Snabba Cash is a 2021 Swedish crime-drama series from
Netflix. It follows the young, ambitious businesswoman Leya who has a son called Sami with a deceased drug dealer. Leya used to be a part of the world of crime but decided to become an entrepreneur and founded the tech-company
TargetCoach. Sami's uncle, Ravy is a drug lord who gets into debt with his supplier and relies on Leya to help him. It also follows Salim who is a member of Ravy's gang, but has goal to leave the criminal life style for good. He also engages a romantic relationship with Leya. Then there's Tim, a troubled teenager who wants to become a gangster and eventually starts working as a drug dealer for Ravy's gang. But due to his young age, nobody takes him serious.
Tropes
- Affably Evil: Salim is a criminal engaging in drug dealing, violence and murder, but outside of that he is very charming, friendly and overall likable. He eventually tries to leave the criminal lifestyle and advices Tim to do the same.
- Alas, Poor Villain:
- Although he was an aspiring career criminal, Ari was shown to be quite a Nice Guy and good friend of Salim. So it is devastating when he is fatally shot by Dani's forces, and Salim, in tears, desperately tries to save him.
- Dani's death. Dispite their rivalry, Ravy show respect upon his death. Even Leya seems to show some degree of pity and was shocked when Salim killed him. This showcases that this is not a life you want to live.
- Ravy's death in Season 2. For all his faults, he had humanizing traits, particularly given some in Season 2, and was contemplating leaving the life of crime for his girlfriend and their unborn child. But his hunger for revenge got the better of him, accidently killing a child which he instantly regrets while getting fatally wounded himself, and has Leya mourning over his dead body.
- Zaki. Even he was shown to have standards, particularly regarding the death of children, and the last thing he felt was immense sorrow that his friends were murdered before he got double-crossed and killed.
- Ambition Is Evil: While Leya isn't exactly evil, her pursue to become a successful entrepreneur makes her do som dubious and even criminal things like investing drug-money in her company, throw her friend and business partner Viktoria under the bus and assisting White-Collar Crime.
- Antagonist in Mourning: Again, Ravy mourning Dani.
- Anti-Villain: Salim doesn't enjoy criminal activities and tries to leave it for good. He tells Tim that is's a bad life and advices him to stay out of it. Bottom line is that Salim isn't really a bad person, he's a good guy who just ended up on the wrong way in life.
- Anyone Can Die: As to be expected in a world taking place in a criminal Crapsack World.
- Assassination Attempt: Ravy sends Salim on a mission to try to have his rival drug-lord Dani elliminated, but it doesn’t go well.
- Ax-Crazy: Nala, one of Ravy's enforcers, is perhaps one of the most ruthless and unpleasant criminals in the series as she clearly enjoys violently bullying others and wave her gun making death threats.
- Bald of Evil: Played With. Ravy has a unique haircut in that half his head is shaved while still having some hair that he styles.
- Beard of Evil: Played straight. Ravy has a thic beard that somehow serves to make him more intimidating.
- Big Bad: Ravy is the central antagonist for all the conflicts in the series: he drags Leya into his business, is Salim's boss and won't let him leave the criminal lifestyle and his gang recruits Tim and don't exactly treat him very well.
- Big Bad Friend: Ravy to Salim, although he doesn’t care about his depression and won't allow him to leave his gang.
- Bittersweet Ending: Salim sacrifices himself in order to save Leya, which causes him to get killed by Ravy for which Tim is framed for and put into custody. While Ravy does indeed receive Laser-Guided Karma from Leya, he still is free to go and doesn't receive any real or judical punishment, but owns a great deal of money to Leya after she paid his debts.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive:
- Thomas Storm, Leya's mentor and prime investor, turns out to be a white-collar criminal who uses her company to launder money and sleazy tactics to increase the value of his own stocks.
- Marko seems to be the chief of some food-distribution company and uses it as a cover to smuggle drugs.
- Crapsack World: The show takes place in the world of crime in Stockholm, and very few characters are free from sins.
