‘Gangs of London’ Episode 2: Can Darren's father Kinney save his son and Welsh travelers from Sean Wallace?
Spoiler Alert for ‘Gangs of London’
“There is no love on earth greater than that of a father for his son...” It's quite surprising when a show like ‘Gangs of London’ — that breathes on bloodshed and brutality — fills your heart with a glimpse of endearing familial bonds. The pages of the Wallace family book are turned back as the second episode begins as Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney) tries to teach tricks of the trade to his sons. If the flashback tears your heart apart, there's another scene that will leave you misty-eyed.
Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) is seated at a table with Ed Dumani (Lucian Msamati), Alex (Paapa Essiedu) and Elliot Finch (Sope Dirisu) when someone comes to meet him. As Sean signals for him to come, Kinney Edwards (Mark Lewis Jones) — the leader of a group of Welsh travelers — joins them and comes straight to the point. It's clear he has come to save his son Darren (Aled ap Steffan) for pulling the trigger on Finn, but can he convince Sean? Here's the conversation that goes:
“My son was hired by someone to kill your father,” Kinney tells Sean. When he asks if he's there to “save his skin,” Kinney replies, “Yeah, but I'm telling the truth.” Passing a cell phone across the table, he then says, “That is the phone where he got the job,” and stresses how the people who ordered the hit are much more dangerous than the one who pulled the trigger.
Not one to buy into that piece of advice, Sean retorts, “I'll be the judge of that.” Enraged and determined to make his point clear, Kinney then makes it clear to him: “I'm not giving you my son. You're bringing too much attention on us with all this bloodshed. You took two of my men out the other night.” He then says, “You kill Darren... And you change nothing.” Without batting an eyelid, Sean tells him to “leave the phone and f**k off!”
When Kinney asks if he has his word that he won't touch his son, Sean remarks, “You have my word that I won't shoot you in the back when you walk away.” Kinney walks away from the table. Sean then tells Alex, “Right. Now find out who ordered that hit. We don't ask anyone to find Kinney's kid. We find him ourselves.”
That very night, the entire Wallace organization lands there to wipe out the Welsh travelers as the scenes transform into a highly-choreographed, cinematic brawl. It's raining bullets. Not for the faint-hearted, the massacre and bloodshed look straight out of an action-packed video game. Not surprising that the series was actually inspired by an old PSP game. From bullet shots to bombs and cylinder bursts, there's fire and blood everywhere. It's mayhem, total chaos, insanity.
After the storm, there's a lull with a set of bombs bursting on all sides. While the Wallace family seems convinced everyone is dead, Kinney manages to escape their eyes and saves himself. Now, the real question remains: After the ghastly outcome of his actions, can he really save his son? Will the Wallace clan find him and murder both of them? Will Kinney take revenge for the ugly shootout? As more episodes unroll, we will find out who turns out to be the mastermind in this game.
‘Gangs of London’ premieres on AMC Plus this October 1, 2020. The first three episodes will air on the premiere date and the rest of the ten-part series will be followed by weekly episodes on Thursdays. Following its April 2020 UK debut, the show also premieres on April 4, 2021, on AMC for the US audience. If you are an AMC+ subscriber, this is the same season that streamed last year, though there is a second season coming at some point.