Recap / Young Indiana Jones And The Tales Of Innocence

You're right, of course. Time doesn't stop. I never before realized what a cruel enemy it is.

An episode from the second season of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ("Northern Italy, June 1918" ^note  timeline changed to November 1917 for the re-edit , first broadcast 17th April 1993) and a new segment specially shot for the home video release ("Morocco, 1917"), edited together to form a single feature-length episode entitled Tales of Innocence which is the sixteenth instalment of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.

November 1917. Indy is undercover in the Italian Alps, stirring discontent among the Austrian soldiers. Away from the front, he has become infatuated with a beautiful Italian girl named Giulietta, but is distraught to learn another man has been wooing her with bigger gifts and more grandiose tokens of affection. He seeks advice from an American ambulance driver, Ernest Hemingway. They form a fast friendship, but it quickly sours when they realize they're competing for the same girl.

Indy's next assignment takes him to North Africa where he is tasked with discovering who is secretly supplying arms to the Berber rebels in Morocco. He is joined by two other Americans — novelist Edith Wharton and journalist Lowell Thomas. Indy and Edith soon find themselves attracted to each other, despite their age difference.

This episode contains examples of:

• Age-Gap Romance: There's definitely a spark between Indy and Edith, even though she's almost four decades older than him. It goes no further than a kiss.
• All for Nothing: Indy and Ernie's friendship quickly comes to an end as they squabble over the same girl, each man spending a fair amount of effort and money in a game of one-upmanship ... only to find that she's actually interested in someone else.
• Anchored Ship: The sexual tension between Indy and Edith is palpable, but they decide not to act on it due to the age gap.
• An Arm and a Leg: While sowing discontent among the Austrians, Indy's disguise is that of a soldier with one arm and one eye.
• Artistic Licence – History: At play thanks to the changing of the timeline of the Northern Italy part to November 1917 for the re-edited TV movie. Ernest Hemingway did not arrive in Italy until June 1918—which was the original dateline for this episode.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Ernie wishes he could get a medal. He does, as a result of getting wounded under enemy fire.
  Indy: How are your legs?
  Ernie: Oh, well, apart from 227 holes and a ton of Austrian shrapnel, I'm dandy. At least so the doc says.
  Indy: Well, you got your medal.
  Ernie: Yeah.
  Indy: First American to be wounded in Italy.
  Ernie: Yeah, I guess that's something.
• Been There, Shaped History: A fairly minor example — Ernest Hemingway only went to Spain because Indiana Jones told him what a great country it was. Indy also gave him an idea for a book title.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Giulietta's little brother Umberto has shades of this.
• Call-Back: Indy getting attacked by a German aeroplane is both this and a Call-Forward, as it's happened before, and will again.
• Call-Forward: Indy declares more than once that after the war, he's going to become an archaeologist. Also, he goes to Venice and has sex with a beautiful woman; not for the last time. No wonder he like Venice.
• Cock Fight: Indy and Ernie are quick to descend to this once they realise that they're competing for the affections of the same young lady. They do actually come to blows at one point — so yeah, Indiana Jones got into a fight with Ernest Hemingway.
• Continuity Nod: When Indy tells Edith about how he came to be in the Foreign Legion, he mentions several previous love interests, including Nancy, Vicky and Giulietta. He even alludes to Mata Hari.
• Continuity Snarl: Although the episode is supposed to be set in November 1917, the French officer Indy meets in the bridging scene in Venice comments on his role in the fall of Damascus, which didn't happen until October 1918.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: When it becomes clear that both of Giulietta's suitors have been invited to her birthday party, her parents start arguing, and the mother makes it clear that the whole mess could've been avoided if she and the father had talked to each other about who they were inviting to the party. The grandmother goes several steps further and makes it clear that they (the parents) should never have got married and had kids in the first place (it's unclear which of them she's the mother of, but it works either way). Viewers may be wondering why Ernie didn't think to mention that he, like Indy, had an Unknown Rival for the affections of a young lady — or why neither Ernie nor Indy thought to mention to the name of their love interest during their discussions.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Happens to both Indy and Ernie.
• Disney Villain Death: Colonel Bonnet dies by falling from a balcony after being unmasked by Indy as the traitor who's been supplying guns to the rebels, although his death means the reason for his treason remains unknown.
• Foreshadowing: Ernie's relationship advice to Indy (basically, buy her more flowers and gifts than your rival) serves as an early indication that Ernie is, in fact, Indy's rival for Giulietta's affections — especially given that we've already seen that the other guy has indeed given her more flowers than Indy has. Later on, when they reconcile while recovering in hospital, Ernie tells Indy to look him up if he's ever in Chicago; this will happen ^note  or rather, had already happened given the Anachronic Order in which the Young Indiana Jones episodes were originally shown — but chronologically, that adventure takes place a couple of years after the war ends .
• Glory Seeker: Ernie comes across as this — he recognises which bravery medals Indy's got by the ribbons, and wishes he could get a medal. In Real Life, Ernest Hemingway was rejected by the US Army on account of his eyesight before volunteering to be an ambulance driver on the Italian front — where (as related here) he was awarded the Italian War Merit Cross after getting wounded while recovering casualties under enemy fire.
