Gangs of London - Season 2

In season two, Gangs of London is grander and more brutal, but also more unbelievable. Two years ago, Gangs of London blew everyone away. Gareth Evans' crime series chose to turn extreme violence into an art – a gory ballet – rather than showcasing commendable acting or telling a believable story. It worked. Bullets fly around your ears, bones break audibly and each episode pushes the boundaries a bit further. That there would be a second season was a no-brainer. Still, the second season loses a bit of quality.

London is in chaos after the large-scale gang war of the first season. The remaining relatives and minions of slain crime kingpin Finn Wallace (Colm Meaney, Hell On Wheels) are at risk for their lives. Elliot Finch (Sope Dirisu, Humans), an undercover cop who infiltrated the Wallace family, is also trapped like a rat. The enemies of the Wallace clan have a brand new weapon in their hands: the Georgian mobster Koba (Waleed Zuaiter, Altered Carbon).

De actie is weer heerlijk bruut

Despite the fact that creator Gareth Evans is less involved in the production of the series, Gangs of London remains wonderfully brutal. The action looks tight again. Not only large shootings including helicopters are spectacularly depicted, one-on-one battles are also excellently choreographed. There is such a fight in the last episode and it really is a feast for the eyes. At least, if you can handle watching this, because not everyone will like such gruesome images.

Certainly, the series focuses mainly on action and not on good acting or a strong story. You can overlook that to a certain extent. However, this season sometimes flies a little too far in terms of credibility, and that is a pity. In series like this, it can happen that a character you thought was dying is suddenly alive and kicking. But to do that several times in a row is too much even for Gangs of London.

The storyline is implausible at times, even for the world of Gangs of London

I really liked the ending of the first season because a number of different key characters died and it created an interesting new fresh slate for the second season. But because these characters do not all turn out to be dead, all this is nullified. This way you actually get more of the same and that does not help the unpredictability of the series.

What season two did improve on is the characterization of some of the characters. Elliot, in particular, suddenly has to deal with the consequences of his own actions and those of others, and he has to make difficult choices. The same goes for Wallace's former right-hand man Ed Dumani (Lucian Msamati, His Dark Materials). The dilemmas they face are interesting, and the choices fit well with their characters. The new gangster Koba is also a wonderful addition to the series and he fits very well with the crazy world in which this series takes place.

Gangs of London is still a brutal action series that will blow fans of on-screen violence. Still, the storyline in this season is just a little too implausible, even for a series like this. That does not alter the fact that I hope for a third season, because the ending has interesting leads for a possible sequel.