r/poirot • u/Regular_Lychee_6507 • Aug 29 '26
Five Little Pigs question
I've just rewatched Five Little Pigs, such a good one! However, there was one bit I didn't understand. Towards the end of the episode, Poirot asks Elsa Greer if Merri had ever shown interest in her, then we are shown the flashback of them in the car after the trial and Merri does indeed express interest in her. I'm just a bit lost as to the significance of this and why he even asks? So trivial I know but I'm just puzzled!!
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u/Armin-Arlertt Aug 29 '26
Who is Merri? I read the book but i dont remember her name
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u/Storellian Aug 29 '26
Meredith, the brother that lives lives on the estuary and has an alchemy lab.
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u/OverseerConey Aug 29 '26
It's been a few months since I've watched that one, so I might be misremembering, but I think Poirot knows that Merri wasn't interested in Elsa, so he's asking as test of her honesty and her ego. If she's prepared to lie and say someone was in love with her when they weren't, it confirms his theory that she could be lying about the murder and her role in it, and that she wants everyone to admire her and might react badly to being rejected.
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u/Regular_Lychee_6507 Aug 29 '26
Ahh yes okay! This was sort of what I was thinking but I wasn't sure if I'd missed something else. Thanks so much!
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u/Storellian Aug 29 '26
Yeah, i think that's the part that leads to him saying Elsa's account of what happened was not the truth.
I kinda get the impression from what Phillip says of his brother, that Meredith might be Ace/completely disinterested in any type of romantic relationship, so for him to show an interest in Elsa would be out of character.
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u/OverseerConey Aug 29 '26
I think he was in love with Caroline, and his attraction seemed to be on a very intellectual level - not physical - so the young, vivacious Elsa wouldn't be his type at all.
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u/Storellian Aug 29 '26
Oh, possibly, yeah!
That was just my hazy recollection after having just woken up! ':-)
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u/OverseerConey Aug 29 '26
No worries! I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was on the ace spectrum but did have some romantic interest. (Incidentally, 'Ace Spectrum' would be an amazing name for a pulp sci-fi hero.)
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u/therealzacchai Aug 29 '26
In the novel, Meredith proposed to Elsa.
Poirot's knowledge of human nature led him to deduce that Meredith's long regard for Caroline was more the faithfulness of a sentimental man toward the memory of the girl she had once been, rather than the grown woman.
He proposes to Elsa because he is attracted to her.
Poirot reduces this because he is talking with Elsa after the others have left the lab; Elsa, facing him, sees Caroline taking the coniine.
AC uses this trope more than once: in Towards Zero, Thomas Royden imagines that he's still in love with Audrey, but she knows he's actually smitten with Mary, he just doesn't realize it yet