new series, he would not be writing any more. To illustrate, one is tempted to look at the evolution of one of the most successful series in the modern era, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, a production which has been credited by PhDs as changing the very nature of plot development in a series, and making its own writer Joss Whedon a force to be reckoned with in modern film. In the first Buffy series, where the character is in High School, there is abundant sunshine in the outdoor scenes and cleaver sprightly things happen to the players -- along with the inevitable supernatural nonsense, of course. As the series ages, however, the sunshine disappears, along with the good nature, and the characters get very very dark. Ditto for the first few years of Foyle, arguably for the entire first 7 years. Whimsey, nuance, humour, all mixed nicely with murder and death. No such luck with Foyle the Spy. Find me a sunny day in any of the three episodes this season and I will eat it. What little time Weeks and Kitchen spend together is utilized doing things completely un-natural to the relationship built over earlier years. She risks her life spying. In earlier episodes he would never allowed that. She uses her position in MI6 to help her hubby advance his career and deceives Foyle in the process. In the past, he would have fired her on the spot. But that is point. This is new Foyle, not old Foyle, and clearly Horowitz wants nothing more to do with new Foyle. And neither should we, especially with the DVDs of the old episodes available.
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1/10
Cigarette, anyone?
ChuckM61230 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Watching this episode, I wondered if it were possible to develop lung cancer from watching a TV show. It was possible to imagine some guy running around during the filming to make sure that a sufficient number of people in any given scene were busily puffing away on a cigarette. Such a significant change from other shows in the series--such as the excellent entry "The Cage" which immediately preceded this one--causes one to wonder if some tobacco company hadn't offered to pick up a significant portion of the production costs, if one of the episode's producers had "a thing" for cigarettes, or if the producers came to believe that their viewers taste had deteriorated to the point where they'd be entertained simply by watching a large number of people smoking. All kidding aside, such a profusion of smoking--sometimes where it even looks forced--amounts to a serious distraction from the story. That became annoying. Since this episode was one of those slated to be "the last" in the series, it's a shame that the producers would have been willing to go out like this.
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