Last King Of The Cross Series 1 Episode 1 Recap

The episode opens with John Ibrahim (Lincoln Younes) and Sam Ibrahim (Claude Jabbour) standing at their father’s bedside when he passes.

1978 Lebanese Civil War –  8-year-old John Ibrahim (Mason Mansour) and young Sam Ibrahim (Saul El Rahi) search through war debris when gunfire erupts. They rush into a building to find multiple bodies hanging from the ceiling.

1993 Western Sydney, Australia – Police officers line the streets as people arrive for Jamour Ibrahim’s (Robert Rabiah). Ezra Shipman (Tim Roth) and Anthony “Big Tony” Stone (Matt Nable) make their way over to John to express condolence for his loss.

1995 Royal Commission Into Police Corruption –  On the witness stand, John explains his business to the court. The attorney asks if he extorts money from other venues. When he says, “No,” Justice Jones (Anthony Phelan) threatens him with perjury. The attorney asks if he’s familiar with “The Laugh,” venues pay corrupt police for protection. He denies any knowledge of it. Referring to him as the “King of the Cross,” the attorney suggests he controls the drug trade in Kings Cross.

1987 Kings Cross, Sydney – The narrator (Big Tony) describes Kings Cross as an “adult theme park.” The police pretend not to notice the ongoing criminal activities. An operator of gambling halls, Frank “Ashtray” Amante (John Brumpton), owner of Pinocchio’s, Peter “PK” Kay (Simon Elrahi), a strip club operator, Fat George (Tony Nikolakopoulos), and Sam control Kings Cross. Angela Lombardi (Joseph Frangie) is a newbie club manager. Nasa Kalouri (Wadih Dona) keeps order on the streets and handles the protection money. Kings Cross police officers, Declan Mooney (Justin Rosniak) and Detective Sergeant Brian Crellan (Callan Mulvey) are corrupt. Kings Cross’ “Big Fish” is Ezra.

Sam orders his young brother, John Ibrahim (Malek Alkoni) to leave Kings Cross and never return.

Sam gives local children boxing lessons.

Young John applies for government assistance. Later, he asks Ashtray for work. John claims to be 18 but Ashtray doesn’t believe him.

Young John and his siblings are watching TV when they hear a knock at the door. He answers the door to see Jamour. Wahiba Ibrahim (Setareh Naghoni) orders him to shut the door. Sam arrives home to find Jamour standing on the porch. He escorts him into the home. Jamour tries to approach Wahiba but she moves away.

Young John invites Brett (Wesley Patten) to work with him and teen Dave Campbell (Ethan Lamb-Kelly). John convinces the Seventy Seven Club doorman that he has a delivery for Jimmy Mackenzie. It isn’t long before Ashtray forces him to leave.

Brett sees Kiwi Trevor (Patrick Thompson) beating his friend, Yael Shipman (Felicity Price). He tries to intervene but is brutally beaten. Irate, John confronts Kiwi when a guy steps in. He’s talking on the phone with Molly Llewellyn (Allegra Monk) when Sam orders him outside. While punching him, Sam warns that Kiwi will break his neck. John assures him that he’ll make Kiwi pay. Sam threatens to kill him if he returns to Kings Cross.

A nurse (Annie Stafford) permits John to stay at Brett’s bedside. John promises to avenge Brett’s beating.

Yael opens the door for John. He waits with a baseball bat while she injects Kiwi with drugs. John beats him with the bat. He is on the sidewalk when Sam and a man approach. The man tells him that he’ll speak with Fat George before walking away. Sam asks if he’s trying to start a war. John apologizes. JT

Big Tony pays Mooney and Crellan. Mooney informs him of John putting Kiwi in ICU. Big Tony sarcastically says it’s a pity that he never killed him before leaving. Angelo bribes Mooney and Crellan to convince Nasa to extend his payment deadline.

Big Tony informs Ezra of John beating Kiwi with his own baseball bat. He suggests Sam will kill Kiwi when he is released from the hospital. He warns him that it’ll happen in broad daylight at Darlinghurst Road. Ezra says they should deal with it now.

Big Tony tells Sam that Ezra will deal with Trevor. Sam asks if he isn’t allowed to protect his brother. Big Tony says Ezra doesn’t want a killing on the street before guaranteeing John’s safety. Sam warns that someone will be held accountable if Kiwi touches John. Big Tony finds Ezra beating Angelo. Fat George convinces Ezra to give his brother-in-law, Angelo a week to pay Nasa.

Sam visits Kiwi in the hospital to order him to leave Australia and never return or die.

John and Yael escort Brett home.

