There is so much content out there that it is truly hard to muster up the courage to dedicate around 8 hours of your life to it. Yes, the reviews are good. Yes, it has your favorite stars in it. Yes, it looks and sounds amazing. But there’s just too much, in addition to all the barrage of news, YouTube videos, Instagram reels, TikTok videos, and whatnot. So, a show (or a movie) needs to be insanely fantastic to cut through all the noise and make a place in your heart and mind, even though it’s already overflowing. Drops of God is one such show that has been such a fulfilling and refreshing experience. It has made me look past the characters and the cinematography and appreciate the work that goes into anything organic. Now, I understand why good wines are so expensive, and it’s all because of this show. That doesn’t mean I’m going to start drinking wine because I don’t want to run out of money. I’m open to drinking it if someone gives it to me as a gift or shares it with me because, as per the series, you shouldn’t have wine by yourself. With all that out of the way, let’s talk about the road to the finale and what Issei and Camille’s final decision regarding the Léger Guide and Alexandre’s collection of exquisite wines actually means.
Spoilers Alert
Issei And Camille Submit Their Answers To The Third Test
Issei and Camille used to live in their own worlds, with the former on the verge of being roped into his grandfather’s diamond empire and the latter trying to revive her passion as a writer. But the death of Alexandre Léger (Camille’s father and Issei’s teacher) causes their paths to converge and sets them on a journey that will decide the owner of Léger’s wines and winery, as well as the editor of the prestigious Léger Guide. They had to undertake three tests involving wines that were curated by Léger. The first round was pretty simple, as they had to taste a wine and write down its name correctly. The second was much tougher, as they had to come up with the name of a wine that had a familial link to a painting by Fede Galizia. The third round was divided into three parts: the first one was a G.K. test, the second one was a “match a food with a wine” test, and for the third one, Camille and Issei were tasked with recreating the mystery wine they had tasted.
Of course, the show wasn’t just about getting the answers right and winning the keys to the Léger estate. It also revolved around Camille and Issei’s personal problems. Camille had to overcome her aversion to alcohol because it was intertwined with her hatred for her father. She had to deal with her romantic feelings for Thomas. She had to tackle her business-related issues with Luca. And she had to tolerate Issei’s cold, hard demeanor. Meanwhile, Issei had to come to terms with the fact that his father, Hirokazu, wasn’t actually his father. His biological father was Alexandre, and he was the result of Honoka’s (his mother’s) affair with his teacher. His romantic life was comparatively simpler as he fell in love with Katase, a journalist who was already attracted to him. He never hated Camille and instead started admiring her, especially after knowing that she was his half-sister. So, by the time the siblings reached the end of their journeys, they were ready to begin another one due to their slowly growing love for each other.
Issei And Camille Come To Terms With The Nature Of Their Relationship
Ahead of the final test, Camille and Thomas get intimate with each other. Neither Camille nor the audience know that Thomas has broken up with Juliette. It’s revealed in an adorable sequence where Camille and Thomas are embracing each other in the foreground while Issei catches fish from a nearby river in the background. The following day, they began testing their concoctions. Although both Issei and Camille have figured out what the wine is, they find it incredibly difficult to recreate it. That’s because it’s made of 13 different grapes, something that Phillippe says is cruel on Alexandre’s part. Camille almost suffers yet another panic attack because of the stress of failing. It seems like she’s about to start spewing blood from her nose again. However, she manages to calm herself down and go about the test. The results aren’t revealed instantly, of course. Phillippe judges the concoctions, gives his marks, and they spend the rest of the time having food and enjoying each other’s company.
