Top Boy season four spoilers follow.
After a pretty long hiatus, Top Boy returned with a bang, which of course translates to betrayal, revenge, guns and a whole lot of deadly blood spilt.
The gangster life appears to be taking its toll on Dushane. Chest-tightening pangs seem to be brought on by moments of stress and anxiety. Then there's girlfriend Shelly (Little Simz) whose dark past leads to her being blackmailed for aiding in the burial of her ex-boyfriend's murder victim. Thankfully a quick exhumation and a trip to the dump resolves her headache better than any aspirin could.
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Unfortunately the others don't get off so easily. There's a price to be paid and comeuppance is due. There's so much to unpick so let's dive in!
Top Boy season 4 ending explained
When we last saw our drug lords of East London, Jamie (Micheal Ward) had been framed for possession of a firearm and was facing 10-15 years behind bars. A pretty hefty slap on the wrist for the gangster whose main priority is guardianship of his younger brothers.
Dushane (Ashley Walters), who was of course behind the set-up, holds the evidence of Jamie's innocence (security footage of younger Ats entering Jamie's home with a backpack holding the incriminating firearm). Jamie has a choice: freedom in exchange for his fealty to Dushane, or a long stint.
Obviously he picks freedom, but Jamie's loyalty is not so easily won, bought or bargained for (take your pick). Either way Dushane doesn't have this young up-and-comer quite where he thinks.
With the Jamie matter put to bed as far as he is concerned, Dushane moves on to more pressing matters. Years on the street have got him contemplating the legit life but in order to retire from the streets he needs to hold on to most of his capital.
He gets the tip off that investing in Summerhouse estates' redevelopment is the ideal way to scrub all that dirty money clean again. Simple? Not exactly. This move puts him at loggerheads with the residents, including his mum, who are being rehoused with little hope of returning.
To add to his headache, his contact overseas, Emilio, is fulfilling the wish of his dying wife by leaving the drug game behind. Great for the family, not so great for Dushane, who now has to make nice with law enforcement Juan El Bueno. The same Juan who has a nasty habit of intercepting his drug shipments in Morocco.
So who does he send to grease palms and get the drugs moving? Well not long-time friend Sully (Kane Robinson). Sully makes it clear "you might be El Chapo in your head but you ain't to me", in other words, he's done taking orders from Dushane.
In fact the mere utterance of the letters 'fa' in 'favour' result in fisticuffs between the two, which leaves Jamie primed to facilitate a deal.
If only things were that easy.
It seems mo' drugs mo' problems because as Dushane attempts to expand his business, associate Lizzie (Lisa Dawson) slips back on to the scene to convince Jamie to betray Dushane in order to make a deal that benefits them both.
Still slighted about the way Dushane took over, Lizzie wants what's owed to her and sees Jamie as the key.
Dushane's problems don't end there. The police are also on a mission to uncover his dirty dealings and have arrested Rueben (Theo Ogundipe). Their threats of a lengthy jail sentence almost persuade him to talk but Dushane reminds him of the cost to his family for snitching and he quickly shuts up. Let's see if he still feels the same way next season.
Sully, on the other hand, is desperate to live the quiet life. Literally. He's living as a recluse on a boat on a canal. Doesn't get less gangster than that. However he is dragged kicking and screaming back into the street life when niece Pebbles (Erin Kellyman from Falcon and the Winter Soldier) solicits his help.
It turns out 'eedyot' Pebbles had decided to keep the drugs she was smuggling for a local gang but now they've ended up in the hands of her ex-boyfriend, who isn't too keen on handing them back.
The gang is now making threats, so it's Sully to the moody, reluctant rescue. He makes light work of getting the drugs back from Pebble's ex but trying to return them is not so smooth.
His attempts at a peaceful trade – their drugs for assurance of Pebble's safety – go in vain. Threats are thrown about in a gym and Sully slugs one gang member in the head with a weighted plate while telling the rest to consider his offer before things get ugly.
