Puppet Master Viewers Baffled By Freegard's 'Crazy' Con
How did anyone fall for this?
Fans who have been binge-watching The Puppet Master are obsessed with the shocking true crime story, but can't wrap their head around one key point.
The Netflix documentary-series tells the story of one of the world's most audacious conmen, Robert Hendy-Freegard, who controlled, conned and fleeced at least seven women and one man, stealing close to a million pounds.
Watch the trailer for the series here:
Fans of the series were suspended in shock after learning that the emotional story of Robert's victims leads up to the present day, and that the conman himself is still at large.
However, after learning about Robert's victims like Sarah Smith, viewers can't make sense of how he managed to convince them of one outrageous lie.
To manipulate and extort his victims, Robert told them that he was an undercover MI5 agent, Special Branch or part of Scotland Yard working against the IRA.
Ultimately, Freegard tricked Sarah into "going undercover" for 10 years. She travelled across Europe with the conman - believing she and her family were in danger from the IRA - and gave him all of her money, including her £200,000 inheritance.
Although he laid the groundwork for this con back in the 1980s, when |RA bombings in the UK were rampant, fans of the docu-series can't understand how anyone believed the conman.
After watching the Netflix series, viewers had one question: How did anyone believe that Robert Hendy-Freegard was in MI5?
One fan tweeted: "I feel sorry for them but how the f**k this guy make you think he works for mi5 for 10 years."
Another asked: "I don’t get it, though. How do you run off with a man for *10 years* and give him everything you have just because he says he’s an MI5 spy?"
A third added: "On the other hand…who listens to their barman telling them they’re actually a MI5 agent undercover and just goes 'yep, sounds legit?'"
Some fans of the true crime series made the seemingly-obvious point that if Robert were in MI5, it's unlikely he would have told anyone about it.
"Hint: if he’s a real MI5 agent, he won’t say he is. The end." tweeted one viewer.
"Feels like common sense, but If someone tells you they work at MI5 (and you are not sitting in MI5 HQ holding proof) then they are lying to you and you should walk away from them. Quickly. And give your head a wobble otherwise," wrote another.
A third commented: "Surely if you are a MI5 agent, you don’t go round telling people... it’s actually crazy how these people got conned!"
Another talking point from the addictive series was Sarah's dad Peter Smith, who fans believe should have been in MI5.
After bingeing the series, one viewer wrote: "#Puppetmaster on Netflix - wild scenes but Sarah’s dad deserves to be a special agent in the Mi5 for the effort he went to."
"MI5 could learn a lot from Peter Smith" tweeted another.
A third joked: "So Peter Smith on #puppetmaster is the original Liam Neeson from Taken…but with lots of string and pins @netflix let’s get him MI5 membership."
You can watch The Puppet Master on Netflix now.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV And Film, Netflix, True Crime
Ali Condon