As the 5th episode of The Outlaws begins, Wilder (Sam Troughton) talks to the group of community service members which includes Diane (Jessica Gunning). Diane acts out and spits her bubblegum on the ground when she is asked to get rid of it. Wilder threatens to give her five more hours so she picks it up. In the present, she approaches Wilder to see what is going on with Christian’s case and whether she can take the files down to Lucy Haines. He orders her to let it go. After the intro, DS Haines (Grace Calder) and Selforth check on Spider (James Nelson-Joyce) in the hospital. They contemplate whether it was a hit since Spider was a member of the gang. Selforth says they’re checking to see if the bullet matches the gun from the community service project. Myrna (Clare Perkins) goes to the tombstone of Colin Denison who was killed in the line of duty. At home, Tom (Guillermo Bedward) gives Frank (Christopher Walken) the cold shoulder.

Rani (Rhianne Barreto) gets her phone back from her parents and finds the message from Esme. Lady Gabby (Eleanor Tomlinson) prepares for the upcoming meeting with her father. Rani calls Esme who isn’t happy with her. Christian (Gamba Cole) listens as his sister tells Rani to never call them again. Spencer (Tom Hanson) finds Greg (Stephen Merchant) printing papers before their boss enters and tells Greg how he has helped them get new clients. He also learns those upstairs are singing his praises now. His boss has even started the conversation about Greg becoming a partner. John (Darren Boyd) picks up the paperwork and speeds away without thanking or listening to Greg. Frank and John prepare for the meeting with John Senior. Frank calls himself Howard Cherry as he quickly impresses John Senior. While that conversation continues, Greg and Lady Gabby prepare to meet with her father who is an Earl.

She tells him how to address her father before snorting cocaine. They meet with him seconds later and soon begin their festival presentation. Meanwhile, Frank continues trying to score points with John Senior and it seems to be going well until Frank shows his ankle monitor. John spills his drink to get him to cover it up before learning that Christian is there to see him. He grabs a boxcutter and meets with Christian who says he doesn’t need that. Christian tries to get him to untie the money and return it. When Frank and John Senior join them, they disguise their conversation. When John is alone with Frank, he tells him about Christian wanting his money back. Gabby’s father doesn’t like the name of the festival which is PRYVET. He looks over the paperwork and gives them his blessing. Her father says he wants to talk about legal things with Greg so Gabby leaves. He immediately accuses Greg of having sex with his daughter, but Greg denies it.

Then, he tells Greg to shut the festival down because he doesn’t want a juggler crapping in his hedge or his daughter ruining his yard. Greg recommends telling her himself although her father says this is why he pays people like him. He explains he pays for Gabby’s expenses and Greg works for him. He wants this to disappear and he doesn’t want his name connected to it. Marcus tells Malaki (Charles Babalola) he hasn’t been able to find Christian anywhere. Haines and Selforth arrive to talk about Spider. Christian and Esme try to get into their flat which is guarded by two gang members. Esme calls the police and pretends to be a little girl to complain about the strange men outside. When the police approach the two men, they sneak inside. When Rani arrives at the community service meeting, Myrna calls her a grass. Frank gets Greg to explain that Christian could get five years for gun possession at a minimum. Diane arrives and takes Rani into her office.

Diane reveals she keeps paper records in her filing cabinet. Then, she tries to find out how Rani knew about the run. Ronny interrupts to get his mop and bucket. Once he leaves, Diane asks Rani if she knows where Christian is, but she doesn’t. Christian and Esme grab their stuff from the flat before he finds her crying in her room. She is worried that she might’ve killed Spider so Christian comforts her by insisting she likely didn’t. Esme wants to go to the hospital although Christian doesn’t think that is a good idea. Rani calls Christian and leaves a message about him being in some kind of trouble and wanting to help. Greg tries to subtly convince Gabby to drop her festival idea. Rani interrupts to tell everyone she’d like to find Christian and she wants their help. Gabby is the only one willing to help.

When Diane breaks them up to tell them to get back to work, we see a flashback of Wilder catching her smoking dope with two other community service members. He tells them about his job and its salary. He says they can be the person watching someone pick up rubbish or the one picking up rubbish. John and Frank tell Myrna about Christian’s money and the fact he is desperate now. Frank and John believe it is a good idea to let Christian get caught with the gun since he’ll be out of their hair for five years. Despite the heart-to-heart conversation, Myrna isn’t sure what she’ll do. Greg again tries to get Gabby to call the whole thing off. He tells her what her father said. When she asks why he wouldn’t tell her himself, Greg suggests he might not be the best dad in the world. She tells him everything that her father has done for her and everyone else, but Greg wonders if he has ever given her his time.

She gets upset with Greg and fires him. Myrna tries to call her down, so Gabby tells her to look at herself for a change instead of telling everyone else how to live. When John snickers, Gabby goes off on them by saying they’re identical. When Diane gets involved, Gabby curses her as well and gets hit with five more hours. Outside, Rani tries to get Greg, Frank, and Myrna to help her get Christian’s file so they can help him, but they all turn her down. Myrna visits Yvonne later and asks if she can come inside. She finds Terry inside and immediately apologizes for preaching to them before. Yvonne wonders why she is being so nice and whether she needs money, but Myrna only wants advice. She asks Yvonne whether she should try to help one person now or lots of people in little ways later. Yvonne says she needs to ask herself if she can live with herself if she turns her back on this one person.

