Line #55 Recap/SharpeS3E2SharpesBattle


1	[[quoteright:322:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sharpes_battle_7.jpg]]
2	''[[center:[[AC:September 1813\
3	Wellington is chasing Napoleon\
4	back through the Pyreness into France.\
5	A final victory seems close at hand,\
6	but the French are fighting a fierce\
7	rear-guard action and each yard of\
8	ground gained is paid for\
9	in British blood...]]]]''
10	\
11	On the Duke of Wellington's orders, Sharpe must train a unit of incompetent irish soldiers (parade soldiers in spanish service made of irish exiles) in time to battle Brigadier General Loup, a French officer who has sworn revenge against Sharpe.
12
13	!!Tropes that appear in this episode:
14	* AdaptedOut: Pierre Ducos and Fr. Sarsfield do not appear in the film.
15	* AdaptationalHeroism: Lord Kiely is much more heroic (and likeable) than his book counterpart (who, notably, is ''not'' married; and, rather than the TV version's RedemptionEqualsDeath, is instead DrivenToSuicide).
16	* AdaptationalVillainy: The television adaptation was written before the novel had been finished, resulting in a vastly different second half. So while Lord Kiely gets a much more sympathetic treatment in the adaptation and dies a heroic death (rather than blowing his brains out on realising he's [[DirtyCoward a bit rubbish]]), SpearCarrier Guardsman O'Rourke, whose main contribution in the novel is to say his name when Sharpe asks him, gets turned into a TurnCoat who [[KickTheDog kills a couple of likeable characters]] mostly [[ForTheEvulz because they're there]].
17	* AFatherToHisMen: Despite being an unabashed war criminal, Loup goes out of his way to protect his own soldiers and does all he can to save a pair of them from execution at Sharpe's hands. His savagery to his foes but fierce protectiveness of his men plays into his wolf motif.
18	-->'''Loup''': I have promised my men, Major, that I would ''never'' desert them. Don't make me break my promise.
19	* AnimalMotifs: Loup's is wolves. Loup is French for wolf, his men wear grey uniforms, have wolf sashes and capes, and leave wolf heads at massacres.
20	* AndThisIsFor: Harper when he stabs a traitorous Irish soldier who murdered Perkins.
21	-->'''Harper''': This one's for Perkins!(stabs once) This one's for Ireland! (stabs again) And this one's for me. (stabs a third time)
22	* AppleOfDiscord: Loup's intent is to sow dissent among the Irish soldiers by printing and distributing false newspapers that speak of atrocities against the Irish people.
23	* BerserkButton: For Harper, don't be an Irishman who can't keep his gun in half-decent order. Ain't that right, O'Rourke?
24	-->'''Harper''': I'm ashamed and disgusted, so I am, that an Irishman can't keep his gun in half decent order. Jesus, you wouldn't kill an Englishman with that, never mind a bloody Frenchman!
25	* BestServedCold: Loup wants revenge on Sharpe after Sharpe ordered the execution of two of his men and Loup had sworn to his men that he would protect them.
26	* BigBad: Brigadier General Guy Loup.
27	* BigEater: Colonel Runciman, to the point where other soldiers actually take bets on how much he can eat.
28	* BreakTheBadass: When Perkins is killed, Harper, Hagman and Harris to comfort him in his dying moments, these three hardened soldiers are reduced to ManlyTears by the event, and Harper promptly forgets about everything else to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against his murderer. Sharpe was elsewhere at the time, but the look on his face when he comes back and sees Perkins' body cradled in Harper's arms also qualifies.
29	* CallBack: To ''[[Recap/SharpeS1E2SharpesEagle Sharpe's Eagle]]''; Sharpe and Harper drill the Irish soldiers to fire three rounds a minute, just like Sharpe did for Simmerson's command.
30	* CanonForeigner: Lady Kiely didn't exist in the books.
31	* CavalryBetrayal: Subverted. O'Rourke and his men are just pretending to be TheCavalry. The ''real'' cavalry shows up less than five minutes later.
32	* ChekhovsSkill: The fact that O'Rourke doesn't keep a gun in half-decent order winds up biting him in the ass when he comes face to face with Harper during the climax.
33	-->'''Harper''': [[PreMortemOneLiner A good soldier always looks after his weapon, boy.]]
34	* ColonelBadass: Kiely has the rank of colonel and he is a deadly combatant.
35	* CompressedHair: Dona Juanita's hair is typically up in curls, similar to [[ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie Annie]], but is shown to be more than waist-length during the night.
36	* CurbStompBattle: Harper's RoaringRampageOfRevenge. First he blows away the minor traitors. Then when O'Rourke charges him, he sidesteps, removes the bayonet, and stabs him.
37	* DeathByAdaptation: Perkins survives in the book. Here, he's not so lucky. In fact, the novel was his first appearance.
38	* DeathByIrony: Perkins is the only Chosen Man left standing in a melee where the rest are gunned down. Then it turns out the Chosen Men were FakingTheDead. In the ensuing shootout, Perkins is murdered by O'Rourke, making him the first Chosen Man to die onscreen.
