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Series 1/Summerhouse Season 1
Episode 1
- The series kicks off with an Establishing Series Moment, a prologue of drug dealers being robbed at gunpoint by their rivals on the council estate, all of which is treated quite realistically with the setting, tone and characters all being very convincing.
- Mixed with tearjerker and heartwarming, Ra'Nell Smith is shown to be looking after his severely traumatised mother on his own. At age 13!
- Also we later find out that young Ra'Nell was also responsible for saving the both of them from his abusive father... by stabbing him with a kitchen knife.
Episode 2
Episode 3
- There is a bit of satisfaction to Summerhouse finally catching Kamale, especially with them getting the location of the money by having him Buried Alive, turning his "fuck you" attitude, to begging for his life.
- Leon helping to resolve Gem's situation, especially when Sully pulls a gun on him.
Episode 4
- What Leon says to Ra'Nell when asked whether he was scared by Sully pulling a gun on him.Leon: Yeah, I was scared. Someone pulls a gun on you, you're gonna be scared, right? Ain't nothing wrong with that.
- Leon's arrival to protect Ra'Nell from Sully and Dris when they were going to rob him of the weed. His determined walk and Precision F-Strike before he begins to take on Sully and Dris, is the only time throughout the series, the audience truly sees a glimpse of what he was like when he was a gangster. The fact he manages to overpower Sully quite easily and that it takes being shot for Sully and Dris to overcome him, should also count.
- Some respect has to be given to Ra'Nell being willing to stand-up to the two olders, despite being smaller and younger, even trying to help Leon by attacking Dris.
- Dushane killing Raikes, especially because throughout the season Raikes constantly seems untouchable. He gives Dushane An Offer You Can't Refuse: kill Sully to cover up all the murders and get the "good life", or he'll be dealt with along with Sully. Dushane Takes a Third Option, even telling Raikes to his face him killing Sully is not happening, even after being urged to take more time to think about it.
- Ra'Nell attempting to stab Dushane is horrifying to watch, but it serves to remind the audience of his nature as an Extremely Protective Child.
- Lisa telling Dushane to stay away from her and Ra'Nell as well as her Mama Bear actions when she realises how much danger Ra'Nell is in, especially potent because it contrasts her psychologically damaged state in the previous episodes.
Series 2/Summerhouse Season 2
Episode 1
- Both Dushane and Sully have taken a level in badass.
- Dushane is now fully running Summerhouse and if there was any question of who the titular "top boy" was it's officially answered. The supplier Joe is a lot more affable with him than his predecessor Raikes and they're both about to embark on the largest payday of both their criminal careers. Especially notable is that the London Fields come to ask him for a supply of drugs and not only is Dushane chill when conducting business with them despite their animosity in the previous season, but he and Dris are also not fussed with the idea of warring with them, which was definitely something he wasfar more cautious about in the previous season.
- Sully seems to be managing himself quite well despite no longer having Dushane as his partner, and seems to be less reckless. Established quite early on, as during his first scene, he manages to suss that the man he's robbing with his partner Mike has more money than what they've initially robbed, due to it being "too easy".
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Series 3/(Netflix) Season 1
Episode 1. Bruk Up
- The re-introduction to the series perfectly establishes exactly what Top Boy represented back in 2011 and shows it still represents that eight years later.
- In the Time Skip since the end of season 2 Dris has been running the Summerhouse Crew in Dushane and Sully's absence, and the fact they're still around considering that when we last left it appeared that there was going to be a massive clash with the Albanians, is nothing to be downplayed.
- The way Jamie takes out the Turks near the end of the episode is both cunning and brutal: first he locates their base of operations and proceeds to burn their drugs and also traps them inside to be burnt alive. When they manageto escape he and Kit proceeds to off them with a bullet for each. All whilst covered in biking gear to keep anonymous and preventing the Turks from being knowing who to retaliate against. The audience doesn't realise who it is underneath the motorcycle gear until after the deed is done and Jamie and Kit are burning the only physical evidence left to tie them to the scene.
Episode 2. Building Bridges
- Sully's attack on Modie, especially because it shows he’s much more cautious and less reckless than he was in previous seasons. Also Nightmare Fuel because of what he does.
Episode 3. Big Flame
- Ats and Stefan teaming up to earn money for Ats' Mum by selling burgers at school also doubles as heartwarming.
Episode 4. Bonfire Night
- Sully escaping from the burning house then rushing back in to try and save Jason.
