‘The Gentlemen’ Season 1 Recap: Everything That Happened Before Season 2 Arrives

Netflix’s ‘The Gentlemen’ introduced viewers to a new corner of Guy Ritchie’s criminal universe, and with a second season now on the horizon, many fans are revisiting exactly how the first run of episodes played out. The Gentlemen is a Netflix crime series created by Guy Ritchie that follows Eddie Horniman, who becomes the Duke of Halstead after his father dies. The series takes its premise from familiar territory while carving out its own identity across a full season.

He soon learns that his family estate is being used for a large illegal cannabis business run by Bobby Glass and his daughter, Susie Glass. What follows is a season defined by shifting alliances, hidden agendas, and a young aristocrat discovering he may be better suited to the criminal underworld than he ever expected.

‘The Gentlemen’ Season 1 Plot and Setup

The series stars Theo James in the lead role and premiered on March 7, 2024. Upon his father’s death, Eddie learns that he has inherited the title, the property, and all the headaches and privileges that come with being the family’s heir. Complicating matters further, the family’s 15,000 acres are also housing a sector of a massive cannabis empire under the purview of the incarcerated Bobby Glass, run by his daughter, the impeccably dressed and meticulously minded Susie.

Eddie decides to keep this business arrangement going, but the newly installed Duke of Halstead must contend with the colorful and incredibly dangerous criminal types now in his world. As the season unfolds, Eddie and Susie deal with stolen drugs, rival criminals, problems with their European distribution network, and attempts to take control of the business.

A major thread involves an outside threat working against the Glass operation from the shadows. Eddie learns that Johnston is behind several of the problems facing the Glass operation, using Gabrielle to steal a shipment and connecting to other moves against Susie. Uncle Stan turns out to be extremely interested in acquiring Bobby Glass’ weed business, and he is behind many of the problems Eddie and Susie encounter over the season, including the stolen weed introduced earlier in the run.

‘The Gentlemen’ Season 1 Ending Explained

The season builds toward a particularly volatile final stretch of episodes. The biggest threat later comes from Henry Collins, a former army officer and boxing promoter who wants control of Bobby’s business, and his plan leaves Jack Glass badly injured during a boxing match. Susie then believes Eddie has betrayed her, which puts the Horniman family in danger.

That perceived betrayal sets up one of the finale’s most striking sequences. The episode ends with Eddie showing Susie a tied up Henry, offering her the gun to shoot the man who hurt her brother, but she gives permission for him to pull the trigger instead. Eddie realizes his true purpose in the criminal world and shifts his perspective toward embracing his role rather than trying to get rid of the business.

Meanwhile, the season’s central antagonist meets a very different fate than expected. HM Revenue and Customs arrests Uncle Stan for tax evasion and freezes all of his assets, seemingly vanquishing him. But the finale leaves the door open for future conflict. The pre credits scene shows that Stanley Johnston will continue to yield influence in the future, and the finale hints at a future where Eddie and Susie must take on Bobby’s empire while Stanley’s influence still lingers in the background.

Bobby Glass and the Season 1 Finale Twist

The final moments of ‘The Gentlemen’ season one reframe the entire power structure viewers thought they understood. Bobby tells Eddie and Susie that he plans to sell his cannabis business and asks them to get offers from Johnston, Sticky Pete, and Mercy Moreno. That auction sets several rival players against each other, and Eddie’s approach to it becomes the defining move of the season.

Eddie’s final plan to take over Bobby’s business is a meticulous scheme involving pitting all the bidders against each other, and it not only brings a satisfying closure to his criminal rite of passage but also paves the way for another compelling season. We discover that Eddie hasn’t exactly betrayed Susie, he’s got a plan of his own, which he shares with her father, Bobby Glass.

The consequences of that plan are steep for several characters caught in the crossfire. There are a few fatalities in the final episode, though none on the Horniman side, and all of the deaths were arranged by Eddie and Susie, meaning they have taken the major players off the board. Freddy offers to walk out to be killed by The Gospel, but Eddie talks him out of it, and groundskeeper Geoff survives.

The very last scene, though, is what truly reshapes the show’s direction going forward. The series ends with Bobby Glass dining with Stanley Johnston in prison, possibly suggesting a collaboration could be on the cards. Eddie graciously accepts the kiss of death and shoots the man dead in the season finale, and Eddie and Susie are finally on the same page, creating a syndicate that is now based more on trust than secrets and lies.

Cast and Reception of ‘The Gentlemen’ Season 1

The ensemble cast played a large role in the show’s identity. The series stars Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito, and Ray Winstone. Scodelario told Netflix’s Tudum that Susie’s relationship with her father informs her entire life, saying she pictures Susie at six years old sneaking downstairs to listen in on his business meetings and watching how he controls the people around him.

Critics largely responded well to the season’s tone and pacing. Variety’s review described Theo James as brilliantly thrilling in the role of an aristocrat pulled into a life of crime. Other outlets noted the show’s more measured rhythm compared to Ritchie’s film work, observing that the series is more leisurely paced, with more humor and less action, but still highly stylized, giving it time to refine its jokes and sequences.

Audience reaction mirrored much of that critical warmth. Debuting on Netflix on March 7, ‘The Gentlemen’ quickly became one of the best shows on the platform, ranking at number one on Netflix’s Top 10 TV chart for multiple days. The series was renewed for a second season in August 2024, with the new episodes set to premiere in 2026. Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on September 3.

With Eddie and Susie now firmly established as partners in Bobby’s criminal empire, the stage is set for a season that could bring Stanley Johnston back into the fold in a very different capacity. Given how season one ended, how do you think Eddie and Susie’s new partnership with Bobby Glass will hold up once Stanley Johnston reenters the picture in season two.