Entertainment
After 24 Years, Agatha Christie’s ‘Poirot’ Ended With Its Most Disturbing Case
When it comes to detective shows, it’s a genre that’s been explored time and time again. From grittier versions like True Detective to more mind-bending puzzle ones like Sherlock or High Potential, TV has reminded audiences time and time again how satisfying it is to see a crime or murder take place, and retrace steps until it’s solved, and the people responsible are behind bars.
But while there’s no shortage of the genre on TV, there are few detective shows that lasted longer than ITV’s Poirot. First aired in January 1989, the beloved series, which ran for 13 series and 24 years, brought to life one of Agatha Christie‘s most beloved crime sleuths, and entertained millions with its episodic cases. But as a new about Poirot series gets announced (more on that later), Poirot’s stellar final episode continues to be worth remembering, and celebrating.
The Last Episode of ‘Poirot’ Marked a Major Shift
The last episode of Poirot, aka Series 13, Episode 5, titled “Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case,” ended the series with a memorable, perhaps even frustrating twist. After watching David Suchet’s Poirot expose murderers and insist on the importance of justice for more than two decades, the series ends by giving him a case that destroys the moral certainty he held so highly. The episode presents him with a suspect, Stephen Norton, who, instead of being a traditional criminal and killer, has been psychologically manipulating people and making them into killers. When Poirot connects the dots and traces the killings to Norton, he realizes he’s facing one of his most frightening opponents to date: someone who has others commit murders for him, leaving him entirely unscathed. Poirot then knows of Norton’s guilt and involvement, but has virtually no evidence to stop him.
As examples (and bodies) of Norton’s antics continue to pile up, Poirot, frustrated by his powerlessness, and adamant that Norton will continue to cause harm, believes he has no choice than to stop him himself. As a result, while perhaps going against the unwavering, morally firm and rule-following persona he’s been in the past 13 seasons, Poirot becomes a murderer himself. He concocts a plan and kills Norton in cold blood, making his final victory the darkest and most morally unsettling case of the entire series. After that, the series ends with Poirot killing himself in an act of self-sacrifice, unsure whether saving future victims justified what he did.
There’s a New Poirot Series Coming Soon
While the ending of Poirot certainly finished the series on a memorable and character-ending note, the beloved Christie character will be returning to screens. As announced by the BBC last month, the studio is working on a new series titled Hercule, which will see Edward Bluemel, known for My Lady Jane and Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, as a younger, more naive Hercule Poirot in his formative years as a young detective. The series, which started filming this summer, will “take a magnifying glass” into three of Christie’s most celebrated stories, including 1933’s Lord Edgware Dies. “I feel very lucky to have been trusted with such an iconic character who has been played by so many great actors,” Bluemel said in the series announcement on BritBox. “I can’t wait to continue Hercule’s legacy.”
With all that said, while Agatha Christie’s hero Hercule Poirot will certainly continue to be adapted to the big and small screen time and time again, David Suchet’s version in the long-running series Poirot is one of the most notable onscreen versions. With 13 incredible seasons, and a finale that was as shocking as it was entertaining, the series solidified itself as one of the best detective shows of all time. The upcoming BBC series Hercule certainly has some big shoes to fill.
- Release Date
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1990 – 2013-00-00
- Network
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ITV1
- Directors
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Andrew Grieve, Edward Bennett, Renny Rye, Brian Farnham, Andy Wilson, Ashley Pearce, Richard Spence, Andy Wilson, Andrew Piddington, Hettie Macdonald, John Bruce, Ross Devenish, Charles Palmer, Peter Barber-Fleming, Dan Reed, David Moore, James Kent, John Strickland, Ken Grieve, Paul Unwin, Peter Lydon, Sarah Harding, Simon Langton, Tom Clegg
- Writers
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Anthony Horowitz, Nick Dear, David Renwick, Guy Andrews, Douglas Watkinson, Kevin Elyot, Mark Gatiss, Andrew Marshall, Stewart Harcourt, Michael Baker, Bill Craig, David Pirie, David Reid, Peter Flannery, Philomena McDonagh, T.R. Bowen, William Humble, Ian Hallard, Russell Murray, Rod Beacham
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David Suchet
Hercule Poirot
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