Wasps' Nest

Wasp's Nest is definitely one of my favourite Poirot episodes. Apart from starting off a little too slow, there is next to nothing wrong with this adaptation. It looks very sumptuous, with lavish costumes, breathtaking scenery and fluid photography, and the music is gorgeous. The script is of fine quality, the pacing is just right with the exception of the slow beginning and the story is easy to follow. The acting here is exceptional, I know I have remarked more than once that what I love about Poirot is how it is made and acted. Wasp's Nest is no exception, with a stellar performance from David Suchet, in this series there is the perfect balance between the funny and the serious sides of Poirot, both of which Suchet does brilliantly. Hugh Fraser is wonderfully naive and funny as Hastings, and both Phillip Jackson and Pauline Moran are very effective in their roles as Japp and Miss Lemon. Out of the supporting performances, Peter Capaldi was the most impressive, it was a performance of real subtlety. And I can't write this review without mentioning the ending, by far my favourite scene of the adaptation, so quiet and poignant it was just sublime, and one of those scenes that had me in tears. Overall, I loved it. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Hercule Poirot must stop a crime before it happens in "Wasps' Nest" from 1991.

Hastings and Poirot are at a village carnival when Poirot sees an old friend, John Harrison, and Hastings immediately recognizes his fiancé, Molly Deane, a fashion model. Harrison invites them to his home the next week.

Once at Harrison's home, Poirot finds out that Molly's former fiancée is Harrison's best friend, Claude Langton, who played a clown at the village event. A few incidents put Poirot's little gray cells on alert: two kinds of lipstick on a cup, the inability to get rid of wasps on Harrison's land, a car breaking down, an old man who keeps showing up...Poirot believes a crime is about to be committed, and he utilizes Hasting's new love of photography to help him. Can he stop it in time? Meanwhile, poor Inspector Japp is in the hospital with acute appendicitis.

Excellent episode, and a poignant one, as Poirot works out what is gong to happen. There is even a fashion show of '30s clothes in this episode, another indication of the high production values that are always present.

It's a shame that Japp, Hastings, and Miss Lemon are not in later shows of the series, because as can be seen here, they really add to the episodes and also lighten them up because of Poirot's relationship with them. Later on, some of the shows are quite dark.

One of the best in the series.

Poirot runs into an old friend, author John Harrison. He is engaged to model Molly Deane but Poirot senses that something is amiss in their relationship. Deane was previously in a relationship with Harrison's best friend, artist Claude Langton. Poirot is fearful that a murder is being planned.

Reasonably interesting. There's no murder to be investigated here, but rather a murder to be prevented. Quite novel in that respect, though it does make the plot a bit conjectural, rather than based on clues and evidence.

Worth noting that the cast includes Peter Capaldi, of The Thick of It fame, as Claude Langton.

The original "Wasp's Nest" story, as written by Christie, is not one of her best ones. Although the ending is somewhat clever, the story itself is quite thin. It takes place in only one setting, and there are only two characters (one of whom is Poirot) engaging in dialogue in two scenes. Worst of all, from a mystery reader's point of view, the reader has no chance at all of deciphering the mystery along with the detective. Poirot presents his solution as a fait accompli at the end, and the other character has no choice except to listen and respond. In this episode, however, the writers have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Not only have they, of necessity, fleshed out the details, added scenes, action, and characters (including Japp and Miss Lemon, who mercifully have been given very little to do) but in so doing, they have provided the viewer with a variety of indications of what is going in behind the scenes. While there are red herrings involved, and it is still somewhat unlikely that the viewers will predict how the final scene goes, they will at least spend the episode feeling as though they are making discoveries along with Hastings and Poirot, and not feel quite so cheated at the end.

"This is the most difficult case in my career", says Poirot at one point. "I'm trying to solve a crime that does not exist".

When Poirot meets the son of an old friend of his, a writer who is engaged to a beautiful fashion model, he senses that something might be wrong. The model's previous boyfriend, a sculptor, still seems to be in love with her. A sinister-looking old man is constantly lurking about. And why does this nest of wasps at the writer's garden seem to be so difficult to exterminate?

Sometimes it's hard to explain why a film, or a TV episode in this case, works so well, you just have to experience it for yourself. The story itself is ingenious (this time, Poirot has to connect the pieces to prevent a future crime, not solve a past one), and the ending left me speechless. But what gives "Wasps' Nest" an extra layer is how unexpectedly moving and quiet its resolution is. Up to this point in the series (Season 3, Episode 5), this is a candidate for best episode. (***1/2)