The Maalik brothers are still on a roll in Deli Boys season two episode two taking their criminal enterprise to even more crazy places. While their money laundering scheme seems to be going well, a series of bad decisions, misunderstandings and surprises lead Raj to face a life altering crisis by the end of the episode.
Money Laundering Operation Expands
The episode begins with a look at the organisation’s money laundering network working behind the scenes. Every week, cash is quietly taken through the family deli and funneled into the Casino.
Raj and Mir dress up as gamblers, swapping their money for chips, and spend several hours pretending to gamble. The chips are eventually turned in and the cash is disguised as legitimate business income. The fake service records and shell companies are a way to get the money into bank accounts and credit lines without attracting attention.
Meanwhile, Lucky and Sugar are getting closer and closer. Sugar introduces Lucky as the CEO of a new company, Luck Now Entertainment, another front to help hide their illegal activities.
Chadwater Begins His Crusade
Meanwhile, Andrew Chadwater continues his crusade to clean up Philadelphia. Outside his office he is making another of his dramatic speeches about cracking down on criminal enterprises. The Sugar Palace Casino is one of his main targets.
But Chadwater’s accidental stumble in the middle of his speech turns into an embarrassing spectacle. But despite the mishap, he is still determined.
Lucky is worried about the rising pressure, but Sugar doesn’t seem to mind. He is confident of his political connections and says he has influential friends on his side and decides to go to Chadwater himself.
Sugar tries to buy influence
Sugar arranges a meeting with Chadwater and wastes no time in working his usual charm. He talks about donations and political support, but also offers subtle incentives, hoping to influence Chadwater’s investigation.
The strategy is a failure.
Chadwater is determined that he won’t be bought, and promises to dig deeper into Sugar’s activities. The meeting puts Sugar in an uneasy position and confirms that Chadwater could be a serious threat going forward.
The Golf Club Encounters New Challenges
Back at DarCo, Mir is still determined to get ownership of an exclusive golf club. He believes the purchase could raise their status and help them to become respected criminal elites.
The brothers meet with the executive running the deal, Reza Talai. It won’t be easy to convince the board members,” says Reza. His reputation had taken a dent after a shipping disaster related to the infamous Suez Canal blockage.
The talks have been positive, but the deal is far from being done.
Things become more complicated when Ahmad sends a threatening message asking for one million dollars. Lucky doesn’t want any trouble and agrees to pay him right away, hoping to avoid any extra hassle.
Raj and Mir Quarrel over Ahmad
The dispute over Ahmad creates another rift between Raj and Mir.
Lucky insists the brothers deal with Ahmad themselves, and Raj prepares to turn violent. He starts collecting weapons, mentally preparing to solve the problem once and for all.
Mir sees it differently.
He thinks they should just pay Ahmad off, because he thinks murder would ruin their chances of moving up in the criminal world. Mir tries to lock Raj away so he can’t listen.
The plan goes up in smoke.
Raj escapes and the brothers get into a fist fight before going their separate ways to find their own answers.
Raj Has a Change of Heart–A Ghostly Warning
Raj approaches Ahmad and then suddenly has a vision of his dead father.
The conversation forces Raj to think about his choices. His father says he should forget old grudges and concentrate on what really matters.
Raj ignores the advice at first and continues with his mission, but the words do have an effect on him. When he finally confronts Ahmad he cannot commit the murder.
But he spares Ahmad instead.
Ahmad walks away, amused at the situation, and apparently out of any danger at all.
One murder changes everything
As Raj and Mir deal with their own internal struggle, Lucky and Sugar try to come up with ways to distract Chadwater from probing their operations.
Their plans are interrupted by a sudden news bulletin.
When there’s an explosion in Fishtown, Chadwater calls an emergency press conference. What at first seems an unconnected incident proves to be far more important.
The victim of the vehicle explosion has been identified by the authorities as Ahmad.
Worse, investigators have already identified a suspect.
The episode ends with the police storming the house of Raj and Mir and arresting Raj for first degree murder.
Comments
This episode offers one of the biggest twists that the series has given us so far. The writers do well to build up the tension of Raj killing Ahmad, but Ahmad dies when Raj decides not to kill him.
That twist immediately opens up questions of who really committed the murder and whether Raj has been deliberately framed.
The episode also balances its darker developments with plenty of comedy. Chadwater is still the funniest part and over the top with his personality and always needing to be in the limelight. The clumsy exchanges between Lucky and Sugar add a nice extra layer of comedy without detracting from the over-arching story.
The golf club plot is interesting as well because it’s Mir’s dream of entering a more sophisticated criminal world. Raj now faces serious criminal charges which could bring that ambition crashing down before it even becomes a reality.
Overall, Episode 2 does a great job of raising the stakes for every major character. As the central criminal operation of the season becomes more lucrative, one murder investigation could ruin everything they’ve built. With Raj in police custody and many questions unanswered about Ahmad’s death, the next episode becomes instantly one of the most anticipated chapters of the season.