The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 5 Continues the Long Game of Revenge

Edmund continues to play the long game when it comes to revenge on The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 5. He makes it clear that he wants to destroy all of them, which is something he told us early on in this plan. He’s also willing to do some of the dirty work himself to ensure revenge.

After all, he’s the one who sends the message that plays into the stock market. I do feel for other people who would have lost out on money because of this game, but it was fun to see Danglars lose so much when Edmund decided to keep his money locked in — oh, if only Danglars knew!

One of the best parts of all of this was Edmund learning what came of Morrel after he paid off his debts. While the man may have died now, he did live four years in peace thanks to Edmund’s actions, and that is sure to make Edmund happy.

Edmund Tricks Debray and Danglers on The Count of Monte Cristo

After putting money into Danglars’ bank and requesting a 300,000 francs advance, Edmund decides to get to work on destroying Danglars’ fortune. He manages to get to a telegraph location, drugs the steward, and then sends a message about a brewing war with the King of Spain. That leads to Debray getting a message to Danglars to drop all Spanish stock since it’s going to collapse.

Danglars is only powerful thanks to insider knowledge, and that comes thanks to his wife Hermine, who is also having an affair with Debray, as well as Villefort. Of course, it’s not Edmund who gets the blame, since Danglars has no idea he was involved. Danglars blames Debray for the bad suggestion that leads to him losing a considerable amount of money.

This is certainly a test of this alliance. After all, Danglars makes it clear that he will end the affair between Debray and Hermine if Debray doesn’t repay half of the losses. I’m impressed he was willing to settle for half!

Villefort Has His Suspicions About the Count

Out of everyone involved, Villefort has a legitimate reason for questioning everything about The Count of Monte Cristo. After all, he knew that Edmund didn’t die. He also likely knows that Edmund escaped the prison and is still somewhere on the loose. With around 20 years passing at this point, it does allow for Villefort not to recognize Edmund at first, but feel like there is something familiar there.

So, it’s not surprising that he’s getting the police to look into Edmund. Nothing untoward is coming up, though, so the police can’t do much. That doesn’t stop Villefort from using his power to bribe the cop to keep an eye on Edmund.

Well, Edmund can’t be found out. He can trust Jacapo not to say anything under torture, because Jacapo doesn’t actually know the full truth about his identity. Caderousse, on the other hand, could break. So, Caderousse is no longer allowed at the villa. Isn’t that going to set off some alarm bells?

It doesn’t seem too much, and Caderousse clearly knows that he did wrong in the first place, so he’s not going to go off running with all the secrets. He still helps Edmund by getting word that Hermine and Debray are having an affair. I will say, there are a lot of people sleeping with people they probably shouldn’t be, and pillow talk gossip is helping substantially more than Edmund likely thought possible.

However, Edmund will need to keep a close eye on Villefort. This could end badly if Villefort figures out who he is.

Fernand Becomes the Next Target

While Edmund initially focused on Villefort and Danglars, he turns his attention more to Fernand now. It’s time to ruin his life, and he can do that while helping someone else get her own revenge. After learning that Fernand was responsible for the murder of Ali Pasha, Edmund buys Haydee’s freedom. She was the daughter of Ali Pasha and saw the murder happen, so she could point out the man who did it and get revenge.

Sure enough, Fernand was the man who killed her father. The plot is on.

However, while all that is going on, Mercedes decides she wants to talk about gossip. She has heard that The Count and Haydee live in the same apartments, and people will start gossiping. That’s not something Edmund is concerned about, and he quickly changes the subject to find out about how happily married Mercedes is.

She’s not, but it’s not like she feels like she can do anything about it. Now if only The Count was the man from the past she believes he is — but that’s impossible, because that man is dead. This is the relationship I’m surprised hasn’t led to Edmund’s identity being outed. How little did Mercedes love Edmund if she couldn’t see who he was 20 years later? Sure, some things have changed, but not enough for the love of his life not to recognize him.

The end of The Count of Monte Cristo brings a bigger twist. Jacapo has headed back to Italy to bring Luigi Vampa to Paris. While the brigand leader doesn’t want to leave, he may have no choice but to repay the debt of Edmund for saving Peppino, Vampa’s cousin, from execution. Edmund is always multiple steps ahead.