I’ll Be Remembered – As the finale of The Gold begins, Charlie Miller (Sam Spruell) listens to the game from Costa Blanca, Spain. He gets mad when the other team scores. He tells the woman nearby that is England. Charlie explains that Arsenal is the establishment club while Millwall coming up from South London to put them out of the cup. They can’t have that because of what it’d say about the establishment and England. Charlie accuses them of rigging it before saying that is why he is never going back. When Edwyn Cooper (Dominic Cooper) is transported by a guard, he nearly gets a chance to escape until the guard returns with the keys.

DCI Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) sits down with John Palmer (Tom Cullen) who refuses to tell him anything. Brian says the jury will decide whether it is feasible John disposed of 13 million pounds worth of gold without asking where it came from. John thanks him for being nice to his wife at the airport before leaving. Then, Brian speaks to Edwyn who suggests he’ll risk his life if he cooperates. Brian reminds him that he has entered a world that doesn’t respect the establishment. They know he is there and where he sleeps so it is a matter of time. Brian says he’ll be brought there every day and he can tell them everything he knows. Assistant Commissioner Gordon Stewart (Peter Davison) tells Boyce that complaints have been lodged against him by Noye’s lawyer.

Boyce believes they want to drag it out until he is on the stand so they can ask in front of the jury if he is under investigation. CS Cath McLean (Amanda Drew) will be leading the investigation and she’ll be as quick as she can. Brian isn’t surprised because he thinks he is going up against systems. People want to make sure those systems remain intact so this is just the start. Later, Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott) suggests charging Noye’s missus with handling stolen goods to put pressure on them as well. Archie (Daniel Ings) says they can freeze his assets. Brian wants to make sure Edwyn’s words only come to him.

Kenneth Noye (Jack Lowden) gets a visit from Brenda (Nichola Burley) who mentions that she is getting charged. He tells her that they’ll drop the charges because they’re only trying to send him a message. When she mentions their bank accounts being frozen, Kenneth says there is other money. He says they’re in a war and everyone has a part to play. Later, Edwyn tells the police how 13 million was sent through British banks to their Swiss account before being moved to front companies. There are roughly 30 front companies. They buy properties, sell them, and send the money to their account in Liechtenstein. Tony realizes they have a lot more than the gold was worth.

Edwyn says the Brink’s-Mat gold could be the seed money for the greatest criminal fortune in history if they’re not quick. Nicki (Charlotte Spencer) tells Edwyn he didn’t see the blood out there and what the money did. He tells them that the account was named Moyet. Gordon Parry (Sean Harris) walks out into the water with a luggage. Palmer is officially charged in court. He pleads not guilty. Jim Clark calls Boyce to ask about meeting at the Carlton Club this evening. Jim believes Cooper is refusing to cooperate so he wants to meet to hash things out. Brian decides to take Nicki with him. Kenneth talks to John on the phone about his wife being there when he pled not guilty. John won’t let his wife visit because they have nothing on him and he won’t be staying.

As for Kenneth, he says they have nothing and he thinks they’ll end up with even less. He heard it was going to be a busy night. Once Nicki meets Brian, he says she will be a believable presence because she’ll pick up what is happening. They’ll appear to be drinking alcohol although they won’t be. She should assume she will be testifying about this evening. They join Jim Clark who wants to know what they have on his client. Brian says he can’t share that, but he could share it quietly with a colleague at the yard. He asks if he has anyone in mind. Jim writes down a name and reveals Cooper would want to be bailed. Boyce knows he isn’t there on behalf of Edwyn Cooper.

He believes he is there on behalf of the system. He wonders who they’d be willing to sacrifice to keep the system in place. Jim claims everything he has said has been within legal remit. He even knows that Nicki works with Brian. As they leave, Brian tells Nicki that they’re villains and they’re scared. Brian believes they’ll approach her father. Nicki says she’ll tell him the day her dad impacts the way she does the job. She says that was their way of trying to stop Cooper from talking, but it didn’t work. Brian goes back to the station and complains about the guard watching the game with Edwyn. He learns that there are reports of a mass disturbance on the Alexandra Estate.