39	* DefiantCaptive: Lady Kiely. She smashes a bottle on Loup's head and threatens to slit her own throat if he tries to rape her.
40	-->"You will not defile me, sir. On my child's life, you will not."
41	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Poor young Perkins dies in Harper's arms, surrounded by his comrades, after being gutstabbed.
42	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation:
43	** Kiely is taken from behind by Loup and fatally stabbed in contrast to committing suicide in the book.
44	** Likewise, Loup is stabbed by Sharpe as they duel in a dungeon instead of being drowned in a river in the book.
45	* DuelToTheDeath: Kiely's first combat scene involves challenging one of Loup's men to single combat, which Kiely wins.
46	* EvilCounterpart: Dona Juanita to Teresa, as a female RebelLeader who is in a relationship with a British officer, but is helping the French.
47	* EvilLaugh:
48	** Wellington and Munro have one after they decided to put Sharpe in charge of training for the unwanted irish soldiers.
49	** Munro has another one when Sharpe tells him that he once dealt with a royal bodyguard and killing the one who they were supposed to protect! Munro: "Capital, capital. We're sending a regicide to take on a royal bodyguard."
50	* EyeScream: Loup's left eye appears to be dead.
51	* FakingTheDead: The entire squad during the final battle.
52	* FatBastard: {{Averted}}. Runciman is more or less harmless, pleasant enough to be around, and fairly well-meaning, which leads to Sharpe taking an odd liking to him. Granted, it helps that his fairly mild nature makes him easy for Sharpe to manipulate to his own ends, but even still.
53	* AFatherToHisMen: Loup promised to protect his men and is ''very'' angry when Sharpe orders the execution of two of them.
54	* FauxAffablyEvil: Dona Juanita when she informs Kiely of his wife's capture and forces him to comply with her and Loup.
55	* FrontlineGeneral: Colonel Runciman tries to be this, insisting that, as a general, he has to lead the men in battle. He only heads to bed when Sharpe promises to wake him.
56	* GangstaStyle: O'Rourke holds his pistol sideways when he murders Jenkins.
57	* {{Gasshole}}: Colonel Runciman.
58	-->"'Let the effusions out', Sharpe. That's what my doctor says."
59	* GloryHound / GeneralFailure: Kiely, a nobleman with no heir, who is hungry to esteem his family name with prestige and happy to throw his soldiers' lives – as well as his own – away in pursuit of it; his incompetence in the field causes deaths and desertions. Contrasted with the villain, surprisingly, who while a ''much'' worse person, genuinely cares for his men and proves a far more cunning war leader.
60	* GoodOldWays: Kiely is a strong believer in the glory of past war.
61	* HeavySleeper: Colonel Runciman manages to sleep through a battle.
62	* HeroKiller: Loup is the first antagonist whose schemes lead to the death of one of the Chosen Men: Perkins. He also gunned down Harper (this turns out to be FakingTheDead) and stabs Kiely to death.
63	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Loup:
64	-->"The chief weapon of the guerilla, Major, is horror. Horror! So, I make sure that I am more horrible than my enemy."
65	* HonorBeforeReason: Kiely duels one of Loup's men in single combat, and refuses to strike the killing blow when he has the advantage.
66	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: O'Rourke is stabbed by Harper with the bayonet he used to murder Perkins.
67	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
68	** Perkins is bayoneted by O'Rourke.
69	** O'Rourke is stabbed repeatedly with a bayonet by Harper.
70	* ImperiledInPregnancy: After Kiely learns Lady Kiely is pregnant, she is sent away from the fort, [[IHaveYourWife but is captured by]] traitorous members of the Irish Company so Loup can force Kiely to abandon Sharpe's men to die.
71	* InsistentTerminology: Runciman prefers to be addressed as ''General'' Runciman, rather than Colonel.
72	* ItsPersonal: Harper toward the four traitorous Irish Company soldiers. During the FinalBattle, he seeks them out and kills them all.
73	* KickTheDog: Kiely's quite a {{Jerkass}} to his wife, upbraiding her for her response to an insult made by Juanita, and blaming her for the death of their child. He immediately changes his tune when he learns that she is pregnant.
74	* LastOfHisKind: Kiely is the last to bear the name of Kiely:
75	-->"I am the last of my blood, Sharpe. When I die, the name dies with me."
76	** The news of his wife's pregnancy subverts this.
77	* LeaveBehindAPistol: {{Subverted}}. Sharpe remarks that Kiely in a room with a loaded pistol might be the gentlemanly thing to do, but of little use to the regiment or his family. He gives him a chance to lead a suicidal charge instead.
78	* LeaveHimToMe: "No one touches O'Rourke. The bastard's mine."
79	* MadeOfIron: O'Rourke shrugs off getting shot in the leg with a heavy bullet without even a limp.
80	* MasterSwordsman: Unlike your average [[TheNeidermeyer Neidermeyer]], Kiely is a highly effective swordsman.
81	* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: "My name is Sharpe. Major Sharpe. [[BadassBoast And I'm going to teach you to be soldiers]]."
