In the cathedral, Johnston tells Eddie that the cathedral has stood here for nearly a thousand years in The Gentlemen Season 2 episode 2. Almost as long as Eddie’s family has possessed its title. It’s generally accepted that man has not evolved architecturally since the construction of these medieval cathedrals. Their ambitions have become short-sighted. Man’s desire to unify with God has fallen on fallow ground. God didn’t deliver, or man didn’t deliver. The experiment has failed.
There’s A Rat in the Kitchen
Eddie asks Johnston who said the experiment is over? Never show a fool his work until it’s complete. Johnston asks Eddie does he know why the monarch holds the orb and scepter during the coronation ceremony? Eddie says for the same reason that there’s a spire on this cathedral and a nave underneath it. The spire and the scepter represent the masculine, the orb, the feminine. Johnston says giving and taking. Sun and moon. Positive and negative. Bat and ball. Bottle and glass.
A pattern hidden in plain sight, but only observed by a few. The classical architects constructed all positions of power with a domed roof and an obelisk, column or spire. The crown represents the conscious reconciliation of these two opposing forces. The mistake people make is thinking the king is a man, not a symbol. He’s the personification of the individual’s quest to become whole. This has always been the hidden agenda of the monarch. The unification of these two disparate forces to wield a greater power.
Eddie asks Johnston why are they in the cathedral? Johnston asks Eddie what does he know the sheepskin parchment that’s in front of them? Eddie says it’s the Magna Carta, arguably one of the most significant constitutional documents of all time. Johnston says just as the king is the spiritual scepter, this documents is the material orb. Eddie’s ancestor was one of 25 barons that forced the king to sign the document. His DNA is baked into the keystone of Western civilization. A legitimate king could find the balance that was lost.
What this country needs is a king that deserves such a crown. Eddie’s ancestor was the poison. He’s the remedy. He has the unique ability to alchemize that which is poisonous into that which is divine. The ability to choose between judgment and mercy. A harmless man isn’t a complete man. A complete man is a dangerous man who has judgment under voluntary control. They cannot mistake his kindness for weakness. The question is will he accept the challenge?
Eddie has a dream that he becomes the evil king. He wakes up in his bed. He visits Marco. He asks him about his flight. Marco says two and a half hours door-to-door. He thinks Eddie is a man who likes to move swiftly. He thanks him for agreeing to have a talk after their previous meeting. He has his attention. Eddie says he’d like to talk about the bill to decriminalize marijuana that’s currently working its way through Westminster.
The woman asks Eddie if he thinks he can stop it going through. Marco introduces the woman Angelica as his consigliere. Eddie tells Marco that Bobby Glass is intent on killing the bill. He thinks he’d be making a mistake. Look at what happened in America. Legalized marijuana created a new industry worth 40 billion a year without impacting the illegal market. Rather than killing the bill, he thinks they let it go through and use their unique position in the marketplace to dominate the legal one. Nobody knows the business better than they do. With the right setup, their skills in the illegal market are fully transferable.
Marco asks Eddie Bobby Glass doesn’t agree? Eddie reveals Bobby thinks they’d be killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Marco figures Eddie thinks why have one goose when they could have two? But in order for Eddie to dominate the legal market, he needs significant investment so he can step up the legitimate infrastructure before the bill’s passed into law in the UK.
Angelica asks Eddie what level of investment are they talking about? He says 50 to 60 million euros. For that, Marco get 50 percent of the gross year on year. His job is to make sure the bill goes through. Marco’s job is to pay for the infrastructure. Marco thinks a man in Eddie’s position must know plenty of well-connected people with deep pockets. Eddie says he needs a man with the requisite skill set. Someone with ambition and aspiration. Marco asks Eddie is he planning all this without the approval of Bobby Glass? Eddie says without the guy’s knowledge. Until it’s too late for him to stop it, by which time he’ll realize what a good thing it is.
Marco says in the absence of permission, seek forgiveness. Eddie says the sort of money they’ll be making can buy a lot of forgiveness. He’ll split 50 percent of his profits with Bobby Glass. He’s Eddie’s concern, not Marco’s. Marco needs time to think about it. Eddie must get that bill passed.
Eddie tries to leave Marco’s office. But Marco has a favor to ask. Some partners of their from the Far East, they need help with a problem in London. It involves a man called Mr. Takashi. He wants Eddie to cooperate. Eddie agrees.
