Binge Or Cringe: ‘Top Boy’ Finishes Strong After Finding Its Footing On Netflix
The fifth and final season of Top Boy has dropped on Netflix after a long and winding journey. The series premiered on Channel 4 in England in 2011 with only four episodes, followed by a second season of four episodes in 2013 before its cancellation in 2014. However, after Drake expressed interest in the story, Netflix picked up Top Boy and revived the series in 2019 for ten episodes with the original cast, with Drake and his team executive producing. After a break for the pandemic, seasons four (eight episodes) and five (six episodes) aired in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Top Boy follows Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson) as they rise through the ranks and struggle for power within a drug gang in the London Borough of Hackney. Akin to The Wire, the first two seasons are slow to find a solid footing, but Netflix ramped up Top Boy into a solid gang show that finds a unique identity in its exploration of community and complex characters.
Meet Summerhouse
While the overall series follows Dushane and Sully, the first season begins in the perspective of a young boy named Ra’nell (Malcolm Kamulete) who hates the gang — his father was in one and abandoned him and his mother, sending her into depression — and never gets fully sucked into it. He interacts with the edges of that world as he tries to sell a few things to the gangsters and sees his friend Gem (Giacomo Mancini) become a drug runner. While the plot around Ra’nell is only mildly intense, it is refreshing to see a kid’s point of view and problems instead of starting as a grown gangster and implying his childhood was rough. Ra’nell struggles with his mother’s depression, his father leaving, earning money where he can, and his strong anger at the world, all seen in great nuance through Kamulete’s performance.
Dushane and Sully also begin their story at a younger and naiver spot than in the Netflix seasons. Dushane is still wary of killing, has a warm relationship with his mom, and acts as an older brother to hot-headed Sully. The seeds of the conflict between Sully’s impulsivity and Dushane’s more calculated nature are laid from the very beginning. While there are some twists and snakes in the gang, the first season is not the typical shoot-em-up gang show.
The second season has better pacing and direction, following the fallout from the twist ending of season one and if/how Dushane will escape or get caught for what he did. The season also explores Sully away from Dushane as he takes Jason (Ricky Smart), a kid who robbed him, under his wing; this showcases a more caring side of his passionate nature. The community of Summerhouse is further explored as rent hikes and gentrification add another threat on top of the drug deals.
Season two ends with Dushane on the run and season three picks up after a time skip. Dushane is hiding out in Jamaica and Sully is in jail. They’re both older, more mature, and the streets are run by a younger crowd that neither recognizes. Netflix ups the shock and violence right away with a shooting early on in episode one. No character is safe from death and the series makes sure the audience knows each character before they face gruesome violence, intensifying the impact of each loss. There are also spies, snakes, and information leaks everywhere, whether intentional or not.
Some elements are brought over from the original two seasons. In addition to Dushane and Sully, Jason, Gem, and a couple gang members return. Jason and Gem are both addicted to drugs, illustrating how their story didn’t end when Dushane and Sully left, and that it wasn’t that easy to escape that world. Someone that Sully kidnapped in season two is now back and trying to kill him, creating a fluid transition from the first seasons and naturally ramping up the plot. The juxtaposition between family — the normalcy the gang members try to create in their home life for their loved ones — and the harshness of gang life is a common thread; the show also examines real life issues of immigration, racism, and gentrification.
An important addition is several truly layered characters. There was no identifiable rival gang or gangster in the first two seasons, but one is introduced in the third season through Jamie (Micheal Ward). He’s young, his parents have passed, and he must act as a single parent to his two younger brothers, Aaron (Hope Ikpoku Jnr) and Stefan (Araloyin Oshunremi). He’s caring, he provides for them, and he teaches them how to be responsible young men. This makes scenes of him shooting people all the more shocking, and it gives him a strong, complex motive for doing so.
The series also introduces Ats (Keiyon Cook), Stefan’s best friend and the son of a single, immigrant mother. When Ats’ mother is fired and threatened with deportation, Ats turns to the gang to raise money for bills. It is not the same old story of a broken home lacking a caring guardian or any prospects; Ats has a loving mother and is good at school, but he is forced to become tough and shrewd. Ats joins Dushane and Sully’s gang, making him Jamie’s indirect rival and setting up instant conflict that leads to a clever, emotionally wrought twist at the end of season three.
