Plato may have contended that “no wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself”, but east London gangster Dushane (Ashley Walters) definitely seems to be in a happier place now his business is flourishing.
The new series of the brilliant British crime drama Top Boy (revived by Netflix in 2019 after an earlier run on Channel 4) picks up the timeline six months after the gripping finale, in which Dushane orchestrated the arrest of rival gang leader Jamie (Micheal Ward) before offering to help facilitate his release in exchange for an alliance.
With Jamie on-side (for now) Dushane’s cadre have been able to redouble their efforts in streamlining their drug-dealing operation. Clearly it’s much easier to make a killing when you don’t have to worry about killing others, or being killed yourself. They’ve even had time to develop green alternatives for their distribution methods — packaging their narcotics in cans reclaimed from the streets.
Perhaps the recycling initiative is the first step in Dushane’s plan to legitimise his affairs. Having bought a deluxe new flat, he now wants to fill its rooms with a family, but his love interest, Shelley (Little Simz), still disapproves of his lawless ways. He does, however, draw the line at paying taxes, and, with a big deal in Spain imminent, he looks for financial loopholes to enable him to clean (and keep) his money. One involves investing in the redevelopment of the Summerhouse Estate he grew up on and later ruled. “It deserves to be knocked down,” he says. Even gangsters are susceptible to gentrification.
Things don’t run smoothly for long. Negotiations in Spain unravel and result in the spilling of human sangria. Back home, one of the gang’s youngest recruits, Atticus, has disappeared. But after the breathless finale of the last series, the show patiently establishes these new narrative frameworks, allowing the overarching story of crime, community and deprivation to unfold at a slower, almost novelistic pace.
The emotional eloquence which typified the first Netflix series of Top Boy endures. There are moving, beautifully acted scenes which explore Jamie’s paternalistic relationship with his younger brothers, and others devoted to Dushane’s partner-in-crime Sully (Kano) as he struggles to process his most unforgivable transgression.
At another point, a car full of young black people — including Dushane’s right-hand woman, Jasmine Jobson’s shrewd, spiky Jaq — is stopped and forcibly searched by the police. It’s a scene that is perhaps even more powerful today than it would have been when the show last aired, two-and-a-half years ago.
★★★★☆
On Netflix from March 18
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Top Boy is back for a second Netflix series
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