Talion, the lawyer, highlights the problem with the whole contest. He says that there’s no true winner in this scenario. The one who truly wins will end up confused and alone because of the money. The one who loses will be sad, alone, and broke. Talion clearly underestimates the power of Issei and Camille’s love, and since he’s unaware of the familial connection between the two, he doesn’t see how that can cause the duo to go their separate ways. But before that revelation arrives, in a truly tear-jerking moment, Issei expresses his appreciation for the loud and cheerful dinner that he’s having with Camille, Thomas, Phillippe, and Talion, as it stands in stark contrast to the morbid atmosphere of the dinner nights at his household. And then, the moment arrives when Issei finally reveals that he is Camille’s half-brother. To my surprise, Camille takes the news in a very mature way. They both come to the realization that whatever their parents did is in the past, and it’s up to both of them to decide what they’re going to do after the outcome of this whole contest. By the way, while all this is unfolding, Katase locates Hirokazu, who is working at a construction site, and tells him that his son still loves him even after everything that has happened. On that note, they head back to Tokyo for the results.
‘Drops Of God’ Ending Explained: What Finally Happened To Camille?
After a lot of anticipation, Talion brings out the results, and it ends up being a tie. Camille is relieved because she doesn’t want there to be only one winner. But sadly, that positive atmosphere is marred by a recorded message from Alexandre, who says that he predicted this exact outcome of the tournament. That’s why he has a sudden death round prepared for his two children, where they have to answer what the titular drops of God are. As always, the one who gets it right gets everything, and the one who gets it wrong gets nothing. Camille is understandably angry because she and Issei are so close to living amicably in this bitter world, and his father won’t let that happen from beyond the grave. So, she says that she’s quitting this sick contest and giving it all up to Issei. Issei, being Issei, says that if Camille quits, he’s going to quit, and if he quits, Luca is going to get everything. Camille (and I think everyone who is watching this show with great interest) doesn’t want Luca to get anything and immediately decides to re-enter. There’s yet another adorable moment involving Camille and Issei where Camille utters a complicated French expletive, and like little siblings usually do, Issei copies it without understanding what it exactly means just to echo his sister’s sentiments.
They proceed to the Léger wine cellar to taste every wine. Of course, that’s not possible, so they drink three bottles and call it a night. The following day, they give their answers, and Camille wins. However, instead of celebrating it, she tells Talion to leave. Then she reveals to Issei that she knew that the drops of God refer to the rain because it’s something that Alexandre had told her when she was a child. Alexandre trusted Camille to access that memory and win, and everyone realizes how cruel that is. As if there was any doubt that Alexandre was a twisted person from the get-go, the fact that he ensured that his legitimate daughter would win the keys to his estate and his illegitimate son wouldn’t means that he never wanted this contest to be something that’d unite the two families he had knowingly created. He wanted to be the orchestrator of Issei’s pain, for no fault of Issei’s! Can you imagine how that must feel? Well, thankfully, Camille isn’t that heartless. So, she takes control of the Léger estate and auctions off everything. She makes Miyabi and Lorenzo the editors of the Léger Guide. Luca gets nothing. Issei reconciles with Hirokazu and announces to the world that he is his father, while Honoka suffers all by herself.
At the end of Drops of God Season 1, when Issei and Katase reach their Tokyo apartment, he gets the wines that Camille hadn’t auctioned, along with a note in Japanese that states, “brother and sister.” In doing so, Camille manages to foil Alexandre’s plans and maintain a good relationship with Issei while also keeping him in the family through the wines. Issei is free to keep some of them and sell the rest so that he can have some money in his bank, or he can concoct his own creations from them and begin his own wine business. The options are finite, but they are all positive. Therefore, the lesson that Oded Ruskin and his team leave us with is that we shouldn’t fall into the trappings of legacy and heritage, especially if those terms are being defined by parents with a god complex. Yes, we exist because our parents procreated. That doesn’t mean they have any kind of ownership over the paths that we want to choose. They can help us be well-rounded human beings. If they have other things on their mind, they should be defied every step of the way. If they learn to correct themselves before it’s too late, then that’s well and good. If they don’t, they should be left to suffer. It’s easier said than done, but heartless people, no matter who they are or how closely you are related to them, don’t deserve your time or your empathy. There are many others who need your love and attention; give it to them. More importantly, you have just one life, and you should get to live it peacefully instead of wasting it on petty family politics. That’s just my takeaway, though. Please watch all the episodes of Drops of God, form your own opinions, and convey them to us.
