Alex Hugo on France 3: How did Lionel Astier (Angelo) say goodbye to the series?

In May 2021, Lionel Astier, in an interview with our colleagues from Télé Loisirs, announced his desire to leave the series Alex Hugo, in which he camped with Angelo Battaglia, at the end of the 8th season.

“I’m going to stop, I think I’ve done my character rounds today, I feel like we’re in a bit of a loop with him, so I’m telling myself if I don’t do it now. ..’“, he said at the time.

And almost two years after this announcement, France 3 will finally broadcast the last episode of Lionel Astier on its antenna, this Tuesday, April 4, at 21:10. Entitled The Last Trail, this new opus by Alex Hugo will see the Lausanne police welcome a team from the Totem Association, which encourages inmates at the end of their sentences to repair old buildings in a rural world.

This association aims to prepare them for reintegration. At the end of the first day, two members of the team are missing. Very quickly, Alex Hugo (Samuel Le Bihan) goes on the trail of the fugitives and finds the lifeless body of one of them in the torrent, a crushed skull; And the other, on the other hand, who has just served a severe sentence, remains immortal…

A sober farewell

This episode of Alex Hugo, like all opus in the series, begins with a new investigation that leads the police from false lead to false lead to a final result that brings its share of surprises.

But while the departure of Angelo’s character is only mentioned in the last minutes of the episode, the policeman’s behavior puts a flea in Alex’s ear, who notices that he is making strange phone calls, including that he does not want to. Talk to him.

At the end of the episode, Angelo goes to a colleague’s office to have a drink with him. He then hands her the letter before asking her how she’s going to break the news to Tony (Fabien Bayard) – without the audience knowing what she’s talking about.

It’s only later, when Tony returns to the police station, that we finally learn what the mysterious message contains. Angelo tells him that this is the end of the road for him. Finish the police. He made the pleasure last as long as possible, but now he has no choice but to retire.

If Tony is saddened to hear the news, Angelo seems happy to finally be able to rest. At the moment, neither the latter nor Alex know whether it will change or not. A farewell to sobriety that allows Lionel Astaire to end an adventure that has lasted almost 10 years.

And even if it’s the end of an era, the writers still left the door open for the actor to return to Alex Hugo in the sequel, since his character is still alive. Maybe Angelo will show up to lend Alex a hand in future investigations… a case will follow.

Find The Last Song, the final episode of Alex Hugo with Lionel Astaire, this Tuesday, April 4 at 9:10 p.m. on France 3.