Episode 2 ended with Mary Jayne agreeing to help the British so that she could get money to transport more refugees out of Marseille.
Transatlantic is a historical drama based on the novel titled The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer. It follows the efforts of Mary Jayne Gold and Varian Fry who helped refugees escaped to the US during the WWII. Starring Gillian Jacobs, Cory Michael Smith, and Lucas Englander.
Transatlantic - Episode 3 Summary & Recap
Visa for the divorced wife
Visa for Max Ernst, a Jewish artist under the Emergency Rescue Committee, eventually arrived. However, the visa is also for his ex-wife whom Max had already divorced. Max do not mind remarrying his wife just to get out of Marseille, and so, Varian got to work to look for his ex-wife.
Not long after, an art enthusiast named Peggy shows up at the villa after hearing Max was there. She saw Max’s painting and absolutely loved it. After hearing that Max’s birthday is coming up, she even planned a party in the villa for Max.
Meanwhile, Mary Jayne was on an operation to help get British military prisoners out. She had to use a lipstick that has a hidden camera to snap their photos. Paul, on the other hand, told Albert about his plan to fight back against the Nazis. He believed there are plenty of weapons buried underneath the city.
Jealousy
Throughout this time, Albert had also heard about Mary Jayne’s involvement with the US consul, Mr. Patterson. He was clearly jealous and even volunteered to talk to Mr. Patterson when the opportunity came up. However, when he was at the US consul’s place, he instead heard the Chief of Police talking to Mr. Patterson about Mary Jayne being a prostitute.
At night, during the party for Max, Albert confronted Mary Jayne about it. Mary Jayne hissed back that Albert had also been sleeping around with refugee women. She eventually told Albert that she is using every tool at her disposal to help the Jewish refugees. The two patched up and danced together that night.
Party shenanigans and aftermath
Albert and Mary Jayne’s tender moments came to a halt when Mr. Patterson arrived at the party. Knowing Mary Jayne had to do what she had to do, Albert left her to help another woman (Mr. Patterson’s secretary) leave the party. This time however, despite Mr. Patterson’s enthusiasm to kiss and sleep with her, Mary Jayne refused his advances.
The angry Mr. Patterson stormed out of the villa. But right before he left, he saw Thomas and Varian kissing. The two men rekindled their connection during the party. The next morning, Mr. Patterson asked his secretary to draft a letter to the US saying Varian had displayed questionable behaviour.
During the party, Max’s ex-wife, Louise, eventually arrived, but was horrified to see Max in a drunken state and flirting with Peggy. At the spur of the moment, Peggy volunteered to marry Max if Louise refused to remarry him.
Meanwhile, Paul and Lisa started thinking about helping the British fight the Nazis. Hearing about this, Mary Jayne gave them information about people they could contact to get in touch with the British military. The British also found Mary Jayne a good spy. Margaux wanted to get Varian more involved, but Thomas refused to bring Varian in this.
Additional Observations From Episode 3
- One of the attendees of Max’s birthday party is another Jewish artist named Marc Chagall. Varian had been trying to persuade Marc to immigrate to the US, but Marc considers France his home.
- During the party, Paul and Lisa danced together and seemed to harbor romantic feelings for one another.