• Hidden Depths: Indy's saxophone playing; he says he learned it during his basic training, which we never saw ^note  this part of Indy's life was to have been covered by "Le Havre, June 1916", an episode intended for the abortive third season .
• Historical Domain Character: In this one, Indy encounters Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton and Lowell Thomas.
• Hospital Hottie: Sofia, the nurse who accompanies Indy to Venice. The attraction is mutual, and they act on it.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Ettore (Giulietta's father) makes a bee-line for the bottle when he realises that both of his daughter's suitors have been invited to her birthday party.
• Intrepid Reporter: Lowell Thomas, who is keen to meet with T. E. Lawrence as he thinks his readers would find the Arab Revolt to be more interesting than the stalemate on the Western Front (where he's already been). Indy, who lets slip that he's known Lawrence for years, is sceptical about Thomas's plans to make Lawrence famous and reluctant to help out, mainly because he knows his friend won't much care for it.
  Edith: I don't think I've heard of him.
  Lowell Thomas: Oh, you will. By the time I'm through, the whole world will have heard of him.
  Indy: He'll hate that.
• Legion of Lost Souls: As cover for his mission in Morocco, Indy poses as an officer — "Captain Duval" — of the (French) Foreign Legion. He is intrigued to find that Heinkel, the sergeant of the unit he's travelling with, is German — as are most of the soldiers.
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Discussed by Indy and Edith as he opens up to her about his love life.
• Love Triangle: A type 3 set-up; Indy and Ernie are both competing for the affections of the lovely Giulietta, who as it happens is not particularly interested in either of them.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Edith compares the belly-dancing she's just witnessed as part of Sheikh Kamal's hospitality to dancing back in the US.
  Sheikh Kamal: It did not shock you, Mrs Edith?
  Edith: Shock me? Why should it shock me? It is the custom of your country. We have our customs too. Our dancing may seem more formal, but it can be equally erotic.
• Oh, Crap!: Indy and Ernie have this reaction simultaneously when they both turn up to Giulietta's birthday and realise that they have been competing for the affections of the same girl.
• One Last Smoke: Indy asks for one of these after the Berbers who've taken him prisoner decide to kill him and the other Legionnaires who've survived thus far. It's an Indy Ploy, of course — he already knows that Sergeant Heinkel has schnapps in his water canteen and has a swig before a mook steps forward with a light. The look Heinkel gives Indy shows that he knows exactly what's going to happen next. Sure enough, cue the Man on Fire...
• Real Award, Fictional Character: It is established (by Ernie recognising his medal ribbons) that Indy has been awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire, both of which are real military decorations. In the case of the former, it is unclear whether Indy was awarded the Belgian or French version (the ribbons are similar, and while Indy is an officer in the Belgian Army, he is working for French military intelligence, in addition to which, when he was a corporal he was at times under French command). While the latter is a French bravery decoration, it was sometimes awarded during World War I for wounds received in combat, which is the inference Ernie makes from Indy having this medal (which Indy does not correct).
• Red Herring: Alluded to more than anything else — you might think that Germans serving in the Foreign Legion would have something to do with guns being supplied to Berbers rebelling against the French colonial government in North Africa, given that Germany and France are at war. But you'd be wrong.
• Riddle for the Ages: The reasons for Colonel Bonnet's treachery remain unknown, as he dies at the end of the episode without telling anyone.
• Secret Underground Passage: Indy discovers one leading from the armoury in Sheikh Kamal's palace to a storehouse outside the palace walls, which is how the guns are being snuck out to the Berber rebels.
• Shout-Out: When Ernie makes Indy write a love-letter, the latter quotes Elizabethan poetry...
  Indy: "Beauty, strength, youth, are flowers but fading seen. Duty, faith, love, are roots and ever green."
  Ernie: Yeah, sounds pretty good.
  Indy: It's from an Elizabethan poem by George Peele.
  Ernie: What's it called?
  Indy: "A Farewell to Arms".
  Ernie: Hm. "A Farewell to Arms". [looks thoughtful]. It's a good title.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: A polite variant goes on between Edith Wharton and Sheikh Kamal.
  Sheikh Kamal: I see that you are most intelligent. For a woman.
  Edith: Thank you, sir. I see that you are most courteous. For a man.
• Take a Third Option: Rather than choose between the two Americans, Giulietta wants to marry Alfredo, her childhood sweetheart. Having both been rejected by her, Indy and Ernie bury the hatchet.
• Translation Convention: Averted in the Northern Italy part — when the characters speak German and Italian, that's what we hear, with English subtitles. Then played straight in the Morocco part, as one would assume that much of the dialogue is probably in French, but everyone's actually speaking English.
• Unknown Rival: Indy and Ernie do not initially realise that they are this to each other. Their friendship quickly degenerates into a Cock Fight once they do.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Indy and Ernie get so engrossed in an argument over Giulietta that they fail to notice that they and the Italian soldiers they're with are under attack from German aircraft. It's only when Ernie gets injured that they start to pay attention to what's going on.
• Young Future Famous People: Indy befriends a pre-fame Ernest Hemingway. The two fall out over a girl, but later bury the hatchet once it becomes clear that she's not really interested in either of them.