Breaking a man out of prison, a couple of goons are ambushed. They are frightened enough of their boss to fear telling him of their failure, and consider running away. Their boss is Steed…
Keel is lured out of his surgery to attend the wounded escapee, in what is an enormous coincidence, involving our two heroes in the same plot independently… However, Keel’s clever list of supplies for Carol while under duress includes “Phonum Equus” which certainly makes up for it, and had me giggling for the rest of the act. “It’s Latin. It’s a sterilising solution.” (Steed’s take: “Hardly Herodotus” but Carol is smart enough to explain it to him.)
Steed has not yet acquired his debonair capability to get the better of any disputation with just a brolly:
“You’re letting them get away, are you?”
“I’m not fighting a revolver with an umbrella!”
Steed claims his interest is because the insurance company paid out and want to know where the diamonds went. It’s not clear why this is a concern for his department… Despite the pedestrian gangster plot line, some of the dialogue is rather good.
“What kind of fool do you take me for?”
“I haven’t decided yet”
The thugs take Carol, she’s scared. She does have a fairly grim time in this episode; being held at gunpoint (twice) and Lucy Briggs-Owen gives a terrific performance. In response Keel tells them what they want to know over the phone, without any plan to get Carol back. Steed doesn’t try to stop him: Anthony Howell gives Keel a very panicky edge here. When Carol gets put up at gunpoint again, she is rescued by amateur wrestler “at the weekend” taxi driver; easily the best twist in the episode!