Drops of God season 1 episode 3 recap & review: Duel

Open Go TV / April 28, 2023 / Reviews

In the third episode of Drops of God, Camille and Issei must give their answers to Alexandre’s lawyer to conclude the first test. The episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

There are just five days left for Camille to find the right wine before she has to give her answer to Alexandre’s lawyer. Camille and Thomas identify the different aromas from the wine that Camille was made to taste during the test.

Thomas discusses these with Philippe, who tells Thomas and Camille about a red wine that had celery root in it. This wine, Lignage, was made by André Gigon, but the man went bankrupt in 1996, so it is not produced anymore, and the last bottle was auctioned off to Americans.

Camille decides to pay André Gigon a visit, and Thomas joins her. There, Gigon’s son tells them that they sold every bottle, so they cannot make her taste the wine, but he informs them that the bottle they are looking for could be Lignage, vintage 1987.

On the other hand, Issei follows his grandfather’s command and clears out his office. He also meets a journalist, Yurika Katase, and tells her that he is officially withdrawing from the contest.

However, the journalist accuses him of backing out because he is scared of losing to Alexandre’s daughter and reminds him of his love for wine, which makes him rethink his decision.

Camille bids goodbye to Thomas and leaves for Tokyo for the conclusion of the first test. In Tokyo, Luca introduces her to his nephew, Lorenzo, who wants to be a sommelier.

When Camille tells Luca that the wine she tasted could be Lignage, Domaine Gigon, 1987, he admits that he has a bottle but cannot open it when she is not even sure that it is the one, as it costs 12,000 euros.

However, Mr. Matsubara, a rich businessman, is coming to Luca’s restaurant tonight, and if they manage to convince him to open that bottle, Camille can be their server and will get the chance to smell the wine.

Lorenzo and Luca’s employee, Miyabi, try to teach Camille how to serve wine, but she already knows everything because her father taught her at a very young age. Later, Miyabi convinces Mr. Matsubara to buy that particular bottle of wine.

Camille first secretly smells the wine, and once the clients leave, she tastes the remaining drops of wine in the bottle. To her disappointment, Lignage, Domaine Gigon, is not the wine she is looking for.

Thomas calls Camille and asks her not to give up. She admits to him that she misses him, and due to this, Thomas comes to Tokyo to support her.

Meanwhile, Issei does not withdraw, and his grandfather asks his mother to try to talk to him nicely for once. She then approaches Issei’s father and asks him to convince Issei to withdraw, even though he does not agree with her.

Since his opinion gets rejected, Issei’s father repeats his mother’s words to him, which makes Issei angry. He calls his father a coward for letting his mother treat him like this.

An epiphany helps Thomas reach the conclusion that it was truffle’s aroma that Camille recognized in the wine, as the celery root aroma becomes truffle year after year. This gives them two key elements and narrows down their search.

Lorenzo teaches Camille how to distinguish between wines on the basis of old and new barrels, but she will be on her own when it comes to finding the vintage, as they cannot help her with that.

Issei is called to Alexandre’s house for the test. He sees an old picture there and takes it with him. Camille and Issei are made to taste the wine again before they are asked to give their final answers.

Both of them write the same answers, but at the last minute, Camille changes her vintage, but it turns out to be wrong, and Issei wins the first test. When this news reaches Issei’s mother, she calls his father and berates him for failing to convince Issei.

She also does not show up for the dinner that he had been planning for weeks. Issei’s father decides to stand up for himself. He puts his car keys, wallet, watch, and even his wedding ring in an envelope and asks someone to deliver it for him before walking out of the restaurant.

Review

This episode was rather light-hearted as compared to the previous ones. It is not as intense as the other ones, and it even has a little humor that makes it entertaining.
Camille’s indecision before she has to write her answer is represented in a very relatable manner. Once again, the show depicts the inner workings of Camille’s brain that allow the audience to experience everything with her.
Even the representation of the burst of aromas that Camille experiences are depicted through colors to employ the audience’s sense of sight in place of their sense of taste or smell in order to make them understand Camille’s experience.