Brian tells him to lock the door and get a jacket on. DI Neville Carter (Sean Gilder) approaches Tony at the pub. He buys him a drink while Brian stands outside with the Constable. A car passes by and continues. Brian tells the Constable to let them come and go in the darkness because they will hunt them in the night. The next day, Tony tells Brian that Carter offered him 50,000 to go easy on Cooper and Parry. Nicki thinks they’re getting desperate. When Sienna Rose (Ellora Torchia) comes home, she finds Gordon waiting on Edwyn. She offers him money, but Gordon says talking about money is the problem. He wants her to tell Edwyn that they really appreciate his loyalty.

Before he goes, Sienna says she isn’t scared of him. Gordon doesn’t know why she would be. Archie learns that the Liechtenstein account was cleared out two days ago. Edwyn insists there is nothing he can do about that. Instead, he gives them a list of the properties they haven’t sold yet. Nicki learns her father has called. Marnie (Stefanie Martini) visits John even though he told her not to come. She believes he likes being famous and being called Goldfinger. When he says he is innocent, Marnie says she believes him because that is all she has left. Micky McAvoy (Adam Nagaitis) finds two men waiting for him in his cell. Edwyn talks to Sienna on the phone. She hopes he won’t be bullied by men like that.

He knows how it’ll end if he doesn’t do what they want. He’ll seek a different ending for both of them. Although he’ll get a longer sentence, she’ll be safe and he’ll have a chance of getting out. Sienna warns him she won’t be there when he gets out. Nicki visits her father who says one of the neighbor’s boys just got out of the scrubs. She is the one thing he has and he can’t handle the worry. He thinks he’ll be in the hospital soon enough. Nicki tells him why she does the job and how she wants to make kids feel safe. He is proud of her and he thinks her mom would be too. When Nicki leaves, she puts the police light on top of her car and drives away with the siren on.

She makes sure everyone sees her. Micky calls Kathleen (Sophia La Porta) to ask her to marry him. Edwyn tells Tony and Nicki that he wants to plead not guilty and say the statements were made under duress. He thinks they won’t know what he told them, but Tony warns him that he won’t be protected. Brian mentions his mother. Then, he asks for Edwyn to be taken to Wormwood Scrubs where he’ll be placed on an open wing. Once he leaves, Tony and Nicki ask Brian to give him one last night in the station with his phone. John talks about gold and how it is the one thing he knows in court. He admits he might’ve smelted the Brink’s-Mat gold without knowing it, but he isn’t a criminal mastermind. He is found not guilty.

Cath warns him that Noye would be a disaster after the embarrassment of Palmer. Brian insists he won’t beat them again. He tells her to start investigating with Carter because there are too many men in the building that serve two masters. Brian wants to keep them where he can see them for now. Gordon calls Edwyn to warn him that some people have heard he is being helpful. Edwyn says he has withdrawn his cooperation and will be pleading not guilty. Gordon tells him to keep his head down and he’ll be fine. Tony and Nicki get information about Gordon’s whereabouts. John and Marnie are questioned by journalists and photographers.

Brian is questioned during Kenneth’s trial. He admits they haven’t found any of the gold, but blames that on Kenneth and his associates smelting half of it. The conversation turns to the investigation of Brian who says he was investigated and cleared. The judge tells Mr. McHugh to move along. Mr. McHugh suggests Boyce is obsessed with Noye because of the tragic death of DC Fordham. Brian denies it before saying Noye is a petty criminal who got lucky. Then, Kenneth takes the stand. He explains that the country was built on smuggling and he did his bit to keep that tradition alive. Kenneth says he met some guys in Florida and they put together a gold smuggling route.

