Original Airdate: 13 November 2013 Written by: Kevin Elyot Directed by: Hettie Macdonald Recurring cast: Captain Hastings, George Based on:Curtain
Tropes:
Acquired Poison Immunity: Poirot states in his letter that it was irrelevant which cup of hot chocolate Norton picked as he had drugged both of them and he had developed enough of a tolerance to sleeping pills he was using that an amount that was enough to knock him out didn't affect Poirot.
Adaptation Distillation: Of the killer's crimes, the episode mentions only the Litchfield, Sharples and Etherington murders, Margaret Litchfield is hanged during the opening credits (whereas she dies in an asylum in the novel), and the serial killer is not labelled as "X", although it is alluded when Poirot speaks to the others; but otherwise, it remains extremely faithful to the novel.
Aside Glance: The final shot is Poirot staring directly into the camera.
Back for the Finale: Hastings is a major character in this episode after being absent since 2001 (apart from a single appearance in The Big Four's adaptation, likewise in the final season).
Norton:(Evil Gloating) You see, if you don't succeed, I'm a free man. And even if you do, it will still be a victory of sorts, because in the eyes of the law, I would be innocent, whereas you and your reputation, your precious reputation... blown to bits! Poirot:Je vous en prie!note Be my guest! Norton: "Je vous en prie"? ...You can see them now. "Went off his rocker. In the end, you can never trust a foreigner!"
Battle in the Rain: In this case, a battle of wits, as the final confrontation between Poirot and Norton takes place in Poirot's room during a thunderstorm, with Thunder Equals Downpour as a result. By morning the rain stops falling, indicating that Poirot has killed Norton and solved the final case, albeit with dramatic results.
Bittersweet Ending: To the entire series. Poirot has solved the crime and justice has been done. Unfortunately, the only way to achieve justice was for Poirot to kill the murderer, then die of a heart attack while throwing himself on God's mercy. By the episode's end, poor Hastings has lost both his wife and his best friend, and his daughter has gone to Africa, leaving him entirely alone. However, it is implied that he might get together with Elizabeth Cole.
Break Them by Talking: X and Poirot exchange their bouts of lectures. X mocks Poirot's faith, saying God will punish him for killing someone who is technically innocent, contending that Poirot's hastiness and "corruption of goodness" will destroy him, and claiming that he (Norton) would be found innocent in the eyes of the law and that Poirot's reputation will be blown to bits. Poirot attacks X's Momma's Boy tendency, telling him she never loved him. Neither speech works.
Curtiss the valet carries the (seemingly) immobile Poirot downstairs to his wheelchair for dinner in this manner.
John Franklin carries his wife Barbara in this manner to join everyone in watching the shooting stars.
Deadly Distant Finale: Since Curtain takes place in 1949, it is also in this episode that the main character, Poirot, dies of a heart attack after many years of solving his cases.
Dying Alone: Poirot falls into this trope as he asks Hastings to let him rest in his bed. As he is dying alone of angina, he grabs the rosary from his night stand near the amyl nitrite and mutters out his final words in a whisper to God, "Forgive me... forgive..." In the next few scenes and towards the ending, Hastings returns to find Poirot's now lifeless body slumped over on his bed. So heartbreaking.
Dying Smirk: Norton wakes up just in time to see Poirot aiming a gun at his head. He smiles, knowing at the very least, he got Poirot to do something he'd normally never do: murder.
Feet-First Introduction: At the beginning of the episode, we get a close-up of Poirot's feet, then his hands, and finally his head, albeit in separate shots.
Foreshadowing: At the beginning of the episode, we hear Elizabeth Cole play Chopin's "Raindrop Prelude", which both foreshadows and symbolizes the final confrontation with Norton. There's also backshadowing in that episode: as Poirot is on his deathbed, he tells Hastings that his final case is ended, then asks him if God will ever forgive Poirot for his deeds, to which Hastings answers yes; as soon as Hastings leaves for the last time, Poirot suffers his final bout of angina, then clasps his rosary and asks God to forgive him. All of these trace back to the outcome of his final confrontation and Norton's final attempt to break him by talking about his doom by Judgment Day.
Freeze-Frame Bonus: The obituary of Poirot on the front page of the London Telegraph is not lorem ipsum, but an actual obit detailing his life.
Honorary Uncle: Captain Hastings's daughter Judith refers to his Belgian detective friend as "Uncle Hercule".
