The episode opens eight weeks ago, with an armed Lale (Narges Rashidi) slipping into a vacant office. Christmas music and an animated Santa are activated. A nearby printer comes one. Pregnant, Lale ascends the stairs to a landing, stops, appears to count on her fingers, and continues on her way. Seven months prior, Sean Cole (Sean Wallace) lays Lale on the floor and apologizes. A man drags her through the hallway into a room where the floor is covered in plastic. As she screams in terror, another man helps restrain her. Asif (Asif Raza Mir) threatens her with a knife. She blurts out that she is pregnant. He angrily says he doesn’t care. She claims Sean is the father and urges him to utilize it to his benefit because his family will give anything for it.
In Lahore, Lale is kept locked in a room. Malik (Qais Khan) unlocks the door and Ayesha (Rina Mahoney) enters. She discourages Lale from smoking and asks to assess her. Lale blows cigarette smoke in her face. Ayesha palpates her distended abdomen. Lale asks when they are expected to arrive. Ayesha denies knowing. Refusing to have her blood pressure checked, Lale says he will kill her after the baby is born. Ayesha leaves without responding. Malik locks the door behind her. Lale wraps a rope around her wrist. Later, Malik informs Asif of their arrival and asks if he trusts them. Asif says no but it is his only option. Lale repeatedly rubs the rope against her wrists. Malik escorts Marian Wallace (Michelle Fairley) to where Asif is waiting. Marian demands to see Lale. He takes her to the room, unlocks the door, and enters. Lale is standing with her hands behind her back. Marian asks if Sean knows about the baby and insists on a paternity test by a doctor of her choosing. Asif agrees. Lale puts her arms in front of her. Seeing the abrasions on her wrists, Marian reminds Asif of his promise to see she is well cared for. Lale admits to killing Asif’s son, Nasir Afridi (Parth Takerar), and asks her what she expects. Asif assures Marian that Lale is perfectly comfortable and invites her to his office. He gives Lale a stern look before leaving. Marian insists on taking Lale to London. He says their deal is for him to bring the baby to her in London in exchange for access to her ports. She recalls the government freezing his accounts. He voices concern about never seeing Lale again. She threatens to end their deal if he refuses to let her take Lale to London and leaves.
Intoxicated, an angry Asif curses Lale and threatens to cut out her tongue and slit her throat. She stands up. She tells him to do it. He grabs her by the throat and shoves her against the wall. She says he made the mistake of loving Nasir. He backslaps her. Ayesha intervenes. Asif screams in frustration as he walks out the door. Lale refuses Ayesha’s help. Later, Asif drinks alone. Ayesha wrings her hands while a physician utilizes a fetal Doppler to detect Lale’s baby’s heartbeat. The amplified heartbeat is strong. Relieved, she says he is a fighter. A short time later, Ayesha informs Asif that the baby is fine. He admits to partly wishing it was dead and asks if that disgusts her. She shakes her head. He says she cared deeply for Nasir and asks what he should do with Lale. She recommends setting her free. Later, Ayesha packs Lale’s bags. As they are leaving, Asif receives a call from London. When the call ends, he orders his men to return Lale to her room. She struggles against Malik’s arm and demands to know what is going on. Asif contacts Marian and tells her Lale lost her baby last night. She says their deal is off and ends the call. Later, Asif invites Lale to have dinner with him. She asks what happened to Marian. He says she returned to London. When she refuses to eat, he vows not to poison her. Laughing, he asks if she thought Sean would propose to her when he found out about the baby. He claims to have received a better deal than Marian was offering. She will still be going to London but he will keep the baby. He asks to utilize her trafficking routes to take valuable cargo to London. She denies any feelings for the baby. Asif assures her that she will do anything to keep the baby alive.
In London, Asif’s convoy travels through the city. Ayesha asks Lale how she is feeling. Refusing to answer, Lale complains in pain and asks to get out of the vehicle. Ayesha urges Asif to let her get some air. Asif orders his man to go with her. Ayesha gives her a bottle. Lale walks around a corner, smashes the bottle over the man’s head, stabs the broken glass into his face, and kicks him. The man falls to the ground. Ayesha watches her grab the man’s gun and flee. Three of Asif’s men arrive to find Ayesha kneeling over the injured man and Lale gone. Lale stops to let her pain ease before running into a dark building. Malik and another man enter the building and flip the breaker. The entire building lights up. On a stair landing, Lale looks down to see Malik looking out the window. A man tells him the door is unlocked. She waits until they leave to descend the stairs to the upper floor. Malik clears the first floor. In pain, Lale enters the Accounts room, blocks the door with a file cabinet, gets on the floor, and muffles her screams. An armed man pushes on the door. She fires several shots into the door, killing the man. Malik and another man race up the steps. She squats, pushes, and gives birth. Hearing the baby’s cries, a man shoves the door open. Malik enters to find a missing ceiling tile and blood.
Lale crawls through the vent with her baby. Malik leaves the room. She realizes she is bleeding. The blood penetrates the ceiling tile. She pulls back a ceiling tile and looks around before dropping to the floor below. In pain, she sits on the floor, comforts her hungry baby, utilizes a strip of cloth to tie off the umbilical cord, and bites it in half. Lale lays the baby on the floor, pulls down her pants, and pushes out the placenta. The baby cries. She breastfeeds him. A man finds the baby lying on the floor. As he approaches, Lale hits him, sending his gun flying across the floor. She strangles him with the umbilical cord, picks up her baby, and grabs the gun. Walking through the building, she encounters Asif’s man. A struggle ensues and ends with her pistol-whipping him. A man approaches and picks up the baby. Another man hits her. She smashes his head into a glass fire hose case and beats him with the end of the hose. Lale encounters another man on a stair landing. She headbutts him. He hits her. She breaks his leg  and stabs him in the arm and neck.
Lale finds herself surrounded by Asif and his armed men. Ayesha is holding the baby. Asif orders his men not to shoot. He congratulates her. With her gun drawn, Lale curses him. He says if she obeys, she and her son will be reunited. Pointing her gun at Ayesha, she asks if she would choose her life for her son. Ayesha says no and prays. The baby coos. Crying, Lale fires several shots into the ceiling. Asif tells Ayesha to leave. Lale asks what he wants her to do. Smiling, he says they will be in contact and leaves.
Gangs Of London Review
The directors portrayed Lale as a superwoman. Implausible defeat after implausible defeat. She managed to take out nearly half of Asif’s crew of violent gangsters while in labor and postpartum.
The episode felt detached from the series. It’s no wonder long-time viewers are bailing. It seems the writers have forgotten the plot. There is no way back after this disastrous mess. The episode deserves a 3 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.