In the gym, Jack wants to know what exactly does a night out with Lord Hawthorne involve? Susie says the precise details of what a night out on the town entails is open to interpretation. He would certainly expect a meal to be involved. After that, he might expect a segue to another venue. A bar, perhaps. However, more important than the number of locations he might visit is the spirit in which he approaches the evening, which determines whether it qualifies as a night out on the town, rather than two blokes getting drunk.
Jack tells his sister that it smells a rat. Be specific about the nature of this spirit she’s attempting to describe. She says joyous. Celebratory. General gay-ery. He asks her why he has to do this. She tells him that he’s drowning in natural charisma. And Lord Hawthorne is the one person capable of getting the Duke into the House of Lords, which is vital to father’s plan to spike the bill. That said, His Lordship has assured her he has no intention of making him do anything he’s uncomfortable with.
It’s just a meal. If he wanted to make Lord Hawthorne happy in the stalls, she’s sure he’d appreciate it. He might enjoy it.
Jack eats with Lord Hawthorne at a restaurant. Lord Hawthorne says he has always taken great pleasure in the culinary delights of the invertebrate. The crushed ice. The gleaming treasure served up on a calciferous shell. The slippery feeling as it glides down his throat. He asks Jack does he take a couple of chews on the way, or does he prefer to swallow them whole? Jack says it depends on the oysters. When they’re this fresh, he needs to give them a bit of a chomp. Make sure they’re dead.
Lord Hawthorne says wonderful how the animal instinct kicks in, even in as refined a setting as this. He asks Jack if he had to be an animal, which animal would it be? Jack says his father always says he fights like a dog. But he thinks that’s a compliment. Lord Hawthorne tells Jack that he’s much higher up the food chain than that. A lion, maybe. Or perhaps a wolverine. Lord Hawthorne has always identified as a fox. He’s wily and cunning. He has a very bushy tail.
Jack tells Lord Hawthorne that he doesn’t mind a bit of chasey-chasey, but there’s gonna be no special services at the end. Because he likes women. Lord Hawthorne offers to go to attend a party after the dinner. A group of people he thinks Jack might enjoy. Jack agrees.
Lord Hawthorne takes Jack to the nightclub. He introduces two girls to him. But Jack leaves the nightclub with the girls.
The next day, Frederick calls Eddie. Charlotte picks up the phone. He wants to visit him with her mother tomorrow. But he doesn’t want to see her. Because he’s changed.
Charlotte has breakfast with Eddie and her mother Sabrina Horniman. Charlotte tells Eddie that Frederick wasn’t happy. He thinks it’s a good thing that the guy contacted them. They need to give him some time. Nanny agrees with what Eddie said. One scoop of brandy butter, and Frederick will be right back where he started. Charlotte wants to take Frederick home. Eddie goes against it. He thinks Frederick summoned up the courage to make contact. Doesn’t mean he’s ready. Let’s not disturb that which is working.
Sabrina invites Eddie to go to see Frederick with them. She thinks Frederick would like to see him. He claims that he’s very busy.
Eddie drinks coffee with Geoffrey. Geoffrey asks Eddie what favor does Marco want exactly? Eddie says Marco is looking for an accountant who was a little too creative with his accounting. They’ve got the address of his lawyer, who knows where he’s being held in witness protection. Geoffrey asks Eddie when they find the accountant? Eddie says they let them do what they need to do. His job is to take their man, Mr. Takashi, from A to B, and then on to C. No need to get their hands dirty.
Geoffrey thinks it would be better to give this job to one of Susie’s associates. But Eddie doesn’t want to let Susie know the case. He tells Geoffrey that if he’s at all uncomfortable with this, he completely understands. Geoffrey tells Eddie that he wants to do anything for him and his family.
Takashi walks out of the building. He asks Geoffrey to take him to Lincoln’s Inn Fields. In the sauna, Eddie reports to Susie’s father, Robert that Lord Hawthorne is saying the terms of the deals weren’t met. Because Jack didn’t give him what he wanted. The upshot is Lord Hawthorne’s asked to increase the financials as recompense. Eddie says given the time constraints. They think they should give Lord Hawthorne what he wants. Robert asks Eddie about the time constraints.
Eddie says the vote to decide who becomes the new hereditary peer is at the end of the week. With Hawthorne’s help, Eddie gets into the House of Lords, where he controls which way the bill to decriminalize marijuana goes. Robert asks Eddie how much? Eddie says 150. Robert says that’s a 5x increase. They have got to remember their principles here. Jack did what Jack was supposed to do. Jack stuck to his obligations. Eddie says 150 is nothing in context. They could have paid Hawthorne 2 million. Let’s not let principles get in the way.
