Fridge Brilliance
For The Series In General- Meta-Brilliance: The entire show's resurgence back in 2017 came at possible the most perfect time due to the rise and resurgence of more multi-cultural British celebrities. Grime, Afrobeat & Afroswing music became more popularised with stars such as Stormzy becoming Household Names. And the show was also released during the peak period of Brexit, leading to the show gaining further critical acclaim and popularity due to it tackling issues more apparent in the UK.
- A lot of viewers find it unrealistic that the police are rarely seen in series 3 in comparison to how central the police plot was in Summerhouse season 2. This is especially critiqued due to the number of murders and gang activity being far higher in the new series compared to the Summerhouse seasons. However this is what makes the twist near the end so important, where it's revealed that the two junkies who have been regularly pestering Summerhouse members for drugs are actually undercover police detectives. The "lack" of police involvement shown is actually due to the ongoing police investigation of the Summerhouse Organisation, particularly with it being centred around Dushane who's seen to be the police's main target. It makes sense that the police are focusing more on gaining significant evidence and enough information to bring him down, rather than inconsequential arrests and investigations to bring down his lackeys. As the brains behind by the Summerhouse Organisation, Dushane being brought down is likely to bring the whole organisation down with him and have a more significant effect.
- Why is Sully in later seasons, particularly series 3, less Ax-Crazy than he was back in Summerhouse season 1 where he lacked remorse for accidentally killing an innocent man or about the death of Leon?
- Well in Summerhouse season 2 he’s working as a gun-for-hire so he’s likely killed more people and is probably less Hot-Blooded due to his partnership with Mike who is even more of a Leeroy Jenkins than Sully ever was, meaning unlike in his partnership with Dushane, he has to be the rational one.
- By series 3, Sully’s just finished serving a sentence in prison so he’s had time to calm down and reign in some of his more excessively violent tendencies, this could also be a case of prison forcing him to learn how to act smarter, in order to stay under the radar to secure early release.
- After Jason’s death he’s clearly in a state of trauma and according to Word of God, PTSD. Along with his tiredness from living the gangster life, he's made wearier and wearier from it.
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Series 1/Summerhouse (Channel 4) Season 1
- Wendell, the man with his son who Dushane briefly interacts with in episode 2, is alluded to be Dushane's father. This was later confirmed by
creator Ronan Bennet. Dushane telling Wendell's son (who he meets for the first time in this scene) "I'm your brother" is of course a major clue but it also adds a sense of sadness as it's clear the extent Wendell has been a Disappeared Dad. Not only does Dushane address him by his first name but Sully, who's Dushane's Best Friend since childhood doesn't even recognise him, going so far as to ask Dushane who he is, to which the latter replies: "No one".- This is later called back to in series 3, when during a conversation with Shelley, Dushane tells her that his father has a new family.
Series 2/Summerhouse (Channel 4) Season 2
- The parallels between Dushane and Sully are at the centre of this season.
- Interestingly both of their character arcs focus on their attempts to change themselves now they aren’t partners. Dushane is trying to accumulate more wealth, even outside of dealing drugs, becoming more ambitious and hardened. Sully is striking out on his own to show people (and likely prove to himself) that he doesn’t need Dushanbe, becoming more pragmatic as a result.
- There’s the subtle parallel of their relationships with their apprentices, both of who serve as mirrors to their characters. Michael is shown to idolise Dushane, trying to impress him at every turn and emulating his style and attitude, Dushane clearly sees some of himself in Michael and likes him because of that, even trusting him enough to carry out a deal with a high-paying customer. Jason is initially disrespectful to Sully, pestering him so he can nick his phone, but Sully is impressed by the boy’s tenacity despite the poor circumstances he lives in and because he sees some of himself in Jason as they both grew up with drug-addicted mothers forcing them to fend for themselves. Interestingly by the end of the season, both Michael and Jason’s fates, serve to highlight the deeper emotional differences between Dushane and Sully. Dushane mainly sees Michael as a footsoldier, and when it’s revealed he’s The Mole, hardly hesitates to think about killing him. Sully not only goes out of his way to take Jason under his wing, but also tries to help improve the boy’s physical health and acts like a genuine surrogate father. Furthermore, whilst Michael is scared to even ask Dushane for help after the police pressurise him, showing that despite his loyalty he’s more scared of Dushane than trusting, Jason doesn’t hesitate to call Sully when his step-dad abuses him even sticking with Sully in the aftermath and isn’t at all fearful of Sully even though he witnesses him commit numerous violent actions. The fact that in the last episode, Michael gives his life to save Dushane, whilst Jason’s life is saved by Sully who protects him from his Abusive Parents and tries to improve his life by taking him under his wing, cementing that Dushane isn’t as clean-hearted and Sully isn’t as cold-hearted as the previous season would have the viewer think.
Series 3/(Netflix) Season 1
- Dushane in the first episode is sporting a Beard of Sorrow, has gained some weight and Dris even remarks when he comes back to the UK in episode 2, that he's starting to look like his dad.
