I would have enjoyed a quiet, uneventful life.
Two episodes from the second season of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ("Austria, March 1917" and "Petrograd, July 1917", first broadcast respectively on 21st September 1992 and 27th March 1993), later re-edited into a single feature-length episode entitled Adventures in the Secret Service which is the thirteenth instalment of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.
March 1917. Indiana Jones, working as a spy for French military intelligence, is assigned to work with royalty when he embarks on a dangerous diplomatic mission to the palace of Emperor Karl of Austria. Endangering his life and the lives of his royal charges, Indy gambles all in a desperate attempt to bring the war to a quick end. Then, in chaos-ridden Russia, Indy finds his espionage work once again threatening lives when he befriends a group of young revolutionaries and begins to sympathise with their plight. As the country lurches towards further insurrection, Indy finds himself torn between loyalty to his friends and his duty.
This episode contains examples of:
- All for Nothing: The attempt to get Austria to make a separate peace deal with Britain and France (which would have left Germany without its main ally and therefore likely ended the war) comes to nothing when the German government finds out what's going on. When debriefing Indy, Dupree notes that the Kaiser met with Emperor Karl and told him in no uncertain terms to knock it off.
- An Aesop: Provided by the Austrian royal children breaking a toy of theirs by fighting over it, not unlike how the great powers of Europe are fighting each other to the extent where there will soon be nothing left.Empress Zita: Stop this nonsense right now. If you had made an effort to share your toys instead of fighting over them, nobody would have broken it and you could have both played. Instead, each of you ends up with nothing.
- Ambiguous Situation: In the Petrograd episode, it's not entirely clear how Indy managed to meet his new Russian friends (who are simply shown as his friends at the start of the episode), and nor is it made clear how they managed to come up with an unspoken "don't ask, don't tell" agreement about their various activities (what with Sergei and Irena being Bolsheviks and Indy working for the French Embassy, which is naturally hostile to the Bolsheviks who want to take Russia out of the war). They seem to know full well what he does, though, even referring to him as a spy, while he is evidently using them as a source of low-level intelligence.
- Anchored Ship: Indy and Rosa. She's in love with him, but he does not feel the same.
- And Starring: Joss Ackland (as "The Prussian", the unnamed spymaster trying to stop Indy and the princes in the Austria part) gets this credit; no mean feat, given that Christopher Lee's in this one, in addition to which we have lesser-known actors playing major historical figures like Emperor Karl of Austria and Vladimir Lenin.
- Artistic Licence – History: Count Czernin reminds Emperor Karl that he served his predecessor, Franz Joseph, as Foreign Minister for many years. In actual fact, Czernin only became the Austrian Foreign Minister following Karl's accession to the throne in December 1916. Unlike the way he is portrayed here (as a somewhat ineffective diplomat who believes nothing can be done), Czernin was actually very keen to secure a compromise peace with Britain and France as he saw this as the only way to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Empire from falling apart (a view he shared with Karl), but quickly realised that the extent of Austria's dependence on Germany made a truly independent foreign policy impossible.
- Bait-and-Switch: The reveal of the identity of Schultz, the contact who Indy, Sixtus and Xavier are meant to meet on the train, plays out like this — turns out, Schultz is the large lady who shared their compartment after the border crossing. She gives them a tied-up bag which she says they will need for their car journey to Vienna. Turns out to be some cakes, which they enjoy.
- Been There, Shaped History: Indy takes part in the Sixtus Affair
and later gets caught up in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Days July Days]. In the original Old Indy Bookend to the Petrograd episode, he disputes the dating of the photos at the exhibition (the exhibitors claim that they were taken during the October Revolution rather than the July Days), and even claims that a running figure in one of them is, in fact, him. - Call-Back: To the previous episode note .Colonel Dupree: Our agents in Germany confirm there was a gigantic plane at the base in Ahlhorn which was destroyed in some mysterious fire. Due to you, Defense?Indy: Yes sir, but that was actually an accident, sir.
- Call-Forward: This is not the first time Indy gets chased along the roof of a train.
- Cassandra Truth: Indy tries to warn Sergei and Irena that they're literally walking into a trap (armed Cossacks are waiting for the Bolshevik marchers), but they refuse to heed him. Sergei is killed as a result.
