‘Gangs of London’ Recap: ‘Season 2, Episode 8’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two finale of ‘Gangs of London’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Something that is quite lovely about this era of peak television, is that to stand out from the crowd, a bevy of shows are working to find new ways to separate themselves from the pack. Some do it through unique storytelling, while others make use of say… their season finales to stand out, by dropping finale episodes that are game changing and epic in nature and some shows… do all of the above. Such as the AMC+ series, Gangs of London. For it already features a powerhouse story and its season finales are the stuff of legend since they do indeed shake everything up and wow us every single step of the way and for proof… look no further than the show’s season two finale. Since it used several plot points from this season, to plunge us into a story that left us on the edge of our seats and outright stunned us when it faded to black.
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For the stage was set last week for an epic showdown between Elliot and Sean, one that has been a long time coming, and was accelerated by the fact that Elliot sliced off Billy’s arm and made demands of Sean. But before we get into their quarrel and what it did for future storytelling, we’d be foolish to not discuss one of the other surprising and game-changing plots in this tale. Because obviously, Elliot and Shannon stole the heroin that Luan and Marian were planning to sell. Which led to a brief and violent skirmish between Luan’s crew and Shannon and Ed. One that saw the latter duo victorious because well, they had the bigger guns. But what made this sequence so powerful and important and shocking… was the sheer fact that civil discourse came out of it. For Ed made it clear the chaos had to end and civility to this business had to return and Luan listened. Which is something none of us expected to see since the city was in chaos and everyone was at war with one another an episode ago.
 
But while it was nice to be surprised by kindness, and some measure of peace, make no mistake about it… that showdown embraced the darkness. For this was Elliot’s grand chance at revenge against his nemesis and tormentor and he took full advantage of the fact that Sean was ready and willing to do anything and everything necessary to bring his brother home safe and alive. Which is why… Sean toyed with Koba and his men to lull everyone into a false sense of security, to kill Koba, and kill Koba he did. In the most brutal and harrowing manner possible, through an intense poison that basically turned Koba’s insides into pudding. Making it clear that despite having a moment of madness with his mother, family would always come first, and he would do anything to keep them near and with Koba gone at last… he was able to show the proof to Elliot, so his brother could go free, and well… that’s when things got really ugly. 

Because Elliot of course, had plans to end this by ending Sean. But Billy’s resourcefulness and tenacity let the moment devolve into an all-out street brawl. The kind that saw both men take incredible physical damage as they unleashed years of pent-up anger and hatred toward one another. But in the end, Elliot was victorious and inspired when he saw his nemesis gasping for air when he strung him up. For he realized, killing Sean wouldn’t give him peace, instead, continuing to harm him by robbing him of everything he wanted in life and taking it for himself and flaunting that, would be the only way to find it. Which motivated Elliot to do the unthinkable and join the proverbial dark side. Yes… that’s right, Elliot went heel in this tale and joined the underworld, and that, is about as shocking and as game changing as it gets. Because all season long, he wanted out, he wanted freedom and to do right in the world. But the death of his father changed all that and sunk him into a world of unique revenge. 

Not to mention, this episode also upended the power dynamic in London again, because by having Koba removed from the equation, the old school bosses are back in play, including Marian, who finally got her seat at the table. Plus, we came to learn that Asif was muscled out by this move and opted to spare Lale for such a possibility, since she is now a wild card as well and that sets the stage for the forthcoming third season in an incredible manner. And once again, this show took the time to not only offer up an amazing season of storytelling that left us in shock, and in awe, but it also brought forth a finale that blew everything up, and of course, left us eager for more of a crime drama that defies convention and makes expecting the unexpected the norm, and it will be fascinating to see what surprises and epic moments await us when season three of this series arrives down the line. Until next year.

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