Robert tells Eddie that the statement disturbs him. These people, they don’t know who they’re dealing with. So they pay them the agreed sum. Now, he puts a gun down on the table in front of them and they will be scared. He needs a hand with that, he gives him a shout.
Eddie, Susie and Jack walk out of the house. Eddie offers to pay Lord Hawthorne out of the problem fund. But Susie worries that her father wouldn’t be happy if he found out. He says if he finds out. He doesn’t need to know till they decide to tell him. He’ll thank them for their initiative. She thinks he knows if they went around Robert’s back, he wouldn’t look upon it kindly. He’s in a particularly mischievous mood today. He says just trying to find a solution to the problem. She offers to talk to Lord Hawthorne together. Unless he’s otherwise engaged. She notices that someone sends a message to him. He says it’s just Geoffrey.
She asks him How’s Geoffrey handling his new remit? Must be hard, wearing two hats. He says Geoffrey is extremely capable. He thinks it might be worth her flying solo on this one. If they’re gonna force Lord Hawthorne’s hand, he might respond better to a feminine touch. An iron fist with a Brioni glove. She says with the added benefit of allowing him time to resolve his cryptic issue with his capable gamekeeper. Jack drives by. Susie tells her brother that it’s a car, not a rocket. He says she’s in safe hands. Buckle up.
Susie visits Hawthorne. He checks the cash in her bag. He tells her that despite the elegant Chanel presentation, he won’t be neither beguiled, intimidated, nor threatened. She says she’s not threatening him. She’s simply contextualizing the situation. He says he’d like to speak to Eddie. Where is he? She says Eddie is busy. Hunting, fishing, counting the doves in his dovecote. She doesn’t know. Thirty, plus a night out on the town with her brother is what was agreed. She understands that, despite his best endeavors, Jack failed to deliver what he feels was required. But unless he can articulate what went wrong, they’re done.
He says Jack didn’t commit to the evening. She reminds him that Jack isn’t a gay. She thinks he’s not a gay as well. He claims that he just wanted a night out on the town, which, as he explained, Jack failed to deliver on.
Eddie visits Geoffrey. Geoffrey reports to Eddie that they spoke to the lawyer as per his instructions. He got the address of the accountant over an hour ago. But it seems our Japanese friend is pretty keen in there. They got what they came for, but he’s still torturing the poor soul.
Eddie gets in the room when Takashi is torturing the accountant. He shows him the address. He says they have the address of the accountant. He’ll take him to him. But Takashi says he doesn’t complete his job. He shoots the accountant’s head with a gun. The poor man is dead.
Marco calls Eddie. He asks him how are things progressing with their mutual acquaintance? Eddie tells Marco that his friend’s methods are a touch extreme, to put it mildly. They have the address. The accountant is renting a house in Castle Combe. Macro says their target is a monster. The accountant must disappear. Eddie points out that the agreement was for one body. They’re already one body down. Macro agrees with what Eddie said. But if their Japanese friend’s methods appear a little extreme, there’s a good reason for that. He asks him to tell him is it a problem? Eddie says there’s no problem.
Susie plays pool with Joe at a pool hall. He brings up that he and Jack nicked those mountain bikes. Those Islington boys came looking for them all Ralphed up, and she tore straight into them. and she tore straight into them. He fell for her after that. She’s surprised that he fell for her because she gave some thugs a lesson. She doesn’t believe it. He confesses it to her that he did it before that. She was gorgeous. It was the way she wouldn’t countenance any shenanigans.
He asks her what exactly is this relationship between her and the Duke? She says professional. He asks her incongruous juxtaposition, wouldn’t she say? She and His Highness? She tells him that that’s a paradox. Paradoxes relate to irony. Ironies correlate to juxtaposition. Really wanna play this game? He says he’ll pay any game she likes. She thanks him. She says balls in pockets, fingers in pies, noses in other people’s business. What is he up to? He wanna back off pronto before he finds himself in a Chinese finger trap.
He says he wonders if her time would be better suited in a different game. More dough. Less bulk. Fatter margins. And her father wouldn’t be barking orders at ya. Bollocks like her are rare. She has got skills, experience. Vision. She says whilst she has no doubt there are vast gains to be had from dealing in the powder, the risk remains that bit too elevated for her liking. It’s not the heights. It’s the volatility. It’s the South American coke dealers. They love a morbid body puzzle.
