"The Labors of Hercules" is one of Poirot's last cases, and it's a wild one.
Here Poirot is on the trail of a master criminal, Marrauscud, who kills without compunction. In the beginning of the episode, Poirot and others are waiting for the masked man to strike, as some famous jewels are in attendance. However, he's too fast for them, and the murder committed strikes Poirot right in the heart.
Some time later, his chauffeur Ted (Tom Austen) is lamenting the loss of his love, Nita, a maid who left to return to Russia when her ballerina mistress (Orla Brady) did. He is so devastated that Poirot promises him that he will find Nita and bring her back to him.
The quest for Marrauscud and Nita converge, and Poirot and others are stuck in a Swiss hotel during an avalanche. There is murder, mayhem, and plenty of the criminal class.
This is a dark, slow story. There is no more jaunty Poirot -- we have ventured a long way from the sunny office, Miss Lemon, and Hastings. This is a very different series now.
The story itself is a little confusing, with red herrings all over the place. And here Poirot sees someone from his past as well -- a criminal who was also one of his great loves. And one more person -- Countess Rossakof, the ballerina who hired Nita.
It wasn't my favorite, but as good as the series and Suchet were, it's hard to keep a series going for so long without a few less than great episodes.
For those who are disappointed that the story wasn't closer to Christie, her family granted the rights with no caveat as to how closely they were supposed to resemble her work, no overseer, no script approval, no nothing. So I wouldn't really blame the producers when, for instance, Miss Marple is shoved into a story where she was not present in the novel, or any of the other things that have been done with her other detectives. And some of them have been pretty outrageous.
This was still interesting, with gorgeous production values. The scenery was magnificent, and the acting excellent, from Poirot and the cast, which included those mentioned and Simon Callow, Rupert Evans, Lorna Nickson Brown, and Tom Austen, etc.
Worth seeing. But oh, to see Poirot's beautiful deco building gleaming in the sunlight again, with Poirot fussing, and Miss Lemon making tea, and Hastings madly in love with another client. Gone forever, I guess.