'Baptiste' Season 2 Finale: It's Never Too Late

After two seasons of Baptiste, the series draws to a close with an ending that's a surprisingly quiet one, considering this season's mystery has been all about giant terrorist attacks. Once again, the episode opens with a flashback (the damn things never end.) This time we're back not 14 months ago, but a few hours before the present-day story begins, as Juszt takes his regular visit to Alex's grave. These are the filler parts we probably didn't need to be shown once Juszt was declared to be Gomorrah, but for completionist's sake and the slow people in the back, we are taken through it.

Emma: With respect and gratitude, Mr. Baptiste, I hope I never have any reason to see you again.

In short order, we witness Juszt placing flowers on Alex's grave, calling him the "real hero of Józsefváros." We see Toby capturing Juszt and hustling him into the dog kennel in Emma's car. If anything, this all underscores how incompetent Juszt was getting caught, his lies all in service of getting out. We get a look at his first meeting with Agoston at the end of Episode 2, confirming Juszt was blackmailing her into behaving because he has a recording that proves she knew about the shooting ahead of time.

But all this is mercifully quick, and soon we're back to Juszt picking up Will and taking him back to the woods, where he uses classic abuse techniques to keep the kid under control. Also, notably, Will admits the recording he made was not ordered by Juszt but of his own doing because he believes he won't survive whatever they're planning. Juszt seems upset about it before letting it all go and announcing that whatever attack he's planning is getting underway. Really? What possibly could it be? Could the hoods who helped him escape from Agonstons be part of it? If so, where are they?

Emma and Baptiste head back out to the farmhouse, the last known location where Will was, hoping to find some clue where he's gone. There's nothing in the farmhouse, so they head in the direction from where Will came from, hoping to figure out where he might be. It's a local refugee center, which it turns out is where Will works and has for the last few months. Juszt is not far behind him in entering, with a car full of supplies that he gives out while casing the joint. Baptiste and Emma drive up, trying to figure out what's happening, and the guard quickly identifies Will. Emma uses her name to get inside, but they only make it as far as the supervisor's office.

Baptiste has also called Zsofia and admitted they'd lost Will. She heads in to find her old colleague Tamás (Péter Jankovics), but before she can do anything, she is arrested by Kovacs for beating up Viktor a couple of episodes back. Baptiste tries calling her from the refugee office. When Kovacs lets her go, Zsofia throws herself on the woman's mercy, and she at least gets them out of the supervisor's office, though by that time, both Juszt and Will are long gone. But as he and Emma sit, Baptiste realizes this camp, so small and out of the way, cannot possibly be the center of an attack.

That's because there is no attack. Like many home-grown terrorists, Juszt blew his load in Józsefváros. The crew that helped him get away from Emma were Agonston's people. He has no one but Will, a walking liability. The "mission" Will did at the camp was to steal whatever weapon-like items he could find from the refugee's rooms, which Juszt then uses to beat Will into a coma before leaving. Baptiste pulls up just as Juszt exits and gives chase, leaving Emma to find her son bleeding out, and pull herself out of her wheelchair and crawl to him to save his life and call for help. At the same time, Baptiste beats Juszt unconscious before collapsing, left with the memories of those he's lost.

When Emma tells Baptiste she wants to tell the truth about Alex, he initially is upset since he willingly lied about the kid's involvement and covered up how he died. But she is determined, even when Nadeem half-heartedly argues it'll come back on him too. As Emma insists, it's never too late to set things right, and maybe one day, when Will wakes up, Emma'll put that right too. Meanwhile, with the leaked recordings between Juszt and Agoston now in the papers proving she knew about Józsefváros, she's ready to start IVF again, assuming her career is over. Except the recordings push her approval ratings higher than ever before.

Juszt is in prison, Will is in a coma, and Emma is reflective as she tells Baptiste to go home to Celia, saying it's never too late. But there's still one loose end. Viktor sits alone in his darkened basement, wearing a demon mask.

But though the fight goes on. Baptiste will not be part of it. He's gone home to Paris, where he's taking cooking classes, like a sensible retiree. Baptiste is healing, retracing his steps to the store where he dithered while their daughter died and buying his grandaughter more toys. He and Celia are raising Sara's daughter, first as a divorced pair; she has custody, he comes to visit. But it's not long before Celia's let go too, and they find their way back as a couple. Emma is right: It is never too late.