Episode 5. Smoke Gets In Your Hands
- The opening montage showcasing Summerhouse getting back on their feet now that they have drugs to sell and making more Ps.
- The sitdown between Dushane and Jamie, perfectly symbolises the challenge of the old respected gangster vs the new upstart don. Their back and forth capitalises on the build-up to the two of them finally meeting, with Dushane having finally gotten back on his feet and Jamie having risen to be a competent gangster. The Arch-Enemy dynamic is especially well played: both sides have some level of respect towards each other with Dushane offering to stay out of Jamie's way if he stays out of his and Jamie remarking that he used to view Dushane as a legend. Despite Dushane having the upper hand due to Dris kidnapping Lizzie, Jamie clearly is more powerful at this point in time, due to having the A-Roadz and several other gangs reformed as his ZTs and just to hammer the point home to Dushane when he tries to threaten him, he reveals he's the one that ended the Turks, which is enough to convince Dushane that he won't be able to strongarm Jamie.
Episode 6. Press Gang
- Doubling with Nightmare Fuel, the attack on Summerhouse’s YGs by Jamie is a smart move however brutal and fear-inducing it can be.
- From a cinematic point-of-view, the sequence of the shootout at the crematorium is visually stunning, and is quite often a Signature Scene for the new season.
- Sully managing to escape the ambush is no mean feat either. He's unarmed, his car get's crashed into preventing his escape, shots are firing rapidly and he's in a vulnerable place mentally after just leaving his surrogate son's crematorium.
- Sully's epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Dushane because of his lack of anger at the failed hit by Leyton.
- The final scene perfectly announces that big things are about to go down, as Dushane meets with the other Summerhouse olders and Sully acquires the guns they'll need to go against Jamie's crew.
Episode 7. The Squeeze
- The brief shootout between Sully and the other Summerhouse shooters with Jamie and the [ZTs] at the petrol station.
Episode 8. Bad Eye
- Modie's escape from the prison convoy at the hospital, which is one of the most wild events to occur.
- Jermaine whilst a victim last season has truly Took a Level in Badass, by successfully leading, coordinating and executing Modie's prison break.
- Modie so far is the first character to truly take Jamie down a peg, living up to his reputation as The Dreaded. His intimidation of Jamie, and Jamie himself telling both Lizzie and Kit that Modie will be a problem, shows that even Jamie, who has shown himself to be quite competent, cunning and masterfully in control, knows there is no way of actually controlling someone as unhinged and crazily dangerous as Modie.
- Note that in Modie's presence Jamie seems absolutely terrified and almost childlike scared, something even Dushane isn't able to manage in his interaction with Jamie back in episode 5, there's almost no question that Modie would be willing to kill him then and there which is utterly tense to watch.
Episode 9. Everyone’s Got Family
- Sugar's death is one of the most satisfying deaths of the season, especially because it's Sheanay who offs him getting Donovan the justice he deserves and eliminating the psychopath who had been threatening Dushane’s family.
- Dushane also manages to spook Haze and pay him back for all the threatening he’s done to Dushane and for his part in his cousin’s death. Especially awesome because Haze tries to beg for his life and Dushane just coldly shuts him up and shoots him point blank without remorse. Bonus points for getting the drop on him in his own car in broad daylight.Dushane: This one's for Donovan.
- The shootout at the end of the episode between Dushane and Sully against Jamie, Jermaine and Modie. The shootout is one of the most tense and action packed fights of the season as the major players all get their hands dirty and it looks like anyone could be about to bite a bullet.
- Jamie, the most inexperienced soldier between the five veteran criminals manages to kill one of Summerhouse's hitmen.
- Dushane reminds the viewers of his badass credentials managing to fend off Jamie, Modie and Jermaine and get him and an injured Sully out of dodge.
- Villainous one for Modie who shows exactly why Jamie and the rest of the Fields are so afraid of him: brandishing a shotgun, going full berserker during the shootout, killing their remaining muscle, all the while shouting like the villainous madman he is.
- Sully manages to survive the ambush despite being the main target and having both Jermaine and Modie focusing directly on trying to smoke him, even managing to still fight after getting shot.
- Jermaine once again proves he’s not too different from his big brother Rafe, by holding his own in the shootout.
Episode 10. You Don’t Know Me
- Doubling with Nightmare Fuel: the episode opens with Sully (on his own!) treating the gunshot wound in his arm after being shot last episode. Made of Iron indeed.