- Sully's visit to his baby mum’s new house, with him reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea to his daughter Tasha in episode 8 has a lot of significance, especially regarding Sully's character and his relationship with his daughter.
- Sully could be seen to represent the tiger, the tiger of the story is a Partially Civilised Animal who whilst having a fearful appearance is quite cordial. In the same vein Sully is a partially Retired Outlaw who whilst intimidating and abrasive on the outside does have a warm centre.
- The plot of the children's book's story is Exactly What It Says on the Tin: a tiger arrives at a young girl's house and has tea with her and her mother, a lot like how Sully arrives at his daughter's new house to have tea with her and her mother. Both the tiger and Sully initially get off to an awkward start but their visits end quite heartwarmingly.
- There's also a sad significance regarding how both Sully's visit and the book's story end. The tiger leaves at the end of the book and despite the girl buying a tin of tiger food, he never comes back. Similarly despite the initial meeting between him and his daughter going quite well, when Sully returns to the house later on after escaping an attack by rivals, he's told he can never see his daughter again by Taylor, due to the danger his criminal lifestyle can bring.
Series 4/(Netflix) Season 2
- Jamie's death is foreshadowed and set up several times throughout the season.
- Last season the first scene opened on Dris, who was Killed Off for Real by Sully in the last season for betraying Dushane and Sully. This season's first scene after the prologue focuses on Jamie, and just like Dris, come the end of the season he's also murdered by Sully for betraying him and Dushane.
- Both Jaq and Sully voice to Dushane how they don't trust Jamie, and it's clear after their conversation in the first episode they both partially blame him for Dris' betrayal and death. Considering their standoffish behaviour whenever they're around Jamie, the fact both of them were quite close to Dris and that they were the only two people witness to his murder, it's not a stretch that either of them would've killed Jamie if not for Dushane.
- Lizzie tries to sway Jamie to betray Dushane, so the two of them won't be trapped as his "bitches". What finally convinces Jamie to instigate his scheme to betray Dushane? When Chaash tells him that a master has to keep their "dog" on a short leash and should put them down if they step out of line. Now what does Jamie do to his "master"?
- Sully states to Jamie's face in Spain that he would murder him if he stepped out of line, during all of their scenes together and Jamie is quite visibly afraid of Sully even more than he is of Dushane, which comes to a head after Juan El Bueno outs his ploy to betray Summerhouse.
- Throughout this season he's called out on his decision to submit to Dushane by Kit, who also presses him on his willingness to forgive Ats for betraying him and his family. Later on, when he talks to Stefan about Ats' betrayal, he acknowledges that Ats' was forced to betray Stefan even though he didn't want to, and then compares Stefan and Ats' friendship with that of him and Kit. Just like Ats, Jamie ends up betraying his best friend because of blackmail by Dushane and just like Ats it factors into why he was murdered.
- Dushane giving Jamie the choice of killing Kit or Dushane having both of them killed, has direct parallels with series 1. Bobby Raikes gave Dushane the same choice after Sully's reckless actions and some viewers suspect this was a Secret Test of Character for Jamie. Unlike Dushane who murdered Raikes rather than betray his best friend, Jamie goes through with murdering Kit. Whilst this did prove to Dushane he was loyal, it could also be seen as him failing the test.
- Considering that Sully still feels guilty over murdering his Number Two Dris, and is shown haunted by it in his first scene this season, it's quite telling that he finally decides to outright murder Jamie when Dushane reveals he was willing to murder his own Number Two.
- Finally, Sully both before and after his Character Development has always been characterised by how highly he values loyalty and his allies, and is also a direct reason for his rifts with Dushane. Every season he and Dushane's friendship is tested when Dushane makes decisions that either undermine said loyalty, such as Dushane cutting him out of Summerhouse at the end of series 1. Or when Dushane allows Sully's partner-in-crime Mike to be murdered by Rafe. Sully also strongly values family, made clear with how deeply his surrogate son Jason's death hit him and how he disliked Dushane setting up Jamie's family in order to weaken their rival. Dushane's callousness at having Jamie murder his best friend, and seeing that if Jamie could betray Kit, he could betray him and Dushane, also likely contributed to him murdering Jamie.
Fridge Horror
- Ra'Nell stabbing his abusive father is a case of serious horror due to his young age and the effects of Domestic Abuse. However what may be even worse, is that judging by his quiet personality in Summerhouse season 1 and with the comparison of the trauma his mother's suffered which has affected her mental state, to the point she has to be sectioned, it's not unlikely Ra'Nell is suffering from some deep psychological issues of his own before the series has even begun.
- Harsher in Hindsight is that a friend of Malcolm Kamulete (Ra'Nell's actor) died of a knife attack during Summerhouse season 1's filming, which makes it even more unsettling when Ra'Nell picks up a knife and attempts to stab Dushane and how the character stabbing his own father is brought up several times.
