Well, that went about as well as I expected. There comes a point in this episode of Netflix’s The Gentlemen — around when Eddie starts talking about when he and his new bride Bella will be old and grey together — that you just know this poor woman is doomed. It’s a damn shame, too. She looked incredible in that party dress.
I don’t mean to make light of Bella’s death, presumably arranged by some enemy or other of Eddie’s. Let’s count the suspects:
There are potential vengeful associates of Tancredi (Federico Calistri), a boorish guest at the pre-wedding party whom Eddie accidentally kills when he decks him for harassing and insulting Bella.
There’s Angelica (Claire Novelli), Boss Moretti’s scheming consigliere, who threatens to expose the killing unless Eddie funnels the proceeds of his enterprise with Moretti through her contacts in Hong Kong rather than his own in London. He puts a stop to her scheme by threatening to expose the fact that her Hong Kong contact is her own husband, and the pair are skimming from the organization.
Most worryingly of all, there’s the Glass family. Susie, who has never looked better — and that’s saying something — shows up at the wedding with Jack and a gaggle of other associates. But she’s not really there to wish Eddie well, she’s there to warn him not to start up any business with Moretti that her father would construe as competition.
Despite Eddie’s assurances that he has no intention of moving on Glass family territory, Susie reports to her dad that he can’t be trusted, because he’s more ambitious than even he realizes, and that ambition can’t be contained for long. She knows quite well that the godawful beating Eddie incurred last time he defied Bobby is just a prelude to the grand finale in store for him if he does it a second time, and she narcs on him anyway.
Could it be that she’s hurt he’s in love with another woman? Nah, couldn’t be. Susie Glass, subject to human emotion? God forbid.
Whoever is responsible, they at least wait until after the wedding to do their killing. The gala itself is beautiful, with everyone dressed to the nines: Benedetta Porcaroli’s sheer party dress literally made my jaw drop, and Joely Richardson, Jasmine Blackborow, and Kaya Scodelario all look sensational as well. (By now you know full well how good Theo James looks all dressed up.)
Sure, there are some hiccups. Freddy, under the sway of Gospel John, has not forgiven Eddie for wronging him yet (lol), and he doesn’t attend. Eddie gets his own taste of religion when Bella encourages him to go to confession; his remorseless tales of murder, particularly of unnumbered “Afghans,” leave the priest questioning his occupation and praying for Lord Edward’s soul.
Nanny discovers that the estate houses what he calls “a vast criminal enterprise” in the form of one of the aristo weed farms Eddie and Moretti are now taking continent-wide. Charly is forced to let him in on the family secret as a result.
“My in-laws are outlaws, not aristocrats,” he quips in a daze.
“Oh, darling, there’s no need to panic,” Charly reassures him. “We’re still aristocrats.”
Back behind the camera, creator and co-writer Guy Ritchie makes a feast ot the Italian scenery and architecture, from the winding road to Switzerland on which Eddie races Bella’s plane in his car to the hotel where he murders a guy for mouthing off.
The race is when disaster strikes, as their goodbyes prior to their departure signal it will. (She’s so obviously doomed at this point I half-expected her to start saying the days of the week in the wrong order.) Whoever set the bomb in her plane must have thought Eddie would be aboard, since the idea to race each other was a last-minute improvisation. Now Bella has paid for Edward’s sins.
I imagine his retribution will be swift and terrible…but only if Marco Moretti doesn’t blame Eddie himself for his goddaughter’s death. On the other hand, could Marco have been willing to sacrifice Bella in order to take out a partner and take over the operation himself, rather than split the proceeds fifty-fifty as agreed? On a show this twisty, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.
I’m also not surprised by how consistently good this season has been. While it doesn’t quite rise to the level of the previous episode, with Eddie’s ordeal and Susie’s bitter education in the coke trade, its splendid cinematography, gorgeous costuming, and grandly tragic ending make it a worthy entry all its own.