They chop each other’s cousins up into little pieces, put them in plastic bags, and hide them all over the tundra. And they put those pieces back together again like some third-world version of Humpty Dumpty. She likes the green fields of England. What she wanna know is if he asked her out because he wanted to sleep with her, or because he wanted to sound her out about a change of career? He asks her cannot it be both?
Susie takes Joe home. He asks her is he supposed to take her shoes off? She kisses him. In the forest, Geoffrey and Eddie watch Takashi dig a hole. Geoffrey tells Eddie that This journey that he has embarked on to bring the estate back to its former glory, it seems to be coming at quite a cost. Eddie says for years, they’ve been living in the zoo and contracting. Now they’re living in the jungle and expanding. And, yes, that does come at a cost. Takashi throws the body into the hole.
Eddie returns home when Lawrence is starting a fire. Lawrence tells Eddie that he’s going to sleep. He asks him if he wants to have a drink before he leaves. Eddie asks Lawrence to deliver the Macallan ’76 in his room. Lawrence reports it to Eddie that there’s a lady here to see him. She’s waiting in his study. It’s the Contessa Isabella.
Eddie walks into his study. Bella says sorry to drop in unannounced. He says he’s sorry for her loss. She won’t take much of his time as it’s late. But out of respect, she wanted to talk to him face-to-face. How and why her boyfriend was killed is no longer relevant. That door is closed. Now that he’s gone, his role has gone with him. But she has spoken to Marco, and he has asked her to take Cico’s place. So she will act as an intermediary between him and Marco to ensure there’s no friction between his organization and his organization. She persuades him to take a break. He tells her that she might want to address the Botticelli. Bobby’s still out of pocket 16 million. She says she will take care of it.
The next day, Geoffrey says good morning to Sabrina. She says he’s up bright and early as usual. He’s looking for Eddie. She says he should be down shortly. He notices that she’s looking rather chic. Going somewhere special? She confesses it to him that she’s going to see Freddy. It will be wonderful to see him again. Cannot have been easy, everything he’s gone through. But it sounds like he’s really starting to turn a corner. She knows he’ll probably think that she’s just the most selfish old moo cow, but the thought of him coming home is just filling her with a grand dollop of dread. He tells her that she’s not selfish. She’s one of the most dutiful and decent women that he has ever had the good fortune to meet.
Geoffrey and Eddie are going to go out. Geoffrey offers to go to pick up Takashi on the way. He’ll be tucking into his bran flakes. Eddie gets a call from Susie. He asks her did she manage to resolve things with Lord Hawthorne? She says no. He messaged her this morning to say he’s still not satisfied. She wondered if he could lend a hand, talk to him toff guy to toff guy, aristo to aristo, assuming he’s not too busy. He says he wouldn’t be able to do it this morning, unfortunately.
But she’ll be pleased to hear that Bella has been in touch. Marco’s planning on using her as his liaison from now on. And they wanna return the 16 million she sprayed on that Botticelli. She asks him why does he think Bella came to him first instead of her? He says perhaps she wanted them to talk toff guy to toff guy, aristo to aristo. Or maybe it’s because he’s the one with the airfield. He believes that Bella will be in touch.
Joe shows up. He asks Susie if she wants to have breakfast. She says maybe no breakfast. He gets back upstairs, and she’ll bring him a protein shake. She calls Gabrielle. She asks her how quickly can she be on the road?
Charlotte and Sabrina visit Frederick. He wants to give Charlotte’s son, Tarquin a cuddle. Charlotte agrees. But she wants to wait until her son wakes up. Frederick says maybe Tarquin won’t wake up. Maybe he’ll stay asleep. Because it’s peaceful in here.
Takashi takes Eddie and Geoffrey to the accountant’s safe house, Castle Combe. Gabrielle watches on them. She reports it to Susie that They’ve just pulled up to a cottage now. Three of them go out. The Duke, the keeper, and some Japanese-looking geezer. Susie asks Jack do they know any Japanese-looking gentlemen? He says father’s chef? She asks Gabrielle to keep her head down and them updated. Jack asks his sister why are they keeping an eye on Duke? She says he’s sniffing around the Italians. He says too much nose to bum. She says he’s been pulling on the lead a bit recently. Not a lot. Just a little tug every now and again. It’s just a feminine instinct at this stage. But she wouldn’t underestimate that instinct.
