Elise Wassermann

Elise Wassermann
First appearance	Episode 1
Last appearance	Present
Portrayed by	Clémence Poésy
Information
Occupation	Commander in Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire
Significant other(s)	Gaël, Eryka Klein

Commander Elise Wassermann is a fictional character, and the one of the two main protagonists in the joint British and French television series The Tunnel (alongside DCI Karl Roebuck, played by Stephen Dillane), a remake of the Swedish/Danish television series The Bridge. She is portrayed by actress Clémence Poésy. The character is a counterpart for the character Saga Norén, played by Sofia Helin.

Character

Elise starts the series as a Capitaine in the DCPJ, but later advances to the rank of Commander following the promotion of her superior, Olivier Pujol. As with her Swedish counterpart, Elise is noted for demonstrating traits consistent with Asperger Syndrome, such as difficulty in understanding or recognising social concepts such as empathy, sarcasm and lying, as well as an above-average intellect, a good eye for detail and a reputation for thoroughness.^[1] As with Saga, she regularly engages in casual sex, has a difficult history (in Elise's case, she lost her twin sister in a drowning accident when she was a child), and drives a Porsche (in Elise's case, a Porsche 944). However, there are some differences between the two characters' personalities; Elise is less guarded about her emotions and has less difficulty in forming social relationships (including some romantic ones).^[2] As she spends more time with her British colleague, Karl Roebuck (Dillane), he coaches her through social scenarios where she normally struggles, and makes more allowances for her when she messes up.

Critics generally praised both Poésy and Dillane's chemistry, with Rebecca Smith of the Telegraph comparing their relationship to that of the protagonists of Broadchurch,^[3] and James Stansfield of Den of Geek observing that it created a "powerful" finale.^[4]

Throughout the series, Elise does not show much interest in relationships, instead preferring to pick men up for casual sex. In series 2, she starts off the series with a boyfriend, Gaël, who has just moved in with her, but he subsequently leaves her when she shows more commitment to her work. Later in the series, Elise develops a close relationship with Eryka Klein, a German woman who worked alongside a Polish detective killed in the aeroplane crash she was investigating, after discovering that she was one of the children born into the notorious Colonia Dignidad colony in Chile, where she had lost her twin brother. Ultimately, Elise falls in love with her, which compromises her investigation.

Poésy has stated that she deliberately avoided watching the original Swedish series from which her character originates, in order to avoid having any outside influences on her portrayal of the character, and that the relationship between Elise and Karl was her favourite part of the series. On her character, she explains that she views her as being "so fragile and pure" and "like a kid." ^[5]

Storyline

Series 1

Elise first meets DCI Karl Roebuck when a body is discovered at the mid-point of the service side of the Channel Tunnel, with the French side occupied by a controversial French politician, Marie Villeneuve, and the British side occupied by a Welsh prostitute named Gemma Kirwan, who had disappeared several months previously. Their relationship gets off to a frosty start when Elise ignores all social niceties and rudely tells Karl that the operation falls under French jurisdiction (before they discover the second body). As the investigation begins, Elise's eye for detail quickly helps to identify the slaughterhouse where the victims were dismembered, and clear the fascist farmer who owned it as a suspect, when she realises that he doesn't understand English. However, her lack of social skills and bluntness quickly get on Karl's nerves, particularly when she makes an insensitive comment to an elderly woman that they are interviewing when the second "truth" occurs. In turn, she comes to find his sarcasm and willingness to bend procedure to be obstructive, when he allows another suspect, Charlotte Joubert, to leave when Elise was about to interview her.

Over the course of the investigation, however, Karl and Elise develop a much closer relationship, both professionally and personally, as her superior intellect and dedication to the job complements his professionalism and powers of persuasion. In addition, Karl begins to care for Elise when she is shot by the Truth Terrorist - the alias that the killer has given himself - while trying to save Jean-Claude Delplanque, an elderly victim of his "second truth," and later when she offers him support when his marriage begins to take strain as a result of his infidelity. However, it takes a severe knock when Karl discovers that his teenage son, Adam, spent the night at Elise's apartment, and is only barely reassured when she explains that she did not actually engage in physical intimacy with him. She later refuses to spend time with Adam when she realises that it has upset his father, and at one point joins Karl's family for dinner. In addition, it is shown that, despite her outwardly unemotional demeanour, Elise continues to be haunted by the death of her twin sister, whose photograph she keeps on her desk. This is seen when she rescues fourteen-year old Sophie Campbell, a runaway who had inadvertently run into TT while staying in the home of a mentally ill man who went on to perpetrate TT's "third truth," by tackling her off a pier and into the water beneath. When Karl notices the effect that it has had on her, Elise reveals that her sister had drowned when the two had been dragged out to sea by a riptide when her parents had taken them on a beach holiday, and that they had only managed to rescue her.

When a potential lead points to a former French policeman, Fabien Vincent, as TT, Elise organises an ambush to try and take him into custody, but it proves a failure, much to her anger. The investigation is also hindered by the DCRI whom Vincent has been working for in their investigation into a suspected gun-running enterprise. Subsequently, Elise is kidnapped by Vincent and his colleague, so that he can answer her questions and prove his innocence without being taken into custody. They are ambushed by gangsters seeking to kill Vincent, and he manages to take her to safety. When TT is identified as Karl's former colleague, Kieran Ashton, whose wife he had had an affair with, Elise agrees to look after Adam while Karl goes to rescue his wife, who has been placed in a trap by Ashton. When she learns of his recent conversations with his former girlfriend in South Africa, as well as the circumstances around the death of Ashton's wife, Elise realises that Adam is the target, just as he has snuck out to meet his girlfriend. She is unable to get to him before he is kidnapped, and bears witness as a distraught Karl becomes aggressive and snaps at everyone. While he searches for his son alone, Elise has an idea; she tracks Fabien Vincent down and gets details on a property that the organisation that he and Ashton had worked for, Peloton, had used as a safe house. A quick search of the house leads to the discovery of Adam's body. Elise goes to the Tunnel, where Karl is confronting Ashton. She attempts to talk Karl down by informing him that they have found Adam and that he is in hospital. When she approaches, however, he sees evidence that she has been crying, and deduces that his son is dead. Elise manages to talk Karl down, and subdues Ashton. With the investigation over, Karl decides to retire from the police force, and he and Elise bid each other farewell.

References

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