82	* NobilityMarriesMoney: Kiely's wife had money, he had the title.
83	* NothingPersonal: "Sgt. Harper. I've no quarrel with a fellow Irishman." [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Harper ''does.'']]
84	* OhCrap: One of Loup's men does this when he's moving among the supposedly dead Chosen Men and taps Harper with his boot; Harper wakes up, and the unlucky man only has a couple moments to back away before Harper's Nock gun blows him halfway across the street.
85	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Lady Kiely miscarried her first pregnancy some time ago and her husband can barely look her in the face after that.
86	* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Colonel Runciman holds a very low opinion of the Irish.
87	-->"''[The Irish] don't understand their own good luck. I mean, we go and we sort out their country, and all they do is froth at the maw and throw brickbats at us. I mean, there's no gratitude, Sharpe. None, but still, we have to be diplomatic. We have to treat these chaps as if they were English. Well, '''almost''' English.''"
88	* TheQuisling: O'Rourke is the leader of a group of Royal Irish Company soldiers who are working for Loup.
89	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: O'Rourke threatens to rape Lady Kiely to the extent that she'll wish she was dead.
90	* ReassignmentBackfire: A company of Irish guard are recruited into the British army, and the high command decides to send them to a far outpost on the edge of the front lines, in a terrible position, so they'll all desert and solve the problem of having to deal with a company that doesn't like England- then sends Richard Sharpe to whip them into place, expecting him to drive them off for good. He makes them crack soldiers instead and decimates an entire enemy brigade. Oops.
91	* RebelLeader: Dona Juanita is the leader of another group of partisans at the Franco-Spanish border.
92	* RescueRomance: Miranda falls for Perkins after he rescues her from being raped by two of Loup's men.
93	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Harper goes on one after O'Rourke, the traitorous Royal Irish Company soldier who murdered Perkins.
94	* RousingSpeech: Sharpe gives one to the Royal Irish Company soldiers toward the end.
95	-->"Loup's made you look bloody stupid. Are you going to stand for that? Are you?! 'Cause I'm not. I'm going to kill a wolf. Am I going to have to do it alone? I promised you a battle, and now I'm giving you one. Come on!"
96	* SacrificialLion: Poor Perkins.
97	* SheKnowsTooMuch: Dona Juanita murders Miranda when she spies on her meeting with Loup.
98	* SilkHidingSteel: Lady Kiely may seem to be your average aristocrat's wife, but she's handy with a pistol and proves to be a DefiantCaptive, as Loup found out the hard way.
99	* SkilledButNaive: Kiely is a very capable fighter, but is untested in the field and cites the romanticised battles of legend, which sets him at odds with Sharpe.
100	* SmugSuper: Unlike your average glory-seeking aristocratic officer, Lord Kiely can back up all his talk of fighting war in "the old ways" with his prowess on the battlefield.
101	* SpottingTheThread: Sharpe proves the newspapers about British atrocities against the Irish are fake by doing this. The papers are allegedly American. But it would take six to eight weeks for an American paper to learn about events in Ireland, and another six to eight weeks for the papers to make it back across the Atlantic. But despite the fact that any real American newspaper would be four months old and talking about two month old news, the papers are freshly printed and are talking about alleged incidents that are days old at most.
102	* StayInTheKitchen: Kiely is shocked by his wife handing out rifles to the Royal Irish Company soldiers.
103	-->'''Kiely''': Good God! What the hell does she think she's doing?
104	-->'''Sharpe''': Being a good wife. I don't see the Dona Juanita getting her hands dirty, do you?
105	* StraightForTheCommander: Sharpe speaks of this trope when he first meets Kiely.
106	-->"[And] the best person to kill on the battlefield is always the enemy officer, remember that. Kill them first, then the sergeants, and then you can kill any poor bastard you want. But if you've shot your ball, then what you do is turn the musket and club the buggery out of the horse's mouth. I guarantee the horse will throw its rider. And when the overpaid, overdressed monkey sitting on it hits the turf, you can finish him off while he's still stunned... We've killed officers in blue coats, red coats, even officers in white coats, because I don't care what army the officer fights for, or what color coat he wears, or what king he serves. A bad officer is better off dead and a good soldier better learn how to kill him, ain't that right, Sergeant Harper?"
107	* TogetherInDeath: Perkins and Miranda, who are buried in the same grave.
108	-->'''Harper''': Does anyone want to say anything?
109	-->'''Sharpe''': Yes. He was a brave soldier... and she was his lass.
110	* UngratefulBastard: O'Rourke murders Jenkins, who saved his life during a battle.
111	* VerbThis: Before shooting Jenkins, O'Rourke says "Have that."
112	%% * WomenAreWiser: Emotionally, Lady Kiely's stronger than her husband.
113	* WorfHadTheFlu: Sharpe is overpowered by Loup during their duel, but fought with a handicap (he got shot in the arm) and ''still'' ends up killing him, admittedly by [[CombatPragmatist playing dirty]].
114	* WoundedGazelleGambit: How the Chosen Men get the better of Loup during the climactic shootout.

Context Recap / SharpeS3E2SharpesBattle