Love And Capital
There’s four weeks until Oktoberfest and episode 3 of Oktoberfest: Beer and Blood begins with Prank worrying that everything is moving too slowly. As he hurries the workers up, things take a turn for the worst when a crate drops and falls on a man standing below. Coldly brushing this off as another “casualty”, Prank’s brewery plans continue as scheduled. Stuck in bed, Clara’s sickness takes a turn for the worst as she ends up weakened and losing her appetite. Colina tends to her and realizes she’s definitely pregnant. This could cause big problems – especially given Stifter is trying to maneuver is way into dating Clara. Desperate times call for desperate measures – and Clara is taken out to try and deal with her situation before it’s too late. Prank requests a meeting with Stifter to try and work through their issues. Face to face, Prank scoffs at Stifter’s disdain of a “foreigner” (that being him) arriving and aggressively making moves. As the conversation turns heated, Stifter suggests they team up together and allow his beer to be sold within the Oktoberfest tent. This would go against the committee of course but net him a cool slice of the profits – 10% to precise. Before they shake on it, Stifter also wants to wed his daughter Clara. On the back of their meeting Prank visits Golgauer and requests he take out Stifter for him next. Despite their best attempts at gaining help, the Hoflinger family learn that the King isn’t going to help them. They’re on their own. Ludwig lets his feelings be felt through his sketches. Maria meanwhile can’t stop seeing Ignatz everywhere. And Roman finds himself face to face with Clara once more. When Clara returns home that evening, she finds Prank there questioning Colina about her whereabouts. Rain-soaked, Clara stands her ground and doesn’t reveal where she’s been or who she’s been with. Believing she now needs to marry, Prank decides to take up Stifter’s deal but wants her decision by the morning. She tells her to sleep on it and walks away… until she suddenly blurts out that she’s pregnant. While Ludwig enjoys the company of those around him – including getting pretty cozy with a male “friend” – police arrive and don’t take kindly to Ludwig’s sketches. With batons in hand, they start beating him down. In the back, Maria looks over the sketches and notices what Ludwig has been drawing. In the morning, Clara agrees to the terms and he heads off to meet Stifter. After a brief moment of awkward silence, Stifter embraces his “father-in-law” and decides he should be wed on the first day of Oktoberfest. Meanwhile, Maria arrives to pick her bloodied son up from jail. After slapping him across the face, she burns his drawings in front of him. Seeking refuge with his brother, Ludwig and Roman discuss their changing fates. There, Roman admits that Clara is pregnant. Getting his anger out, he blames Ludwig for what happened. Only, their Mother happens to be listening to the whole conversation from afar. Desperate to get her own back on Prank, she heads off to see a reporter with “shocking” news. This news comes in the form of Clara’s pregnancy which is front and centre on the papers the next morning. This will almost certainly cause problems for Prank going forward now, especially with Stifter. Forced into action, Prank arrives before Maria and apologises for his actions. As they sit and speak plainly, Maria outright calls him a murderer. Things are tense between them to say the least and it ends with quite the stalemate. While Clara runs away from home, Prank seizes his opportunity and beats Roman to a bloody pulp using brass knuckles. Dragging him outside, he leaves the boy in a heap on the floor.
The Episode Review
The rivalry between the Prank’s and the Hoflinger’s is really starting to heat up now. The truth about Clara is revealed and everything spills over into a really messy and shocking bit of action at the end. This fight is far from over and I’d imagine more blood will be spilled before this show is over. On top of that, we’ve also got the Stifter situation and the upcoming Oktoberfest which both look like they may cause a good bit of chaos going forward. Quite what will happen next remains to be seen but one thing’s for sure – the second half to this series should be quite the dramatic affair.