Incurable Cough of Death: Poirot in Curtain suffers this, a visible indication of his ultimately fatal heart disease. Pauvre, pauvre Poirot...
Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: Poirot's removal of his (false) moustache prior to committing the murder verges on this.
It Has Been an Honour: Implied: during a conversation at dinnertime, one of the guests, Toby Luttrell, tells Poirot that though he is very old he still never gives up on solving cases like this. Poirot answers in front of everyone that he has enjoyed being here with them and that "I do not want to miss every single moment. But the clock, it ticks. Such is the will of God." (implying that he has a few days left to live) Luttrell's response to Poirot: "Oh, we'll miss you, old chap, but you won't be forgotten."
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The last shot of the TV series is Poirot looking directly into the camera after bidding farewell to Hastings in his Voice Over Letter ("They were good days. Yes, they have been good days."), as David Suchet and the production bid farewell to the viewers.
Left the Background Music On: Played for drama twice: we hear a Lonely Piano Piece of Chopin's "Raindrop Prelude" in the background as Hastings leaves Poirot's room for the final time and goes downstairs, while Poirot clasps the rosary and prays to God for forgiveness before dying. As Hastings enters the music room, the background music traces to Elizabeth Cole playing the piano, whom he sees before he gets a sense of shock (as of hearing Poirot from upstairs) as she stops playing and asks, "Captain Hastings?"
Leitmotif: The television adaptation uses Fryderyk Chopin's Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 (Raindrop Prelude) for Poirot's approaching mortality. It Bookends the episode as well.
Manly Tears: Hastings, who has maintained a Stiff Upper Lip on the topic of his wife's recent death, is suddenly reminded of her and begins weeping.
Momma's Boy: Norton in this adaptation; there are shades of Norman Bates to the character. Poirot tells him his mother was horrified at what he had become, but he sneers that he does not care.
Obfuscating Disability: Poirot pretends to be wheelchair bound, when he can still walk perfectly on his own.
Obi-Wan Moment: As Poirot is bedridden and about to die of a heart condition, he uses this moment to ask Captain Hastings if God will ever forgive him for his deeds (Hastings says yes); and then to reassure him that there are "loose ends to be tied up"; that the death of Stephen Norton was not suicide, but rather murder; and that Hastings should let him rest. This culminates in a Say Your Prayers moment.
"Oh, Crap!" Fakeout: During the final showdown, X sobs when Poirot talks about his past as a Momma's Boy, and how she actually was fearful of him — then quickly regains composure and basically tells Poirot "Nice try."
Parental Substitute: Hastings mentions that Poirot has been a father figure to him.
After Barbara Franklin drinks the poisoned cup of coffee meant for her husband John, scene cuts to Barbara screaming in terrible, agonizing pain in her bedroom as the guests try in vain to help her. By morning, we next see her body lying in bed in an upright position with a peaceful expression on her face as though she were asleep, surrounded by flowers.
The same may go for Poirot himself: As soon as Captain Hastings leaves his room for the final time and goes downstairs, the Belgian detective suffers his final bout of angina, he grabs the rosary instead of the amyl nitrite next to it. He prays to God for forgiveness in agonizing pain, all the while the piano piece playsin the background. When the music stops playing, Hastings instinctually feels something is wrong, and returns to find Poirot dead. It is not until we see the action for the second time near the end of the final episode that we get to see his body, tangled up in his bedsheets, his legs curled up in a fetal position, his arms outstretched, his hand still clutching the rosary, his face half-buried under the covers; and yet he is relaxed in a peaceful position with his eyes closed in a Big Sleep, as though he is redeemed in the eyes of God.
Public Domain Soundtrack: The Lonely Piano Piece that is played at the beginning and during Poirot's last goodbye to Hastings, and his final moments? Chopin's Opus 28, No. 15 (Raindrop). Give it a listen here, and bring your tissues along.
Say Your Prayers: More than halfway towards the end, as Poirot is bedridden and minutes towards death via heart condition, he makes a prayer to God, asking him for the forgiveness of the murder he has committed, and clasps the rosary in his hands while doing so, resulting in Death Equals Redemption.
Series Continuity Error: Thanks to the Setting Update. In the TV series, Hastings meets his eventual wife in 1936 instead of the early 1920s. Nevertheless, his daughter is a woman in her early twenties here, in 1949.
