‘Gangs of London’ Episode 6: Marian's gruesome torture and murder will rip hearts apart but why did she do it?
“Only you... Only you and you alone can thrill me like you do, and fill my heart with love for only you.” A pop song by The Platters will echo in your ears as you tune into the sixth episode. And it just won't stop. “You're my dream come true, my one and only you...” A bigger horror awaits when you find out why the song is playing. Splattered blood and a pair of pliers tell a story you won't want to discover.
How far can you go to get to the truth? ‘Gangs of London’ unpeels a brutal, barbaric side of Marian Wallace (Michelle Fairley) in the gruesome episode. After the gunshot to Sean Wallace's (Joe Cole) head, the Wallaces retreat to a safe house. The matriarch of the family, Marian, puts the pressure on Sean to uncover Finn Wallace’s (Colm Meaney) killer — and Sean wrestles with who he has become.
Remember the assassin? The waitress, who was hiding at Sean's home, is now tied in a dingy room, with broken pieces of bottle at her feet. With blood pouring from one side, her face is a mess and a pair of teeth is missing. The one-hour drama stealthily steals its way to the torture scene as Marian demands answers. Who is she working for? Putting all the missing pieces of the puzzle together, it's clear that her boss is Jevan Kapadia (Ray Panthaki).
The bigger question is why was Marian so passionate to torture the woman even as her sons couldn't stand it? According to Xavier Gens, director of the episode, there’s a hidden reason why Marian was so cruel in the episode. “For Marian Wallace, it’s about her frustration at the betrayal she felt over Finn [Colm Meaney] wanting to live with another woman — her husband cheating on her,” he explained to Den of Geek.
“She was one of the main pillars of the Wallace family, and so real... when she’s torturing Tove, she is torturing Finn Wallace. She sees Finn in that woman. I really wanted to figure out how I could express that Lady Macbeth figure into the character of Marian Wallace.” Shedding light on how Michelle zeroed it down to her eye expressions, he added, “She has such a strong look... You feel all the frustration of the mother who has lost control of her son. I had goosebumps at this moment. You follow her lead. You follow her pacing, the rhythm she brings on set, and it really makes my job easy, to be honest.”
Fans were blown over after watching it. “All the episodes have been full of action but I think Marian is the most brutal after that episode! Torture was like second nature!” one wrote on Reddit and another said, “Well I have just watched episode 6 and I have seen violent scenes since episode 1 but nothing is more cringeworthy than someone pulling nails & teeth out with pliers, nothing!!!”
‘Gangs of London’ premiered on AMC Plus on Thursday, October 1, 2020. The first three episodes aired on the premiere date and the rest of the 10-part series will be followed by weekly episodes on Thursdays.
