One of the best Secret Army episodes but after numerous views I still don't understand Max's actions. Why did Max inform on Francois? He knew he needed to kill Francois but informing Kessler put himself and the whole of Lifeline, which he was aiming to take over, under threat. The risks just don't make sense.
Francois would be using false papers, and Lifeline members always made it clear that dying while trying to escape was a better option than getting caught with an airman, being tortured and then executed but what if Francois had only been wounded, or arrested without any chance of escape? It is very likely, given his youth and inexperience, that he might have been forced to talk which would have meant the end of lifeline and everyone associated with it, including Max. Also the captured airman at the station would have known all about the communists who sheltered him, why not just kill Francois?
Yes, of course it made dramatic tv, one the most emotionally powerful moments of the whole series, Natalie's reaction lives long in the memory, but the holes in the plot are surprising.
Francois would be using false papers, and Lifeline members always made it clear that dying while trying to escape was a better option than getting caught with an airman, being tortured and then executed but what if Francois had only been wounded, or arrested without any chance of escape? It is very likely, given his youth and inexperience, that he might have been forced to talk which would have meant the end of lifeline and everyone associated with it, including Max. Also the captured airman at the station would have known all about the communists who sheltered him, why not just kill Francois?
Yes, of course it made dramatic tv, one the most emotionally powerful moments of the whole series, Natalie's reaction lives long in the memory, but the holes in the plot are surprising.