Shown Their Work: In contrast to the original novel, the adaptation takes place in October 1949-February 1950 when as amyl nitrite and nitroglycerin were the only known treatments for angina and there were no beta blockers or calcium channel blockers at the time.
Poirot: Hastings... do you think God will forgive me? Hastings: Of course God will forgive you! You are a good man, the best man the world has ever known. Poirot:[sighs in relief] My heart bleeds for you, my Hastings... my poor, poor... lonely Hastings.
Spanner in the Works: Hastings turned out to be this in Curtain: he was too preoccupied with thoughts of his daughter potentially running off and marrying a Jerkass and absorbed in his Crossword Puzzle to follow the others to see the shooting stars, so nobody noticed him rotating the revolving table-shelf combination to check the source of a quote from the copy of Othello stored in it, resulting in an accidental Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo that got the poisoner killed instead, allowing Poirot to dramatically state that it was Hastings who killed them in his letter.
Stock Footage: At the beginning, while Elizabeth Cole is playing the piano, we see some scenes of the trial and execution of Margaret Litchfield. These scenes are probably borrowed from the flashback scenes of Five Little Pigs.
A Storm Is Coming: Hastings is told that a storm will be approaching. And not a moment too soon, as it leads to Poirot's Battle in the Rain with Norton.
Poirot's Letter: For you see, Hastings... you killed her.
Hastings:I killed her?!
Poirot's Letter: Oui, mon ami, you did.
Threw My Bike on the Roof: A bit subverted toward the end: during the final confrontation, Poirot suffers another angina attack while Norton tries to Break Him by Talking, and as Poirot is about to take the amyl nitrite, Norton acts like a jerkass in a Kick the Dog moment by taking the box and grabbing one of the inhalants. While Norton is delivering the Doomed Moral VictorHannibal Lecture, Poirot tries reaching for the inhalant, but Norton pulls it away from him, angering him even more. Just when the audience thinks that Norton is about to destroy the inhalant after finishing his breaking speech to Poirot... he decides to have a Pet the Dog moment by letting Poirot use the inhalant... which may be the final straw for Poirot.
Throwing Off the Disability: At the end of Curtain, Poirot reveals in his letter to Hastings that he's still able to walk around on his own power instead of being completely wheelchair-bound, which is how he was able to carry Norton's unconsious body back to his room in his wheelchair and shoot him.
Took a Level in Badass: Toward the end, Poirot peels off his fake moustache and posing as Norton to get Hastings's attention, then returns to Norton's room and puts the dressing gown back on him, places him on his bed, and proceeds to shoot him dead in order to teach him a lesson not to taunt or break the famous Belgian detective.
Took a Level in Jerkass: As Poirot is conversing with Hastings about serial murders, he acts mean toward Hastings in a snarky kind of way. The detective does, however, become a Defrosting Ice King when he is on his deathbed after solving his final case and says much kinder things to Hastings, even calling him "Cher ami" ("Dear friend").
Villainous BSoD: Subverted. Poirot apparently turns the murderer into a sobbing mess by pointing to the psychological origins of his problems... except that the murderer is just acting.
Voiceover Letter: Hastings reads a four-month-old letter from Poirot, which tells him the whole story about Norton and his mind games, in Poirot's voiceover. Combined with Dead Person Conversation, as Hastings, a Fourth-Wall Observer, asks a few questions about how or why as if he were talking to the ghost of Poirot, before the letter tells him in Poirot's voice to be quiet before continuing. Even funnier is that when the letter says that Hastings accidentally killed Barbara Franklin, Hastings is shocked and says, "I... killed her?", and the letter replies, "Oui, mon ami, you did."
Wham Shot: Poirot appears without his famous mustache. David Suchet said he wished he'd never been seen as Poirot without it.
Where It All Began: The episode is set at Styles Court, the setting of The Mysterious Affair At Styles.
You Are Worth Hell: Poirot to the human race in general, as he kills Norton before the latter can manipulate another person into committing murder for his own enjoyment, then refuses to take his heart pills so that he may die and face God's judgement.
You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost: Barbara Franklin says this to Norton when he sees someone... or something... frightening him. That someone could be Allerton, whom Hastings was trying to kill.
◊ in Rowan Atkinson's Maigret, with grey temples.
my poor, poor... lonely Hastings.
