'The Red Shadows' Episode 2: Clara's DNA Test Results Are In

Image by Acorn TV / Sundance Now

Episode 2 of “The Red Shadows” (“Les Ombres Rouges”) is now available on Sundance Now. The compelling thriller continued its mysterious plunge into a family drama intertwined with a horrible crime. Before getting into any spoiler territory, let us do a slight overview of the facts so far.

Police detective Aurore Garnier (Nadia Farès) believes that after 20 years, she has found her younger sister, Clara. She is supposedly a mystery woman working in a café in Italy, and Aurore went to her with her suspicions. Bolstering Aurore’s case is that the woman’s name is also Clara (Manon Azem). An excited Aurore shared enough with Clara in the premiere of “The Red Shadows” to get her attention.


Spoilers for “The Red Shadows” Episode 2 are beyond this point!

Is Clara really Aurore’s Clara Garnier? The drama saw Clara waste no time returning to France, where she gave her maybe-grandfather quite a sight. He instantly recognized her. From there, the reactions varied in the French-language series’ second installment. Episode 2 hinged on the DNA test that would reveal whether Clara was, in fact, the Garnier’s Clara.

Well, the results are in, and Clara is Aurore’s younger sister. That does not mean “The Red Shadows” did not have a twist in store for Episode 2. It turns out that Clara and Aurore are solely biological sisters through their mother. They do not share the same father. Yep. Clara and Aurore’s late mom was cheating on Aurore’s biological dad.

“The plot thickens!” No, it really thickens! Grandpa Garnier was already looking pretty suspicious on “The Red Shadows,” and this certainly does not hurt the case against him. He has a motive! Plus, viewers learned that Aurore’s mom had a wealthy brother, who provided the ransom money.

It seems possible that Grandpa Garnier was strapped for cash, had his granddaughter kidnapped, and ransomed her to get money. Or did Aurore’s mom’s secret boyfriend have something to do with all of this? “The Red Shadows” has a list of suspects that is quite extensive, and Episode 2 did not help whittle it down much.

I am just impressed that with four episodes to go, “The Red Shadows” could wrap all of this up! If Grandpa Garnier found out about the affair, he may have wanted his daughter-in-law gone. He could have set the kidnapping up to solve his money problems and killed his daughter-in-law under the guise of a “ransom gone wrong.”

Another thought that crept in involved Clara potentially being manipulated all of this time, and working with someone to infiltrate the family. She is obviously the real Clara. My theory is that she may have known that all along. Hence, she could be working with someone within the family to an unknown end.

Given the way, Grandpa Garnier reacted to Clara’s presence in his office and her casual response to seeing it and him, “The Red Shadows” raised some red flags. There may be more to that story than the surface implies. The most substantial clue is that whoever raised Clara all this time, let her keep her name. Why?

You would think the kidnappers would want her to have as little of a grip on her past as possible. Whatever Clara’s play is in this game, she clearly has some fragmented memories of her past. Were they there all along? Or did they surface when Aurore brought it all back? “The Red Shadows” has four more episodes to tell viewers!

Another twist seems inevitable at this point, and I look forward to hopefully discovering who Clara’s biological father is. He, or the mother’s brother (Clara and Aurore’s uncle), may hold the key to the mystery. Remember, there is also the sale of the Garnier family’s hotel to consider. The timing indicates Clara’s reemergence could be tied to it.

How does the hotel fit in? Was Grandpa Garnier involved in the kidnapping, and is Clara who she seems to be? New episodes of “The Red Shadows” (“Les Ombres Rouges”) premiere Thursdays on Sundance Now. There are now four episodes left, so stay tuned! Eclectic Pop’s coverage will continue!