- Downer Ending: The episode ends rather abruptly with Sergei getting shot and killed by the Cossacks.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: To make it clear to the viewer that Indy and the princes have reached Vienna, a shot of the Riesenrad (a.k.a. the big Ferris wheel) is shown.
- Foregone Conclusion: Since the historical record shows that Austria did not unilaterally make peace with Britain and France in 1917, the unsuccessful outcome of Indy's efforts to bring this about is not in doubt. There really was a serious attempt at getting Austria to make a separate peace in 1917, though, and Prince Sixtus played a key role in it, but (as per how it is depicted in this episode) it failed when the German government found out.
- High-Class Glass: Worn by the Prussian.
- Historical Domain Character: Hoo boy.
- Princes Sixtus and Xavier of Bourbon-Palma, brothers of Empress Zita of Austria — who chose to fight for France when World War I started, only to end up enlisting in the Belgian Army because the French Army would not accept volunteers who were not French citizens (the Belgians, as viewers of this show will already know thanks to Indy's situation, where much less choosy).
- Emperor Karl and Empress Zita of Austria, both of whom wanted to secure a separate peace for Austria. Although unsuccessful, Karl ended up being
Vindicated by History for this, as he was beatified by the Pope in 2004. We also see two of their children; going by the time setting, they would be the eldest two — Crown Prince Otto and Archduchess Adelheid. - Count Ottokar Czernin, Foreign Minister to Emperor Karl — and played by Christopher Lee, no less.
- Vladimir Lenin. Indy is taken to hear one of his speeches.
- Ignored Expert: At the French Embassy in Petrograd, only Brossard thinks the Bolsheviks pose a real threat — although this is partly justified by the fact that the Petrograd episode is set in July 1917, at which point the Bolsheviks were not powerful enough to overthrow the Provisional Government.
- Indy Hat Roll: Despite it not having been obviously on his person during the jump from the train (what with him being disguised as an Austrian officer at the time), Indy plonks his trademark brown fedora on his head when getting arrested by the Swiss soldiers.
- Indy Ploy: In order to evade the Germans after the contact who would have helped them out of Austria is killed, Indy and the two princes hide in a sewer and (once they get on the train) a ladies' toilet. Then, they knock out two of the German agents to provide the princes with a disguise and papers to get them across the border, while Indy himself leaves Austria by jumping off the roof of the train and getting himself taken prisoner by the soldiers on the (neutral) Swiss side.
- Man Hug: Karl gives one to Indy, and uses it to slip his (second) letter to him without Czernin noticing.
- The McCoy: Sixtus comes across as this when dealing with Count Czernin. Sergei and Irena have shades of this as well, on account of their revolutionary fervour.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Emperor Karl, to an extent — he agrees in principle with the French demands (concerning Alsace, Belgium and Serbia) for his agreeing to a separate peace, and he seems in favour of liberalising the Austrian monarchy.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Princes Sixtus and Xavier may initially come across as The Load, but their mission is a highly dangerous one — and could end the war almost immediately if successful. Also, Emperor Karl and Empress Zita come across as genuine in their desire to end the war, with Karl going out of his way (and against the advice of his Foreign Minister) in order to try and make this come about.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Unimpressed with Czernin's diplomatic letter which basically promises nothing, Karl writes another one agreeing to the French demands which he secretly gives to Indy.
- Shout-Out: A couple.
- Subtly done in the Vienna part, in which we get a view of the Riesenrad as an establishing shot, in addition to which, Indy and the princes hide in a sewer at one point. Emperor Karl lampshades it when he refers to Indy — who arrives with his brothers-in-law Sixtus and Xavier — as "this third man".
- In the original Old Indy Bookend segment of "Austria, March 1917", the mailwoman jokingly compares Indy to James Bond when he comments that he hasn't had this much trouble with the mail since he was a spy in World War One. Which is what prompts him to start telling her the story.
- Surprise Party: Indy's Russian friends pull one of these on him; Rosa spent over an hour walking him around Petrograd so that the others could get the apartment ready.
- Tempting Fate: Emperor Karl, given that he was the last Emperor of Austria.Emperor Karl: It's not just the men in the trenches I want to save. I don't want to go down in history as the last Emperor of Austria. The one who let a thousand-year monarchy crumble through his fingers like dust.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: No mention is made of the last time Indy was in Vienna; Princess Sophie, his first love, is not referred to note .
- Women Are Wiser: Irena certainly thinks so, although she proves to be just as impulsive as Sergei.
