Aahana Swrup
The fifth and sixth episodes of ‘The Famous Five‘ find Kirrin Cottage’s amateur detectives George and her cousins, Dick, Anne, Julian— and Timmy, the dog— embarking on a final quest before their summer vacations conclude. Their adventure begins after George runs into The Great Supremo, a circus act on the run from Dr. Rosamund Graves, who wishes to lock him up and access his hypnosis powers through the coveted magical relic, The Eye of the Sunrise. Thus, as the time nears for Julian and his siblings’ return to London, George decides to see one last venture through by helping Supremo and his young daughter, Jo. However, as Supremo’s situation gets more and more dire— without any trace of the hidden Eye of the Sunrise, doubt arises about the legitimacy of his powers and the existence of the exceptional diamond. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Great Supremo and his Hypnotist Act
‘The Famous Five’ presents a whimsical tale of mystery-solving kids— and one dog— through plot points revolving around hidden treasures and a cross-country train ride with an anonymous robber aboard. While the show steers from fantastical additions to ground the narrative into realism, each mystery comes with a wink toward the supernatural to enhance the show’s scope of creativity. However, while previous references— a fountain of wisdom and a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster— remain subtle, the tale’s third mystery brings magic to the front and center through a hypnotist, The Great Supremo.
Upon his initial introduction into the plot— as a haggard man hiding from pursuers in the forest around the Kirrin Cottage— Supremo almost comes across as a swindler. However, with the aggressive arrival of Dr. Graves, the hypnotist’s claims begin to seem honest. Eventually, as George and her cousins visit the circus, arriving in the local town, they ask around about Supremo, finally learning the whole truth. Supremo is a circus performer who puts on a hypnotist act with his young daughter, Jo.
During one circus night, Supremo picked Graves as his volunteer and put her under his spell using the Eye of the Sunrise, a giant magical diamond. As he successfully hypnotized Graves, the woman became obsessed with his magical artifact and tried to buy it from him. Consequently, after the hypnotist vehemently rejected her persistent offer, Graves decided to abduct Supremo under the guise of his mental instability. As a result, the man has now become her prisoner. Yet, before his abduction, he managed to hide the Eye inside his daughter’s teddy bear.
However, Graves learns about the same on the heels of George and her cousins making the discovery. As a result, she easily steals the trinket from Jo. In retaliation, George— overwhelmed by the prospect of her cousins’ return to London— sneaks into the doctor’s van to solve the case on her own. Naturally, the same lands in her trouble, leaving Julian and the others to crack the case from the outside. As such, while the kids return home with Jo to ensure her safety for the night, they learn Supremo’s greatest secret.
As it would turn out, Supremo isn’t a hypnotist and has been putting on an act this entire time. Even though the Eye of the Sunrise exists, it is only a fake rock. Instead, Jo, his daughter, is the secret to Supremo’s hypnotic abilities. Jo, like her mother and grandmother, comes from a long line of hypnotists who have the ability to put people under their spell. The girl must maintain eye contact, concentrate, and target someone whose mind would be open to hypnosis for her powers to work. Therefore, she has been aiding her father’s act while the man assumes the performative front to ensure no one targets his daughter. Similarly, The Eye of the Sunrise is only a hoax that diverts people’s attention from the real magic happening in Jo’s words.
Once Graves learns the truth about the Eye, she becomes frustrated, finding another boulder in her mission. Graves wants to utilize hypnosis during her therapy sessions with her patients, believing the ability would help her gain results faster and more efficiently. Nonetheless, Julian and his siblings arrive in the knick of time, with Jo and her abilities by their side, to stop Graves in her ill-advised venture.
Yet, Supremo and Jo face one last danger as Graves’ boss, Sir Lincoln Aubrey, reveals himself to be the real villain all along. Lincoln wishes to use Jo’s ability to brainwash the entire nation over the radio into overthrowing the British government. Even so, Supremo finds a way out of the trap with significant help from George and her crew. In the end, the secret of Jo’s hypnosis abilities remains relatively safe, and the father-daughter duo manages to escape their dire predicament.
Read More: Who Is W in The Famous Five?