Well. Things get real ugly when they capture Sully. Let's just say getting thwacked with a plate looks pretty nice by comparison.
There is some good to be found though – Sully's sticky situation brings about a reconciliation between him and Dushane, after Dushane comes in, gun blazing, to save Sully.
Avid watchers will remember Jaq's sister Lauryn (Saffron Hocking) from the previous season. Her 'crime' (spilling Dushane and Sully's secrets to her gangster boyfriend and their enemy Leyton) has not been forgiven or forgotten. To be fair, Leyton did try to kill Sully at a funeral so it's semi-understandable.
Living in exile was meant to be her punishment, but it seems that was only the beginning. Now pregnant, Lauryn finds herself trying to escape her manipulative, controlling partner Curtis (Howard Charles) and his sinister sister Vee (Ava Brennan).
Jaq's appeals to Dushane to let her come home fall on deaf ears. Lauryn is too desperate to wait for a green light and makes her heavily-pregnant escape. Curtis eventually finds her and after giving Jaq's "I'm disappointed in you" speech, Dushane agrees to help on the understanding that he won't keep it secret from Sully.
As it stands, Lauryn is willing to get her hands well… bloody. In a desperate attempt to stop her psycho boyfriend from hurting Jaq (and probably to prove that she can clean up her own mess) Lauryn stabs him. Repeatedly. To death.
Meanwhile Sully senses something off with Jamie;s deal in Morocco and flies out there to get the lay of the land. It's quickly revealed that Sully isn't too keen on Jamie's arrangements and orchestrates the murder of Juan.
During his meeting with Juan, however, Sully gets wind of Jamie trying to broker a deal for himself. Jamie must now prove his loyalty to Dushane, but his fate is now wrapped up with Ats (Keiyon Cook).
And what of Ats? We couldn't forget him, could we? Best friend to Jamie's younger brother Stef (Araloyin Oshunremi), turned traitor. Ats' body turns up in the trash and both Dushane and a forgiving Jamie are looking for answers.
Dushane sends out the order that they are to find the culprit. The street-wide man-hunt leads them to Jamie's best friend Kit (Kadeem Ramsay). Feeling that Ats was growing a bit too big for his boots, Kit ordered badman Dexter to rough him up and put him in his place. However things got out of hand and Ats was killed.
When the truth is discovered Dushane orders Jamie to kill Kits to prove his loyalty or they will both be killed.
It's not an easy decision for Jamie to make but when his brothers refuse to go on the run with him he feels he has no choice. To stay means to kill Kit but ensures his and his brother's safety. Kit bites the big one and Jamie is in the safe house – or so he thinks.
Everything seems to be falling into place. The tension brewing between Dushane and his mother is brought to a halt when she falls ill. He cares for her and in her death is moved to instigate a change in the Summerhouse deal to ensure all existing residents are offered a home after the redevelopment.
Jaq and Lauryn are reunited and Jamie has found a way to fix his fraught relationship with his brothers – but in true Top Boy style there is always a twist.
Throughout this whole season Sully has made it clear to anyone who will listen that Dushane doesn't speak for him. Well, he punctuates that sentiment with the killing of Jamie despite Dushane's advice to him to let things go.
This sets up season five in a big way.
Sully's brute and unexpected killing of Jamie is likely to pull at the already taut friendship between Sully and Dushane. Dushane had looked to Jamie as his retirement plan, his way off the streets, but now Sully has literally put a bullet to those plans and Dushane is not likely to let things go.
Dushane isn't Sully's only concern. Jamie's younger brother Stef witnessed him shooting Jamie not once, not twice but three times and in the head for good measure. He may just be a younger but Ats has already proven that youngers know the ways of the streets.
Speaking of revenge, Curtis' deranged sister Vee was advised to let the killing of her brother go, but her not-so-sunny disposition suggests she'll be back for blood…
Top Boy season four is available to stream now on Netflix.
Netflix/Left Bank Pictures The Crown season 3 with Amazon exclusive box artwork
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