- The Dragon: Nala and Osman to Ravy.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Ravy tries to kill his rival drug dealer Dani against their supplier Marko's wish.
- Due to the Dead: Atleast Ravy has the decency to show respect to Dani as he dies.
- Enemy Civil War: Both Ravy and Dani get their drugs from their superior Marko, but they hate each-other and eventually start a gang war because of their conflict about territories, which Marko disapproves and tries to prevent with not-so-successful results.
- Establishing Character Moment: In his first scene, Salim is doing his job as a wedding singer which he really loves and enjoys doing. Right after this, he goes into his other job as a career criminal by shooting two rival drug-dealers, which he certainly doesn't like.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Marko is a drug supplier who employs anyone and pretty much all of his subordinates are of foreign ethnicities.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even if he is willing to kidnap Leya and prepares to kill her when he believed she was a rat, you can visibly see him struggling to bring it to himself to kill his nephew's mother. The only person Ravy seems to have a genuine soft spot for is his nephew Sami.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Ravy genuinely cannot grasp why Salim wants to leave the criminal lifestyle. He tries to point at the "ghetto-anxiety" and calls Salim whiny when the latter explains that he literally feels sick by living a life doing nothing but committing crimes.
- Evil Is Hammy:
- Marko screams very loudly whenever he losses his patience.
- Nala is almost always speaking loudly and foul-mouthed, especially when she gets hostile.
- Ravy during his occational Freak Outs.
- Evil Is Petty:
- When Tim screws up one of his first deals, Nala says he can only compensate if he loots a grocery store, claiming the owner is a rival. As it turns out, after Tim did what he was told, Nala reveals that it was completely unnecessary as she only wanted to see if Tim could do it.
- After Ravy has Amina kidnapped and tortured for info, he threatens to hurt her loved ones if she talks about it to anyone and calls her "dirt" before leaving her alone in the middle of nowhere with two bleeding knees.
- Evil Mentor: Thomas for Leya.
- Evil vs. Evil: Ravy and Dani have immense hatred for one another because because of their conflict about their territories.
- Faux Affably Evil:
- Ravy attempts to maintain a friendly and soft-spoken manner, but it doesn’t make him any less disturbing or formidable as it doesn't take much for him to go into violent outbursts or make death threats.
- While Nala is very open with her Jerkass attitude, even she maintains a friendly or respectful manner whenever it is necessary. But as soon as she gets mad, she gets mad.
- Jerkass: While alot of characters qualify it's definitely Nala and Thomas.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Leya gets infuriated when she finds out that Thomas is using TargetCoach for his White-Collar Crime, but as Thomas points out she herself used drug money to buy her former co-owner out which Thomas didn't object to, so she should not talk.
- Gangbangers: The show is all about this trope.
- Gangland Drive-By: Salim does this during the assasination attempt on Dani.
- Gray-and-Black Morality: As the show takes place in the world of crime, most prominent characters aren't really free of sins. While there are those like Leya, Salim and Tim who are clearly more sympathetic despite being criminals, the antagonists on the other hand are really bad.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Marko, as he is the supplier for Ravy and other drug lords. Ravy's debts to Marko causes him to become more stessed and therefore even more ruthless and drags Leya into this to help him against her will.
- Hate Sink: Unlike Ravy, who has a few redeeming qualities, his enforcer, Nala is nothing but a sadistic, smug jerkass with a big mouth who enjoys bullying others, while embracing being scumbag criminal. Subverted in Season 2 since she is given more humanizing traits.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Salim tried to reform himself and get out of the gangster life. Unfortunately, he got killed by Ravy before that could happen.
- The Hero Dies: Salim for sacrificing himself to save Leya.
- Heroic BSoD: Leya has one after Ravy kills Salim.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In order to save her from Ravy, Salim takes the blame for Leya telling Dani where Ravy's drug deal would take place. Leya is saved, but at the cost of his own life at Ravy's hands.
- Karma Houdini: Almost all the criminal antagonists get avoids punishment for their actions. The only exeption is Dani and his entire gang. Although Ravy is in big debt to Leya, even he doesn't receive any greater or judical punishment and is free to go.
