The Gentlemen ending explained contains spoilers... It's been a wild ride, filled with god-fearing cocaine dealers, lime green Lamborghinis and fascist testicles but finally, this rip-roaring Guy Ritchie caper is at an end.
As we arrive at this final chapter the new Duke of Halstead, Eddie Horniman, is increasingly determined to rid himself of the Glass family, who've been growing weed beneath his cow barn for years. In a bid to make them leave, he'd promised to generate even more cash for them, yet it seems the Glass family, lead by Susie and her father Bobby, never intended to let him go.
That has left Eddie in a bit of a pickle, so he contacted Stanley Johnston hoping that if he provided the meth baron with the locations of the Glass family's other weed labs, he would get them out of his estate. He went to tell Bobby Glass about his plan at the end of the last episode, but we didn't see the end of that conversation...
Meanwhile, after catching Henry Collins before he murdered her brother Jack (on Stanley Johnston's orders) Susie heard that Eddie had joined forces with the meth baron. Furious at this revelation, she told John 'The Gospel' Dixon of how the Hornimans killed his brother at the start of the series, knowing he would likely kill them. But she doesn't know the full extent of Eddie's conversation with her father!
Anyway, here's how the final episode of The Gentlemen played out...
The Gentlemen ending explained: Who controls the Glass weed empire?
As Stanley Johnston waxes lyrical about the beginning of a ‘new era’, The Gospel and Susie Glass watch over Jack as he finally wakes up in the hospital. "It’s a free swing John," says Susie, presumably discussing the Liverpudlian’s upcoming reprisal upon the Horniman boys.
At Halstead Manor, Geoff warns Eddie that The Gospel and his lads have arrived on their patch and it’s time they tooled up. However, despite the groundskeeper’s mini-Arsenal, they’re still hopelessly outnumbered when The Gospel arrives at the front door telling Freddy to come out and repay his debt.
However, when Susie calls her father, it seems she was unaware of the mysterious deal he and Eddie struck at the end of the last episode. “I need his Grace and I need him happy,” says Bobby Glass, telling her to undo what she has done. Eddie may have revealed how he's in league with the weed boss's rivals, but he would argue that Bobby and Susie backed him into a corner. Whatever he said, the weed boss obviously still has faith in him.
Inside the house, Freddy tries to accept his fate, admitting that he’s “a massive piece of shit and this is his one chance to reclaim a shred of dignity.” But when Eddie refuses his offer, the showdown is very much on and Eddie strolls out of the front door ready to open fire...
'You two have become quite the double act...'
The scene then cuts to later that day, with Eddie and Susie chatting to Bobby in prison. He tells them a story about a particularly brave pigeon in the Great War, but the moral of the story is that the pair of them need to bury the hatchet…
It turns out that Bobby told The Gospel he’d make it up to him if he walked away from Halstead Manor. “So now Eddie, you’ve got to make it up to me,” he explains. He then reveals that he’s out of the game and is going to sell the business to the highest bidder. All he wants Eddie to do is help Susie get the best price. “You two have become quite the double act,” he says.
The first bidder will obviously be Stanley Johnston, who believes he’s in a position of considerable strength as he has the details of all the other Lords involved the Glass operation. However, Eddie explains that he doesn’t and he’s been a victim of a deception, with Freddy and the rest of his family pretending to be the people on the list.
This must have been the part of the plan Eddie revealed to Bobby Glass during the part of their conversation we didn't see at the end of the last episode, which was why Bobby told his daughter to try and save him.
Prospect 2 is Mercy Moreno, the crazy cocaine dealer from earlier in the series, while Peter Spencer-Forbes - aka ‘Sticky Pete’ - is also someone on their list, as they believe he might be able to hook them up with some Russian gangsters. Furthermore, Bobby Glass wants all bids sealed and sent to him by carrier pigeon, by the end of the week..
'I’m now going to lean in rather than out...'
Back at Halstead Manor, Eddie is shocked to find that Freddy has stolen a pigeon. He has dreams of bidding for the weed empire himself, but tells his younger brother he’s a natural in the business and maybe he should consider staying in the game. For once, Freddy’s words make Eddie think and he returns to the house to ask his lawyer draw up terms for a consortium. “Realistically we need to raise £200m to stand a chance,” he says.
It’s clear he wants to raise the money to buy Bobby out with the help of the other 12 families and proposes they pay 10% each, although that might be an optimistic opening gambit.
Next he approaches his friends in the traveller community, who’ve made a few quid in the import / export business.
“I’ve been wanting to free myself from the Glass family for some time,” he tells his lawyer. “I’m now going to lean in rather than out.”
His legal expert says he should be able to raise £25m himself, plus a £10m loan from his mother, who’s sold all her stocks and a family Monet, however he’s still £15m short…
Eddie’s mum asks if Susie might get involved, but Eddie says she would be unwilling, leaving him facing the unappealing prospect of contacting Henry Collins again. “I can get you out of all this,” he says, referring to the money launderer's nefarious business with Stanley Johnston and the vengeance Bobby Glass will almost certainly wreak on him for nearly killing his son. “But it’s going to cost you £15m.”
Eddie then proposes they work together, with him looking after the Lords, Collins managing the operation on the ground and JP looking after distribution. “Your £15m will give you shared participation and shared ownership,” says Eddie. When Collins asks about Stanley Johnston, he says the Americans accounts might not be in order.
'You were born to build empires...'
When Eddie talks to Susie later on, he tells her his family have been “living in the zoo, but hunting in the jungle” for generations. He says they have significant funds, but would also appreciate further investment. She recounts her father’s story, but says her father has taken his eye off the ball in recent years. “If you put in £35m, we’ll be equal partners,” he says. Eddie also wants to talk about Henry Collins..
Meanwhile at Halstead Manor, Charlotte seems to have realised the truth about her parentage. “I didn’t want you to be ashamed,” says Geoff. “I’d never be ashamed, you’re the most impressive man I’ve ever known.” she replies. Wonderful stuff.
Elsewhere, the bids wing their way to Bobby Glass, he’s surprised to find Susie and Eddie have entered the race. It seems Stanley Johnston had the highest bid, yet Henry Collins' accountant knew all about Johnston’s dodgy tax records and delivered them to HMRC, leading to his arrest.
Eddie then advised Mercy Moreno that Sticky Pete was the highest bidder and that her bid came in second.
However Mercy was under pressure from her bosses in South America, so Eddie told her that there was still a window of opportunity for her to win the business, as it might take Pete a while to get the necessary funds out of Russia. Mercy used that window to kill Pete with a machete, before Henry Collins turned up to gun her down in turn. However it seems they were just using Collins to clean up and decided to take his £15m, before shooting him in the woods.
When they tell Bobby how they've eliminated the competition and will buy his empire, they tell him he won't be retiring. “I told you I was selling the business to wake you up,” he says. “You’re not buying the operation, you’re investing in it, so together we can expand our interests.”
He wasn't stepping back, he simply needed to know Eddie and Susie were committed to the cause and make them realise their potential. With £235m behind them, they are ready to go. “You wasn’t born to take orders, you were born to give them. You were born to build and expand empires. I don’t see a captain, I see a general!” He orates dramatically.
Three months later, we see Bobby Glass and Stanley Johnston having dinner in a very open prison. Roll on season 2!