Sully’s character gains a sympathetic layer as he finds Jason again and soon watches him die. His anger bursts in almost random violence, triggered by little things like seeing the logo of Jason’s favorite soccer team, even after being jaded by prison. Sully also reconnects with his daughter and is a caring father to her. At the end of the season, he kills someone close to him because the man betrayed Sully; Sully follows the rules of his world coldly, yet it haunts him.
Dushane has the same general ambition as his younger self but gains a new love interest in Shelley (Little Simz), his mother’s caretaker. Unfortunately, he doesn't show the same complexity that Jamie and Sully do.
Was it Binge or Cringe?
Season four picks up right after season three and introduces a new supply source, though they are not given the time to become memorable characters. Sully has taken a step back from the game but soon gets dragged back in (though why he so fully commits to dealing after this is a bit unclear). Dushane starts investing in a property development that will gentrify Summerhouse (revisiting this theme from season two) and the community of Summerhouse starts to play a larger role as they protest to keep their homes. Tension builds between Jamie and Stefan as Stef grows up and realizes what Jamie does for a living. Side characters are also elevated, adding fresh, engaging plotlines. Jaq (Jasmine Jobson), a member of Dushane and Sully’s gang, tries to balance being a good soldier — following the rules, reporting everything to Sully, and owning up to her mistakes — and taking care of her screwup sister. Jaq also visibly cares about her soldiers, giving the gritty show some heart and pain when characters are hurt or die. There are, of course, more shocking deaths, twists that explore who killed favorite characters, and difficult choices that debate saving oneself or loved ones.
Season five tries to quickly wrap things up for Dushane and Sully while turning more attention toward side characters like Jaq and Stefan. Stef grows up to become more and more of an angry young man having lost so many people in his life; his involvement with the gang crowd becomes more extensive, leaving the audience to wonder if he’ll reach a violent point of no return. Jaq must also help her sister raise a baby and contend with the only life she knows and the kind of world that leaves her nephew to grow up in. As for Dushane and Sully, things can’t possibly end well. The ending is a bit open and ambiguous, but not entirely unsatisfying. There is a full circle moment between Dushane and Sully before their crimes finally catch up to them in random but fitting ways.
Top Boy explores several of its characters well, though some, like the new suppliers and a new villain who pops up in the final season, had potential but lacked enough time. The show dips into real world issues and keeps the plot moving with secrets, betrayals, and violence. The most glaring issue is the weakness of Dushane’s character. Especially compared to Jamie, who is driven to keep his family together, or Sully, who feels a need to follow the rules of his world even if it breaks him, Dushane provides no reason to root for him. He is less clever than Jamie, less intimidating than Sully, and mostly throws money at all his problems. His surface level charm fades when he shows no real commitment to the needs of his mother or Shelley, and while he occasionally shows mercy, this usually comes from Shelley’s prompting. His defining characteristic is ambition, but it is not felt by the audience; Dushane takes no risks, he does not have a compelling reason for wanting money and power, and his greed is not extreme enough to captivate the audience. Walters’ performance is also lacking in nuance. Furthermore, Dushane’s downfall is a foolish move motivated by desperation, but it has no buildup, especially after Dushane faced no consequences for his other, normalized murders.
Dushane’s love interest, Shelley, also doesn’t add much value to the series. Everything she believes in — social justice, building up her community, having a stable home for her daughter — is completely antithetical to Dushane; instead of really challenging him or even engaging in heated fights, she mentions her concerns once and simply stays with him. There is no chemistry between them, and the only love demonstrated is through small gestures and Dushane buying her things like a nice apartment. If Shelley’s character were eliminated and Dushane’s ambition had a more exaggerated arc, Top Boy would be greatly improved.
Who will like it?
Top Boy does not reach the heights of The Wire, for example, and there are aspects that could be more deeply explored. However, there are complex characters, plenty of twists, and plenty of violence, especially in the Netflix seasons. It’s not a gang show that emphasizes brothership, but it does have some heartfelt moments. It’s gritty, shocking, and solidly entertaining. If you’re looking to see some callous killings amongst British gangsters, this is the show for you. The first two seasons of Top Boy can be streamed on Netflix under Top Boy: Summerhouse. The last three seasons can be streamed on Netflix as of September 7th.
