The Tunnel: Sabotage Series Elise & Eryka Couple Review

『Is It Love or Loyalty?』

📺 Series Overview

🎬 Title: The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016)
🌍 Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇫🇷 France
🎞️ Genre: Crime / Thriller / Drama
🗓️ Production & Broadcast: Sky Atlantic, Canal+, Season 2 (8 episodes)
📢 Director: Mark Evans and others
📺 Platform: Amazon Prime, BritBox (in selected regions)

👩‍💼 Cast: Clémence Poésy – Elise Wassermann
Laura de Boer – Eryka Klein

🧩 Deep Dive into the Story (Spoilers)

🧊 An Attraction Born in a Frozen World

Elise Wassermann is a French detective with difficulty expressing emotions, characterized by traits on the autism spectrum. She approaches cases with a cold and logical demeanor, but from the very first encounter with human rights activist Eryka Klein, she experiences an inexplicable emotional disturbance.

Eryka is a woman shrouded in mystery, entangled in radical political movements. Initially, they regard each other with suspicion, but soon cracks form in their defenses, and a strange connection begins. Elise, under the pretense of drinking, says:

💬 “Today is my birthday.” This moment marks the first time she wanted to share her feelings with someone, becoming the turning point in her recognition of love.

⚖️ Walking the Line Between Truth and Emotion

Eryka appears cold on the surface but carries wounds from her past. Abused in Germany, haunted by the death of her twin brother, and hardened by political convictions, she has lived behind closed walls. Yet in front of Elise, she opens her heart for the first time.

When suspicions of Eryka’s involvement in terrorist activities arise, Elise faces a painful conflict between her duty as a police officer and her personal emotions. Though a person of rules, she gradually becomes shaken by fragments of feeling, unable to let Eryka go.

🥀 A Whisper on the Night of Parting

After breaking up with her boyfriend, Elise confesses to Eryka.

💬 “I’ve never been in love.” Eryka quietly replies: 💬 “Falling in love is a good thing. Try it.” That night, the two women confirm their feelings for one another.

But the truth soon threatens them. When Eryka’s identity is revealed, the night before her departure she comes to Elise and says:

💬 “Just one more night…” That moment was when love came before destiny—and also their last night together.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and the Meaning of the Work

🎯 Loyalty or Love?

Season 2 of The Tunnel: Sabotage integrates an unexpected romance into the tension of a thriller. Elise’s inner transformation shows how emotions seep into the process of crime investigation, capturing the delicate moment when a person is moved more by feelings than by rules.

🎬 Direction and Symbolism

Director Mark Evans uses mechanical color tones, cold lighting, and restrained dialogue to visually reflect Elise’s inner world. Yet in scenes with Eryka, he lingers on eye contact and silence, highlighting the elusive flow of love.

In particular, the final moment—Eryka gone, Elise whispering in her gaze “I wasn’t happy, but it was real”—symbolizes that this relationship was not just an episode, but a deep emotional experience that transformed her life.

📡 Connection to Its Era

This series places queer characters as a central emotional axis rather than a mere subplot, presenting themes of “the courage to face truth” and “the way emotions exist”. Eryka chose to hide the truth and embrace love, while Elise chose to believe in love and confront the truth. In the end, both were right—yet neither could save the other.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★★