He explains how they brought it in and sold it to the orthodox Jews in Belgium. He is asked about the 11 unmarked gold bars the police found at his house in Kent. Kenneth claims that was planted because they don’t like men like him getting rich. He knows the taxman will want to talk to him after this, but he denies being involved in the Brink’s-Mat operation. John gets a call about El Dorado and the money being saved. Gordon eats in Fuengirola, Spain. Nicki and Tony approach him and say they know he went to Panama. Nicki warns him that he’ll get 10 years, but Gordon claims he’ll get five. Marnie asks John about getting a new passport.

He claims he needed a new one. John goes on to say they’re going to fix things although it’ll take time and money. She isn’t happy when he says he’ll be back in a week or two at most. Marnie suggests he would’ve forgiven everything his dad did if he hadn’t left. John says he isn’t leaving. Kathleen visits Micky at the prison and learns about the friends who visited him. They told him what happened to his share. He believed in the code and South London, but others didn’t. John visits Kenneth who tells him he is a clever boy. Kenneth claims he is just a poor kid from Solihull who got taken advantage of. No one is coming looking for him. Kenneth doubts it’ll ever be done because of the number of people who were involved in the Brink’s-Mat job.

Micky and Kathleen get married. Donnie is shot and killed. Brian tells Nicki that they’ll know who has won win the jury comes back. He says none of this exists outside of that room and it was a story about individuals united by greed. They tracked them down and built cases that have never been built before. He asks them to pack up and seal the files. He is putting Tony and Nicki up for promotions. Nicki says they can’t go back to Flying Squad after this. It felt like they were doing something important so they want to do something else that feels like that. As for Brian, he is going to travel. Micky is given 25 years for armed robbery. Brian Robinson gets the same.

Brian Reader gets 9 years for conspiracy to handle stolen bullion. Gareth Chappell receives 10 years for conspiracy to handle stolen bullion. Henry receives one year suspended for conspiracy to evade VAT. Jeannie Savage (Dorothy Atkinson) is given five years for conspiracy to handle stolen bullion. Gordon gets 10 years for conspiracy to handle stolen bullion. Kenneth is found guilty on all charges. He tells them he hopes they all die of cancer. Nicki says Cooper said he had finished cleaning the money and they thought they’d stopped all of them. She asks Tony what the number means to him. Brian approaches Kenneth in his cell to say they dropped the charges against his wife.

Brian warns him he is looking at 14 years. He wants to know where the other half of the gold is. Kenneth says he’ll be remembered for what he did in his part of the world. He says they did all that chasing and digging for something that was never even there. Kenneth gets 14 years for conspiracy to handle stolen bullion. Tony and Nicki realize they only had half of it so the gold must’ve been split. Charlie Miller relaxes and drinks. Brian tells Nicki and Tony they start at the beginning.

 

The Gold Review

The finale of The Gold wrapped up most of the stories while leaving the door open for a possible second series which is difficult to justify considering how dreadful the first was. Even after six episodes, viewers will know very little about the real Brink’s-Mat robbery or the characters involved. Instead, the series invested too much in make-believe characters that were neither interesting nor likable.

The actual story about the Brink’s-Mat robbery is fascinating, but viewers won’t find it here because this only touches on it in places. It felt like a bad bait and switch that attempted to lure in viewers with the misconception that this had anything to do with the Brink’s-Mat case. In reality, that aspect could’ve been dropped and The Gold’s story wouldn’t have changed although audiences would’ve been less likely to tune in.

There was barely an interconnected story with the show constantly adding new characters that bring little to no value. The series fumbled the historic representation in some areas and did well in others. It looked well enough at times when the camera wasn’t shaking like the cameraman was having a seizure, but many things were added to accommodate a modern audience.

Many of these changes took away from the nostalgic aspect of the series when it was noticeable. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough substance here to make anyone care about any of the characters. On the contrary, some of the characters were downright annoying and the need to touch on social issues wasn’t effective. The Gold could’ve been a spectacular exploration of the Brink’s-Mat robbery with a fantastic cast, but the best thing about it is that it is over.

The nausea-inducing camerawork, purposeless story, and annoying characters made The Gold a thoroughly frustrating experience that is impossible to recommend. The finale scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Gold are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.