The Gentlemen Recap Season 1 Episode 2 ‘Tackle Tommy Woo Woo’

‘Once you start the killing, you have to finish the killing’, Susie Glass told Edward ‘Eddie’ Horniman, after he renegotiated his estate’s involvement with the business with Bobby Glass without giving Susie a heads up. Susie had told him that Stanley Johnston’s business was meth; he made billions from it. Susie’s family stayed in the cannabis business because it was comparatively peaceful. If they allowed Stanley into their business, carnage would follow. 

The killing began with Freddy, who shot Tommy Dixon inside the Halstead Manor whilst his man Jethro counted the four million a few feet away. For Susie, it was simple; Jethro needed to die, too, to remove the only witness to the crime. But Eddie wanted to save the kid’s life, and in doing so, found himself with blood on his hands, a gunshot wound on his gut, and in need of the services of Susie’s body disposal guy Felix.

‘Once you start the killing, you have to finish the killing.’ Most of this episode was Eddie running away from this truism of a life of crime. The moment Jethro saw what happened to Tommy, he promised he would keep his mouth shut, then he led Eddie, Freddy, and Geoff on a merry chase through the estate. With the signal spotty, and with Geoff giving chase with dogs, Jethro was only able to send a garbled text message to Errol, who worked for Tommy’s brother The Gospel. Freddy thoughtlessly tossed Errol’s phone into the lake. I hope Eddie sent someone to retrieve that phone because it’s going to bug me. Phones can be tracked. The estate would be Jethro’s phone’s last known location. Eddie needed to think of that because his brother for certain would not.

The estate staff of 20 were given the day off whilst Susie brought Jethro to their underground facility, to be watched by Jimmy. Killing was bad for business, but though Tommy was relatively low in the crime family food chain, his brother The Gospel had real power. Susie wanted Eddie to leave this to the professionals, but Eddie would not hear of it. Even with Felix the drunken body disposal guy already at the manor and explaining how he was going to get rid of Tommy’s body and take care of Jethro as well, Eddie wanted to stick to his own plan. 

Eddie wanted to create an alternative narrative, to make it look like Jethro and Tommy were fighting, and that it was Jethro who killed Tommy and stole the four million. In the meantime, Jethro would be on a container ship to Australia with two million pounds. Eddie got Freddy to put the chicken suit back on and create the video, to make it look like Tommy got what he wanted and left the manor. Um, videos have time stamps. Did Eddie manage to alter the metadata? I am nitpicking with love. 

It was when Eddie went to Jethro’s flat to get his passport that things went horribly wrong. The Gospel had one of his men waiting inside. He and Eddie got into a fight, which led to two gunshots which surely someone must have heard since this was an apartment complex and not a manor within a massive estate. Again, I am nitpicking with love. Eddie called Felix to make it look like it was Jethro who fought and killed the guy. Eddie knows The Gospel and his men knew Jethro, right? How could Jethro have overpowered this guy? 

The same shotgun that killed Tommy was also the one that ‘killed’ the man in Jethro’s flat, and it happened to be a weapon worth over two hundred thousand pounds. The Gospel had already figured out the weapon belonged to the Hornimans even before Eddie wisely admitted to it. He claimed the gun safe was often left unlocked. Whether or not The Gospel believed everything that Eddie had tried to sell him, it was not clear, but he asked to hold on to the shotgun, and Eddie and Freddy had no choice but to agree. 

Eddie and Susie sent Jethro off on a boat to Australia with two million pounds. Susie knew that Eddie’s alternative narrative about Jethro would not hold up whilst Jethro lived. Unknown to Eddie, Felix was already on the boat, waiting to clean up what was left of Freddy’s mess.

Susie and her crew were comfortable with some violence, but the danger ratcheted up with Stanley Johnston. He had the money to indulge in the pursuits of the very wealthy, but he collected more than trinkets, he liked having actual aristocrats around him. Eddie found someone he knew from childhood, Princess Rosanne (Rosie), whom Stanley had been spoiling in exchange for her company, inside his manor, at a party Stanley invited him to (via a formal gilded invitation with calligraphy). Stanley could not purchase a background born in the highest rungs of society, but he could, and did, purchase those who were. He learned to live like them, but he remained the dangerous criminal boss.

‘You’ll find that a reputation solves all security problems’, Stanley told Susie, after testing her cover as an antiques dealer by making her identify and value the insanely expensive Patek Philippe watch he wore. He claimed that he could leave the watch at the bar, and it would still be there when he returned. Stanley offered twice the Halstead Manor’s market value because he wanted in on the Glass family operation. He claimed that their formula could not continue, that they needed a partner. He tried to gift the watch to Susie, who said watches were for retirement, and that his timing was off. So far, Stanley seemed the most dangerous operator amongst the ones we’ve met. 

Rating: B+

Strays

🏚️Tommy’s blood was all over the precious Gainsborough. Felix’s services were so thorough, they included cleaning the painting. 

🏚️Sabrina knew this whole time about the old Duke’s profitable side business. She told Eddie it poisoned his father’s soul. Eddie promised that once Freddy’s problem had been dealt with, he would remove their interest from the estate. 

🏚️Rosie saw blood leaking through Eddie’s crisp white shirt at the party and helped him dress it. 

🏚️Susie to Eddie: ‘Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t f the help.’ See, dialogue like this sounds like a promise. Some f-ing between these characters have got to happen in the future. 

🏚️Eddie finally showed Freddy the cannabis operation. 

🏚️Bobby Glass had a cosy setup in prison, with his own chef Mr. Kawasaki. Eddie told him he wanted to renegotiate. He wanted their operation off his land by the end of the year, and in return, he guaranteed that he would make them much more money. He later told Susie he did not run it by her because she would have shut him down.

Episode Title: Tackle Tommy Woo Woo

Episode Writers: Guy Ritchie & Matthew Read

Episode Director: Guy Ritchie

Original Release Date: March 7, 2024