Poirot "The Veiled Lady" #2.2 (1990) (TV)

"The criminals, they fear Hercule Poirot so much that they have repented of their naughty ways and have become citizens of the most upright.", 21 July 2015

Lady Millicent is a woman in distress with the tale of a letter. It's a letter she wrote at a much younger age that could prove embarrassing. A man named Lavington has the letter and is blackmailing Lady Millicent for more than she can possible pay. He informs Poirot that when he returns from Paris, he expects his money or else. Poirot formulates a plan. Realizing Lavington will be out of the country, the world famous detection, Hercules Poirot, will take a stab at becoming a world famous burglar.

The Veiled Lady is a most unusual episode. While you can easily find humor in almost any Poirot episode, The Veiled Lady is played more for laughs than any episode I've seen. In the role of a burglar, Suchet is fantastic. His disguise as a humble Swiss locksmith is the best. And watching he and Hastings in full burgle-mode actually had me chuckling to myself. Very funny stuff! The writing and direction in The Veiled Lady are as good as you'll find in any of the Poirot episodes. The twist near the finale was very nice - even if I did see part of it coming. It's a very enjoyable episode that I can easily rate at least an 8/10.

One more thing I need to mention - I don't think I can remember a Poirot episode where I enjoyed the music as much as I did in The Veiled Lady. As an example, the music that plays as Lady Millicent relays her story to Poirot hit just the right note with me. That particular piece of music perfectly fit the distraught Lady Millicent.

8/10