{"id":24168,"date":"2022-10-20T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1720258"},"modified":"2022-10-20T10:07:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T08:07:34","slug":"gangs-of-londons-%e1%b9%a3ope-dirisu-on-season-2-theres-a-different-atmosphere","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/gangs-of-londons-%e1%b9%a3ope-dirisu-on-season-2-theres-a-different-atmosphere\/","title":{"rendered":"Gangs of London\u2019s \u1e62\u1ecdp\u1eb9\u0301 D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9 on season 2: \u201cThere\u2019s a different atmosphere\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Abby Robinson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 20 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Of all the shows returning to our screens in 2022, the team behind Gangs of London<\/a> arguably had one of the biggest mountains to climb following the staggering success of its debut season. It was <\/span>Sky Atlantic\u2019s second-biggest original drama launch of all time, with both critics and viewers heaping praise<\/a> on the bone-crunching, blood-spattered action-crime extravaganza, which poses the question: how on earth<\/em> do you match that, or even go one better?<\/span><\/p>\n

Stick to the formula and you risk stagnation. Introduce too many new elements, <\/span>\u00e0 la <\/span>Nottingham Forest, and the end product could lack cohesion.<\/span><\/p>\n

No pressure, then.<\/p>\n

But <\/span>\u1e62\u1ecdp\u1eb9\u0301 D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9, who stars as undercover police detective-turned-reluctant hit man Elliot Finch, is cool as a cucumber when talking about its sophomore season<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually don\u2019t remember us putting that stress on ourselves,\u201d he said of making the follow-up, which picks up one year after the death of crime boss Finn Wallace, whose murder triggered a bloody gang war in the city of London and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Gareth [Evans] made the first series, it was good in his eyes and we were really happy with the story that we\u2019d told. And then all of the success that came from it afterwards, it wasn\u2019t <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>our business, but it was just like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s nice! I\u2019m glad you responded nicely to this thing.\u2019 But I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s been like, \u2018Oh my God, how<\/em> are we going to top this?\u2019 We just come to work and enjoy each other\u2019s company and try to do the best we can. And hopefully lightning strikes twice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sky UK Limited \/ AMC LLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The challenge of recapturing that magic fell to director Corin Hardy, who has taken over from Evans as showrunner, and his hand is felt throughout.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a different atmosphere,\u201d said D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9. \u201c<\/span><\/span>He\u2019s really put his own stamp on this season. Whether that\u2019s darker or bigger or more violent, I\u2019m not quite sure, but it definitely felt different to shoot, so I expect the product to be different.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Revisiting Elliot was a first for D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9 who, prior to this, had never played the same character twice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the reason that all these things get cancelled,\u201d he laughed. \u201cThe monkey\u2019s off the shoulder.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But that familiarity made slipping back into Elliot\u2019s leather jacket more taxing, not less: \u201cI actually found it a little bit limiting. Every time you come to a new character, the possibilities are endless. You do the work and you discover who they are. But already knowing who they are, you have to be consistent. I had to go back and listen to what my voice sounded like, look at how I walked. It didn\u2019t feel like a new and organic experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Elliot\u2019s hair in season 2, the stakes are bigger. The remaining Wallaces are<\/span> scattered and the Dumanis are estranged, with London poised to tip into all-out war once again as the rival players, old and new, endeavour to assert themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like wrangling cats b<\/span>ecause everyone has been split off in these different directions,\u201d explained D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9. \u201c<\/span><\/span>And initially you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, <\/em>hang on,\u2019 because it\u2019s such an expansive cast and there are lots of threads. People might need a minute to be like, \u2018Okay, so <\/span>that\u2019s<\/span><\/i> what\u2019s happening there.\u2019 And then by episode three, we\u2019re back in the driver\u2019s seat and ploughing through it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nick Briggs \/ Sky \/ AMC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

When we last saw Elliot, he was firmly under the thumb of the investors and that remains the case in season 2. He spends his days in foreign lands begrudgingly hunting for skulls to crack. If he fails to comply, his elderly dad (Richard Pepple), plus anyone else he cares about, are toast, to put it mildly, so he does as he\u2019s told, <\/span>barrelling machine-like through his hit list, his emotions stifled by pills and liquor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s unrecognisable to himself at the beginning of season 2,\u201d said D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He explains that the man we were first introduced to had a degree of autonomy, adding: \u201cEverything he did, he chose to do because he was playing the game. He knew he was a piece on a chessboard, but he was like a player-manager. There was a plan and he thought that he was going to be able to extract something from the situation, that he was going to be able to save the day. When we return for season 2, you\u2019re just like, \u2018Bro, you\u2019re <\/span>nowhere<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>You\u2019re at sea without a paddle. You\u2019re now just at the mercy of others, and that\u2019s quite a terrifying place to be. And you see that on his face.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That raises a concerning question: if he does escape this inferno, can he recover emotionally given what he\u2019s done? Will his hands ever<\/em> be clean?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he\u2019s been going through during the past year, the vice grip that he\u2019s locked in by the investors, it\u2019s really compromising his soul and everything he knows about himself,\u201d he added. <\/span>\u201cAs an audience, you\u2019re unsure if this is still the guy we were rooting for in the first season. How many bad things can you do before you are a bad person?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to feel that the character you\u2019re playing is entirely without hope, without the possibility of redemption. If he was, then he wouldn\u2019t be interesting to watch because we\u2019d all know that he\u2019s f**ked, and you can\u2019t empathise with that. <\/span>But ultimately, there\u2019s a question towards the end of the series which asks: Is he still on a path of righteousness? Does he want to atone? <\/span>He\u2019s entirely compromised and it\u2019s about us trying to find out who he is and what he\u2019s capable of, and I think you\u2019ll be surprised.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nick Briggs\/AMC\/Sky UK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Central to Elliot\u2019s arc this season is Koba (Waleed Zuaiter), a silver-haired <\/span>psychopath with a penchant for velour tracksuits and trilbies. He\u2019s employed by heroin baron Asif Afridi (Asif Raza Mir), with the investors\u2019 backing, to impose a dictatorship on the criminal enterprises operating within London.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a Thanos quote where he says, \u2018I am inevitable,’\u201d laughs D\u00ecr\u00eds\u00f9. \u201c<\/span>There\u2019s a big clash <\/em>between Elliot and Koba, a personality clash. It\u2019s like bro [Koba], you\u2019re doing a lot<\/em>, you\u2019re doing the most<\/em> right now. They\u2019re definitely two different people and they\u2019re on two different sides, so it\u2019s inevitable that that clash is going to happen. There will be fireworks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But even if Koba and co meet a grisly end, there will always be someone waiting in the wings to take their place: \u201cJustice in Gangs of London is like construction in London. Just when you think they\u2019ve finished building, there\u2019s another building. There\u2019s another crane. There\u2019s always something else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know if Elliot, or anyone, for that matter will claw their way out of season 2 alive, with the upcoming war threatening total destruction across the board. But is there space for Gangs of London to return, either with the current crop of characters or an entirely new cohort?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a balance that needs to be struck between continuity and refreshing, and also stimulating, because if everything just stays the same, then what makes this dramatic? But if everything changes, then why do I care? Because I don\u2019t have any relationship with these people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always like, \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019 Even when I read the end of season 2, I was like, \u2018Okay cool. And then what happens?\u2019 I hadn\u2019t even shot this one yet, people haven\u2019t even seen it, but someone\u2019s got to know what happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can generate the same sort of appetite for a third season of this, then we\u2019ve done our jobs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Loved this\u00a0Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n