Gabby gets drunk, rips up the festival paperwork, and decides to host a party. Rani tells her mother how she feels guilty for what she did to Christian. She admits he is her friend and they’ve hung out outside of CS although her mom doesn’t think she should get involved. Her mother says it is childish to think you can wave a magic wand and solve all of Christian’s problems. Gabby gets high during the party before she decides to leave. Soon, her father finds her doing donuts in her car on his lawn. Her father eventually calls the law on her. Frank talks to Holly (Isla Gie) who has been drawing a picture of her family. When Frank smells smoke, he goes outside and finds Tom burning his money. Tom tells him to come and get the money although he knows he can’t because of the ankle monitor. Frank claims he won the money gambling. Tom asks him about the ticket. Frank admits he wanted to treat himself when the tag comes off, but Tom burns the ticket.

Tom wants to know if Frank is going to abandon his daughter once again. At first, Frank says no but eventually admits it is true. He is confident his daughter will survive without him again. Frank says he spent the last 18 months in a prison cell and he doesn’t want to spend his last few years in another prison. Tom asks if that is what they are to him as Frank tries to smooth things over. He slams the box of money down and says his mom was right that Frank has never put anyone before himself at any point. Tom goes inside. Greg gets a call from Gabby and learns she is locked in jail.

Gabby tells him about the first time she was in the police station when she was young and the fact her mother hung herself and she found the body. She felt so alone but her father wouldn’t even come to comfort her and instead sent his groundkeeper. Both agree nobody would miss them if they disappeared from the face of the earth. Gabby isn’t satisfied with the millions of followers. She says she doesn’t do anything or make anything so no one actually needs her. Greg reminds her that she was going to help Rani.

Greg tells Gabby that her father isn’t going to press charges although he fires Greg. Next, Gabby goes to the community service group and tells everything that she and Greg are willing to help find Christian. Frank and Myrna join them, but Rani doesn’t want to be involved now. Rani is reminded that Christian is their friend and she might not be able to live with herself if she doesn’t help. She agrees to join them. Spencer gets a call from John Senior and learns about the fake paperwork for Howard Cherry. Rani and the others come up with a plan to break into Diane’s office and find out what they can about Christian. John tells Diane where they are. She tells them she applied to be a police community support officer while missing the plans under her feet. In a flashback, we see that Diane changed her mind and squealed on her pot-smoking friends. In the present, she calls Lucy Haines to tell her about applying for the job.

Haines tells her Christian has been discounted from their inquiries now. When the call ends, Selforth tells Haines that the gun from the community service building matches the one that was used to shoot Spider. John Senior drives to the community service building and spots Frank working with his son. While Myrna distracts John, the others put their plan into motion. At the office, Spencer decides to go through Greg’s stuff and finds the treasure trove of files he never filed and messed up on. Rani and the others tell Diane she has paint on the back of her jacket to create chaos and steal her keys. Greg and Rani go to the downstairs meeting room while Selforth and Haines arrive. Greg covers the security camera with his head as Rani tries to find the right key to Diane’s office. Gabby delays Diane by pretending someone stole her phone.

Wilder takes the detectives to the meeting room after Rani manages to gain access to Diane’s office. Rani finds Christian’s file and discovers something weird. Wilders tells Diane the police are there and they want to talk to everyone. Once Diane arrives, Haines asks for a private word in her office. Gabby and Myrna create a distraction by saying Greg grabbed Gabby’s butt and attacking him. Frank warns Rani who quickly exits Diane’s office. Once things calm down and the keys are returned, Diane goes into her office with Haines and Selforth. John tells the others they need to explain to him what is going on. Haines tells Diane she spoke to Christian Taylor and he has an alibi for the whole day. She is asked for a picture so she retrieves his mugshot from his file. She is surprised to find Malaki’s picture in Christian’s file and admits it isn’t the same man.

 

The Outlaws Review

The Outlaws has been an interesting roller coaster with just enough action and humor to keep the show entertaining from start to finish. Some episodes have been better and funnier than others, but the characters and their relationships are the driving force. While there are many things going on at once, the show covers these subjects in a clear, concise way that is never rushed or convoluted.

John’s business, Gabby’s festival, Greg’s job, Myrna’s advocacy, and Frank’s family. These storylines are carefully intertwined in the bigger story to give viewers something to ponder along the way. The storylines are equally interesting in their own ways, but it is likely time to focus on Christian right now. Is it Christian? The twist at the end of episode five was excellent so I find myself juggling the possibilities in my head over and over.

Is Malaki really Christian and he forced the boy to go community service for him? Or, perhaps Rani somehow switched the picture at the last minute to hinder the investigation? I am looking forward to finding out in the upcoming season finale. Episode five of The Outlaws was entertaining enough and did a good job of establishing the key stories for the finale.

It scores a 7.5 out of 10. All recaps of The Outlaws can be found on Reel Mockery here.