Nasa suggests Sam put John on collections to keep him away from Kings Cross. He says send him to Tarago with JT (Dion Williams) and Anton (Dylan Hare). Sam demands he starts in Parramatta like all the others. Nasa orders him to be at Pinnochio’s at 4pm tomorrow. As John turns to leave, he sees Angelo in an altercation with Nicky (Buzz Billman). When he intervenes, Angelo stabs him before fleeing.

JT and Anton look for Angelo. Sam tells Anton that he wants a one-on-one with Angelo. A distraught Wahiba blames Sam for what happened to John.

Fat George complains about Sam’s men harassing his sister. Ezra suggests Angelo stabbed the wrong kid. Fat George assures him that it was an accident. Ezra sends Big Tony to Angelo’s home where he discovers several packages of coke. Ezra says Angelo has been selling coke on the side.

Angelo is in an airport parking garage. In an airport restroom, Big Tony washes blood off his hands. Angelo can be seen covered in blood in a bathroom stall.

 

Last King Of The Cross Synopsis

The pilot episode is basically an introduction to the corrupted leaders of Kings Cross. While a bit confusing, due to the fast pace and behemoth volume of information, Sam, Fat George, Ashtray, PK, and Nasa report to the “Big Fish,” Ezra. Ezra’s right-hand man is Big Tony. Police officers, Crellan and Mooney receive corrupt payments for ignoring the crime.

John refuses to stay away from Kings Cross, regardless of how much pressure Sam puts on him. With their father, Jamour out of the picture, the Ibrahim family apply for government assistance. John is determined to make money even if it means getting mixed up in Kings Cross’ corruption. The story doesn’t explain Jamour’s absence but he eventually returns to Kings Cross.

John puts himself in serious danger just to get retribution for Brett’s brutal beating. He beats Brett’s assailant, Kiwi with his own baseball base while he’s high on drugs. Ezra, concerned about war, sends Big Tony to talk Sam out of killing Kiwi to protect John. Instead of killing Kiwi, Sam orders him to leave Australia forever.

Nasa suggests John go with JT and Anton to Tarago but Sam wants him to start collections in Parramatta.

Nasa is upset because Fat George’s brother-in-law, Angelo drags his feet on payment. Fat George convinces Ezra to give Angelo a week to make the payment. Nicky confronts Angelo because he still refuses to pay Nasa. When John intervenes, Angelo “accidentally” stabs him. John’s injury is near-fatal.

While Angelo is on the run, Big Tony searches his place and discovers several packages of coke. Ezra orders Angelo to be dealt with. Big Tony slaughters him in an airport restroom.

Last King Of The Cross Review

As mentioned above, the pace is too fast, and too much information is pumped out at once. Some scenes provided nothing to the real story. It may have probably worked better if the episode was an hour or an hour and a half.

The cinematography is subpar. The over-the-shoulder camera shots are somewhat obtrusive. It seems lots of shows are taking this route to mix things up a bit would be my guess. Some viewers won’t give it a second thought.

The story is clearly embellished because it’s just what networks do to drive up intensity and drama. All-in-all, the show is good if you can look over the idiosyncrasies. It gets a 6.5 rating. Get more Last King of the Cross recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Learn more about our onsite advertising by contacting support.

 

Last King Of The Cross Season 1 Cast

• John Ibrahim (Lincoln Younes)
• Sam Ibrahim (Claude Jabhour)
• Ezra Shipman (Tim Roth)
• Detective Sergeant Brian Crellan (Callan Mulvey)
• Nasa Kalouri (Wadih Dona)
• Anthony “Big Tony” Stone (Matt Nable)
• Fat George (Tony Nikolakopoulos)
• Angelo Lombardo (Joseph Frangie)
• Kiwi Trevor (Patrick Thompson)
• Brett (Wesley Patten)
• JT (Dion Williams)
• Frank “Ashtray” Amante (John Brumpton)
• Peter “PK” Kay (Simon Elrahi)
• Anton (Dylan Hare)
• Wahiba Ibrahim (Setareh Naghoni)
• Yael Shipman (Felicity Price)
• Jamour Ibrahim (Robert Rabiah)
• Nicky (Buzz Billman)
• Maha Ibrahim (Sahara Ibrahim)
• Fifi Ibrahim (Molly Murr)
• Skinny Steve (Wassim Hawat)
• Guido (James Cassells)
• Dave Campbell (Will McNeill)

Where Was Season 1 Last King of the Cross Filmed

Filming locations include Kings Cross and Sydney, both in New South Wales, Australia.

Where To Watch Last King of the Cross

Last King of the Cross premiered on February 17, 2023, on Paramount+.