- Minor one for Taylor being willing to host Sully, Jaq and Dushane at her house after the attack, knowing fully well who’s after them but also firmly reasserting that she isn’t gonna be involved in their gangshit. And whilst it’s harsh, her telling Sully that he’s never to come near her or her family again, should also count. Despite still caring for Sully she isn’t willing to jeopardise her daughter by letting him and his lifestyle endanger them.
- Despite being at Modie's mercy for the past couple of episodes Jamie reasserts his dominance this episode and regains leadership of the Mandem. Especially significant is that literal minutes after doing so, every other active Field's member acts as if he’s never left and proceed to go on the hunt for Dushane and Sully.
- Dushane and Sully truly outmaneuver Jamie in this finale and reassert themselves as the Top Boys once again. Despite all the setbacks, losses and hits Summerhouse has taken and the episode opening with the two at the lowest they’ve been since the season started they still manage to beat there opposition and take back control.
- Dushane after realising how much he underestimated Jamie and a much needed pep talk from Sully sets out to undo his mistakes and sort all his issues all at once. In what is truly the greatest display of chess-mastery he’s shown in the series so far, he sets a trap for both The Mole in the crew and Jamie by feeding false information to the one person that could possibly have sold them out... Dris. After Jamie plays his hand and comes in full force of arms, Dushane not only confirms his and Sully’s suspicions but also leaves Jamie wide open and unaware that Dushane arranged his own attack right in Jamie’s weakspot... his family. Made even more awesome by the fact Dushane doesn’t win by murdering more men or gaining more arms like he originally thought he would have to, but by playing on the nature of their environment and tipping off the police to a gun he had planted in Jamie’s flat through someone Jamie wouldn’t ever expect to have betrayed him: Ats. Dushane flushed out the mole in his crew whilst carefully planting one where Jamie would least expect to find one; close to home.
- Marking much more growth since his paranoia in the first season over whether Gem of all people, was a rat. Sully is careful and calculative in how to draw The Mole out. After quickly realising that the attack on him and Dushane last night wasn’t coincidence along with Dushane he manages to quickly ascertain by a simple process of elimination that it has to be Dris. Then he makes sure to subtly apply pressure on Dris by surprising him at his daughter’s school (which he likely knows will make Dris more jumpy as he is a father himself) and spoon feeds him information to sell to Jamie, which will determine he is the leak. Then after it's confirmed that Dris tipped Jamie off, he reacts accordingly.
Series 4/(Netflix) Season 2
Episode 1. Good Morals
- The cold open sets the tone of the series, as well as setting up a new story location in Spain. The viewer witness the two Spanish gangsters Emilio and Antonio dealing with a rat who owes them money by shooting him and leaving him out to sea. The murder itself is treated quite nonchalantly and this line of dialogue, effectively establishes how certified Emilio is.Emilio: You know my dad was from around here, he was a fisherman. He always said to me, "Emilio what the fish like is meat". And that's what we're giving to them.
- Dushane's unquestionably attained the highest amount of power and success he's ever possessed: he's "top boy" once again, is now running both Summerhouse and the Fields as well as the East London gangs that were under the ZTs, being the dominant partner in his business with Lizzie and Jeffery, about to gain the largest shipment of drugs that Summerhouse has ever obtained which is worth millions and is even seriously considering retiring from running the road and going legit, which was his original plan all the way back in series 1. He's also looking far fitter and happier than in the previous season, even asking Shelley to move in with him to his new lavish flat.
Episode 2. How Do I Fix This
Episode 3. Likkle Favour
- The Summerhouse residents continue to not take being rehoused lightly, with even Dushane’s mum being willing to use her savings to get lawyers involved.
- Sully and Dushane finally come to blows after multiple seasons of tension and how badly their relationship was left in the season prior. With Sully rightfully calling Dushane out on how he’s driven by money and not allowing Dushane to boss him around even reminding him that all the power he now has is because of the money Sully gave him. It’s especially cathartic to see that even though Dushane may have more street power, Sully’s the more physically powerful.
- Sully’s Character Development hasn’t made him any less badass, and even despite his PTSD and reclusive behaviour is still an Experienced Protagonist who handles Pebbles situation quite practically and simply.
Episode 4. Fully Loaded Headache
Episode 5. 15 Points
Episode 6. De Capa y Espada
Episode 7. We Ride Out For Family
Episode 8. Prove Yourself