- Kick the Dog: Ravy has Amina, Dani's girlfriend, kidnapped and tortured for info. She breaks down in tears when she hear that Dani's dead and is completely defenceless while Ravy continues to have her tortured. And then he threatens to hurt her loved once if she talks about it before leaving her alone in the middle of nowhere with two broken knees.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After killing her boyfriend, Ravy's debt to Marko is paid off by Leya, which now means that she practically owns him until he pays her off.
- Lean and Mean: Marko is tall, lean and a crime lord.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Tim becomes a small-time crook in Ravy's gang even though he is ineffective, inexperienced, young and don't belong there.
- Mob War: Their rivalry results in a gang war between Ravy's gang and Dani's gang. Which Dani eventually looses.
- Moe Greene Special: Salim is killed this way.
- N-Word Privileges:
- Leya uses the word "Babbe" at one point, which is a Swedish slur for non-Western immigrant.
Leya: [Talking to Salim on the phone] Are you singing at some babbe-wedding, or what?
- Salim uses the word "Blatte" which has the same meaning. It can be compared to the actual N-word.
Salim: [To Ravy] Can't you just get another blatte?
- Nice Guy: Salim.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Leya learns that the tech-business isn't so different from the criminal underworld. While there may not be drug-dealings or murders going on, the tech-business is full of betrayal and White-Collar Crime like money laundering and fraud. When Leya calls out Thomas for using TargetCoach for stock manipulation, Thomas tells her that she shouldn't talk considering she used Ravy's drug-money to fund the company.
- Plot Armour: Leya and Salim conspire to have Ravy killed, but before that his mother Noella shows up at Leya's home expressing her worries about Ravy. Leya's conscience gets the better of her, preventing Ravy from ever being killed.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Although very subtle, it is implied that Ravy is particularly upset with Leya paying off his debts because it now means that he is "owned" by a woman.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Marko tries his best to prevent casualties from his dealers as he believes it is bad for business.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Salim works for drug lord Ravy, but doesn’t hold any ill will towards anyone and eventually tries to leave, which Ravy won't allow.
- Rags to Riches: Leya started off as a restaurant waitress in the suburbia, but through her entrepreneurship (and some shady business) she becomes wealthy.
- Riches to Rags: Downplayed; Ravy is a very wealthy drug lord and owns several businesses. But after some deals went wrong he lost alot of money and was in debt to Marko, which he wouldn’t be able to pay. Leya used this and paid-off his debts meaning that she owns him.
- The Rival: Dani to Ravy. Both are deug distributors who are in a conflict about territories.
- Smug Snake: Ravy tries to take out Dani while at the same time being Marko's costumer, who disapproves his methods. Despite Marko's repeated warnings, Ravy disobeys him anyways and tries to take out his rival, which only results in Marko demanding them both money in damage compensation, which Ravy cannot pay for. As a result, Ravy becomes very stressed and eventually becomes economically dependent on Leya.
- The Sociopath: Nala definitely qualifies. While Ravy seems to be capable of genuine affections for people, making it more ambiguous in his case, Nala doesn’t have any empathy at all and clearly enjoys bringing harm upon others and is just as ruthless as her boss.
- Trapped in Villainy: Salim tries to leave the criminal lifestyle but it doesn’t exactly work very well.
- Villain Respect: Marko really admires the way Leya handles Ravy's debts in that she pays them all and Marko tells Ravy to respect her.
- Villainous Breakdown:
- Ravy gets one when Salim tells him that it was he who ratted him out to Dani, costing them a drug deal. Ravy really wasn't expecting one of his closest gang-members to do that (which he didn't, he just took the blame to save Leya). He desperately tries to talk sense into Salim at first, but ends up killing him as a result.
- Ravy has another one when he finds out Leya has paid off his entire debt to Marko, meaning that she practically owns him until he pays her off. Ravy becomes so stressed he walks around cluelessly in the room while Marko gives him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- White-Collar Crime: Thomas Storm manipulates his stocks and uses TargetCoach as a way of laundering money.
