Birdsong

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  Part 2 Edit this episode

  Season 1, Episode 2 - Aired 01/29/2012

  As Stephen recovers from his injuries, he is still haunted by memories of his affair with Isabelle. While he and his men prepare for a major offensive at The Somme, Stephen unexpectedly meets Isabelle again, but she is unable to explain why she left him, and Stephen goes into the attack in a state of turmoil, not sure whether or not he will see her again. The battle is devastating. Over the months that follow, Stephen begins to find comfort in his friendship with Jack Firebrace, and when Isabelle's sister Jeanne reveals the secret which Isabelle had hidden from him; Stephen starts to believe, at last, that there is a future worth fighting for.

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  Part 1 Edit this episode

  Season 1, Episode 1 - Aired 01/22/2012

  Adapted by Bafta award-winning Abi Morgan (The Hour, Iron Lady), the two-parter spans the decade of World War One, telling the story of Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman who in 1910 arrives in Amiens, Northern France to stay with the Azaire family and falls desperately in love with Isabelle Azaire. They begin an illicit and all-consuming affair, with huge consequences for them both. Years later in 1916, Stephen finds himself serving on the Western Front in the very area where he experienced his great love. As he battles amidst the horror of the trenches he cuts himself off from his men and from his feelings for Isabelle as the only way he can endure the experience. This is where he meets tunneller Jack Firebrace, with whom he begins to form an unlikely connection.