The Pearls of Peace

Simon agrees to help finance a friend's ill-fated pearl hunting operation. Years later, he receives word that his friend is living in Mexico and wants to pay back what he owes. Simon heads to Mexico to investigate and is shocked at what he finds.

I know I'm only six episodes into The Saint, but The Pearls of Peace is not what I've come to expect from the series. For lack of a better word, it doesn't feel like the other episodes I've seen. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's just different. Instead of the usual action/crime/drama genre classification I would use to describe The Saint, this episode is more like a drama/romance w/ a dash of crime. The story is told in flashback style with Simon little more than a background character for most of the episode. He really doesn't do much until the episode is almost over. Again, not that any of this is bad, just different. One thing that's not different is that, in the end, Simon's on-hand to save the day. However, the little switcheroo that he pulls wasn't nearly as clever as it was meant to be. The con was way too easy to predict. And, I could have done without that sappy final monologue. It's a real low point for me.

There are a couple of acting highlights I want to point out. First, Dina Palsner is fantastic as Consuelo. She gives a very refined, dignified performance and creates a believably loving character. Second is Erica Rogers. Has there ever been a more uncaring, selfish gold-digger than Rogers' Joss Hendry? I think that the contrast between these two characters is a real strength of The Pearls of Peace.

6/10

For me this is not really the saint.... Erica Rogers is good as the only character of interest in this unsaintly episode. He's at his best battling the ungodly! Here we get a discussion of true beauty real versus surface deep!! Jess ( Erica Rogers ) is surface deep, Consuelo is true beauty!!

This is a real pearl of an episode.

Pun fully intended.

The story simply stands out well, even amongst a decent serial like The Saint.

Double crosses, femme fatale, saintly stranger, there's so much to enjoy in this episode.

The central plot surrounding pearls in Mexican California is strong and rounded. Another pun there, sorry.

The cast perform admirably in their given roles. To the extent that this doesn't have to be an episode of The Saint. This easily could be a standalone feature of some sort.

The production is authentic, if a tad claustrophobic but that lends a certain charm to the piece.

Oh, and the "saintly stranger" I mentioned early - plot twist, it isn't Simon Templar.

Highly recommended.

Before it got into its stride, the early episodes of The Saint were somewhat patchy, sometimes excellent, sometimes poor. This extended meditation on the skin-depth of beauty is decidedly on the poor end of the spectrum.

The plot centres around an ill-fated expedition for pearls in Mexico, led by an old friend of Simon's. The friend, Brad, played without charm by Bob Kanter, is about as cretinous as it is possible for a character to be, just about able to tie his shoelaces without help but no more. It is virtually impossible to imagine how smooth Simon and this schmuck ever got together. Of course the expedition goes wrong, with results closer to mawkish than tragic.

The story is told in flashback, and Simon hardly appears in the first half. We ache for his appearance, but when he does finally turn up, he is crude rather than urbane, with his treatment of Brad's scheming girlfriend particularly scandalous. She is certainly mercenary, but her point of view is completely reasonable - she is castigated by Simon for not accompanying her idiot boyfriend on his hare-brained jaunt to a remote spot in Mexico, as if it is the duty of any girl to indulge her man's whims however moronic. She (being an evil bitch) wants to stay in New York to continue pursuing her career - appalling! And Simon is never witty in his put-downs, only ever rude - completely out of character.

Simon's resolution of the difficulties is supposed to be rough justice - though actually unjust and criminal. And then - unforgivably, since the whole tale is a flashback - we don't get the end of the story.

I think they were trying to be a little bit thought-provoking, but the end result is sexist, sentimental, morally dubious and tedious in the extreme.

But showcases one of the most despicable characters ever portrayed: Joss Hendry. This lowlife would steal the change from a blind beggar's cup and then complain that it still wasn't enough for her Starbucks coffee. Truly horrible.