At Frederick’s place, Frederick tells Charlotte and Sabrina that he wants to go home. The two women are startled. They reject it, and they say that their car is full. They drive the car to flee. Sabrina asks Charlotte did she notice a lot of crucifixes? Charlotte says among other things. Sabrina says there’s something very strange going on.
Bella visits Susie in the gym. Jack invites Bella to workout with him. She says strictly business today. He tells her that Susie is in the office. Bella meets Susie in the office. Susie says what a wonderful place for an office. Bella says such a masculine atmosphere. And yet here Susie sits, a beautiful rose in a tangle of thorns. Susie says she likes to think her feminine sensibilities act as something of a counterbalance. She asks Bella what she wants.
Bella claims that she’s here to kiss the ring. She assumes Eddie told Susie her exciting news that she will be acting as liaison between Marco and her good selves. Susie says Eddie did indeed mention that Bella would been in contact with him. She’s looking forward to the chance to work together. And her father was extremely grateful for the repayment of the Botticelli. Bella hopes it will pave the way to a new working relationship. But she’s new to this world. She has only ever known la dolce vita of an aristocrat.
That’s why she wanted to talk to Susie. To see if she’d take her under her wing. There’s so much she has to learn. Susie is sure Bella will pick up whatever she needs very quickly like Eddie. Bella knows Eddie was a soldier. But he lived just an innocuous life of pleasure and frivolity like her. And yet, with Susie’s guidance, he has become so much more. Susie is sure Eddie will act as a very good role model for Bella as she oscillate between the two worlds.
The only thing she might add at this point is, if Bella ever finds herself in a situation where she needs to return a sum of money to her father, she might wanna talk to her about it first, rather than Eddie. Chain of command. That sort of thing. Bella says she will do it. As soon as Susie says it, it seems so obvious. She mentions she’s already teaching her. And thank her for the coffee.
Eddie, Geoffrey and Takashi wait for Accountant at the safe house. Takashi prepares guns. They’re going to kill Accountant. But Eddie sees Accountant’s wife and daughters. He tells Geoffrey that they have a problem. He tells Takashi that they’re done. Because Accountant is with his family. But Takashi plans to kill Accountant and his family. So Eddie and Geoffrey work together to kill Takashi.
Accountant hears the sound. He comes to the room. Eddie asks Accountant to send his family off. He plans to forgive him. But Accountant attacks Eddie with a knife. Eddie has to kill Accountant.
Eddie drives home. Susie is waiting for him. She wants him to confess it to her. He offers to get in the house and drink a cup of tea. She doesn’t want to drink tea. She asks him to explain the body in his car. Geoffrey shows Susie Takashi’s body. Eddie tells Susie that he has plan for that body. She reminds him that he works with them, not outside of them, and at the end of the day, her father is the boss. He says he’s well aware of the hierarchy. He will explain the body to her later.
He asks her to use the body to bring Lord Hawthorne into the fold, thus securing his place in the House of Lords. First, they get one of her people to intercept the guy at one of his decadent, all-weekend parties. When he sets his drink aside, they’ll slip him a goodnight pill. And the next morning, he’ll wake up to a lovely surprise.
The next day, Susie calls Hawthorne. She asks him about his fine morning. She and Eddie visit Hawthorne. They see the body in the bed. Susie comforts Hawthorne that they can find a way to sort it out for him. He will be fine.
SEE ALSO: The Gentlemen Season 2 Episode 1 Recap
Susie and Eddie leave Hawthorne’s place. Susie thinks Eddie’s intention is to let the bill go through, decriminalize marijuana, and evoke the wrath of her dearly beloved father. Because he wanna go legitimate. He says it’s not about legitimate or illegitimate. It’s about having their cake and eating it. With Lord Hawthorne’s backing, they let the bill go through. Then, meanwhile, they invest in a legitimate company that they bring in to sell their illegally grown weed on a legitimate market, avoiding the cost of regulation, on a legitimate market, avoiding the cost of regulation, undercutting their competitors, and becoming the corner shop of cannabis.
She asks him what about the elephant in the room? Her father wants the bill blown out of the water. He tells her that her father’s got the blinkers on. She says he’s not gonna appreciate being blindsided. He says then they wait until they can present a fait accompli and they choose their moment extremely carefully. He was always gonna bring her in. He wanted to make sure he could deliver. She asks him is he confident he can? He says he believes that he can do it as long as she helps him. She needs to think about it. Eddie is crowned. Frederick prays. He wants to take back everything that belonged to him.