The Gentlemen Season 2 Review: Theo James shines as the crime drama levels up

The Gentlemen Season 2 is a more focused, darker season of television that builds on an already strong debut. Theo James and Kaya Scodelario remain a perfect match as business partners, while Guy Ritchie’s sharp dialogue gives both actors plenty to sink their teeth into. An abrupt love story and Susie’s lack of an independent storyline are the only real speed bumps in an otherwise wildly entertaining eight-episode binge.

With its confident sophomore season, The Gentlemen stands alongside One Piece as one of Netflix’s best ongoing series.

The Gentlemen Season 2 Overview

One year after Eddie Horniman (James) and Susie Glass (Scodelario) agreed to work together, their criminal enterprise has grown well beyond the cannabis operation beneath Halstead Manor. Eddie has fully embraced his place in the underworld, but simply working for Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone) is no longer enough.

Eddie has his sights set on expanding the business and using his title to secure a place in the House of Lords. His ambitions bring him into contact with Lord Hawthorne (Hugh Bonneville), while the business takes Eddie and Susie beyond England as they establish new connections in Italy and elsewhere. The expansion also puts them in the path of Italian crime boss Marco Moretti (Sergio Castellitto), creating another dangerous relationship Eddie believes he can use to his advantage.

Bobby remains at the top of the operation, but Eddie becomes increasingly willing to question his decisions. Susie is caught between the two men as she tries to manage an empire that grows increasingly complex.

Season 2 still has plenty of Ritchie’s eccentric criminals, elaborate schemes and dark humor, but Eddie is no longer being reluctantly dragged from one crisis to another. James thrives with that change, bringing a sharper confidence and underlying menace to Eddie without losing the effortless charm that makes him so entertaining to watch. He knows what he wants and actively goes after it, taking him deeper into a world he once wanted removed from his family estate and forcing him to discover how far he is willing to go to remain there.

Eddie’s Confidence in The Gentlemen Season 2

Eddie’s ambition in Season 2 goes beyond making the Glass operation bigger. He sees the growing push to legalize cannabis as an opportunity to position himself on both sides of the law. By supporting legalization and pursuing a seat in the House of Lords, Eddie believes he can influence what comes next while continuing to profit from the existing criminal business.

It’s a clever plan that also highlights the fundamental difference between Eddie and Bobby. Bobby built his empire by understanding the rules of the criminal world and knowing how to operate outside the law. Eddie comes from a world where wealth, titles and political connections can help shape those rules in the first place.

Bobby understandably isn’t eager to abandon a system that has made him incredibly successful. He sees Eddie’s plans as an unnecessary risk, while Eddie increasingly views Bobby’s caution as an obstacle to the business’s future. Neither man lacks ambition. Susie sides with Eddie but they agree to keep their scheme a secret.

That tension adds a spark to their scenes throughout the season. Eddie still respects what Bobby has built, but he no longer seems content to follow his orders. Every disagreement reinforces the sense that Eddie doesn’t just want a larger piece of Bobby’s empire. He wants to reshape it in his own image.

Dark Descent

Eddie’s relationship with the Italian mob initially looks like another extension of his ambition, but it quickly becomes the catalyst for his darker turn. When Eddie agrees to murder on their behalf in Episode 2, he hesitates before pulling the trigger but ultimately gets his hands dirty. It’s an important line to cross for a character who previously relied on intelligence, charm and other people’s violence.

His relationship with Countess Isabella “Bella” Soranza de Parma (Benedetta Porcaroli) complicates that descent. Bella’s aristocratic background and connection to Moretti make her a natural ally, but Eddie’s feelings for her become genuine. Their marriage may strengthen his position with the Italians, but he also begins imagining a future with her.

Unfortunately, the season rushes from attraction to marriage, leaving their relationship too little time to develop. James and Porcaroli have enough chemistry to sell Eddie’s feelings, which makes Bella’s death hours after their wedding effective despite the abbreviated romance.

Her murder sends Eddie spiraling into vengeance. He initially blames Bobby and arranges his assassination before learning Freddy (Daniel Ings) was involved. Still resentful over losing Halstead to his brother, Freddy falls under the influence of Gospel John (Pearce Quigley), whose manipulation ultimately contributes to Bella’s death.

Eddie’s punishment completes the transformation that began in Episode 2. Rather than kill Freddy, he forces him to murder Gospel John with a chainsaw. It’s a wonderfully twisted conclusion to Eddie’s descent: He punishes both men at once while proving how comfortable he has become with this life of brutality.

Stuck in the middle

Susie Glass remains one of The Gentlemen’s best characters, but Season 2 struggles to give her a story that truly belongs to her. Much of her arc is spent caught between Bobby and Eddie as their competing visions for the business threaten to pull the organization apart.

Her romance with Joe Green (Tom Hughes) initially offers an opportunity to explore Susie outside that conflict. Unfortunately, Joe becomes increasingly difficult to tolerate as the relationship progresses. What should reveal another side of Susie instead becomes a romance with a cocaine dealer who doesn’t possess the savvy or morals worthy of her time.

Scodelario remains terrific regardless of the material. She gives Susie an effortless authority that makes it believable she can command a room of criminals without resorting to the theatrics of the men around her. Scodelario is equally effective when Susie’s confidence cracks, giving the character a vulnerability that rarely undermines her toughness.

Her best material continues to come opposite James. Their chemistry doesn’t require romance to generate tension, though Ritchie offers a few hints that could go that way. A conversation can shift from playful banter to disagreement in seconds, with James and Scodelario selling the affection, frustration and mutual respect underneath it all.

Scodelario’s brilliance makes Susie’s limited independence this season disappointing. Bobby is able to pursue his visions of the future, while Susie spends too much time reacting to their decisions or dealing with Joe. Scodelario ensures Susie never feels secondary when she’s onscreen. Season 3 should give the character a storyline with the same confidence.

The Gentlemen Season 2 Final Thoughts

The Gentlemen Season 2 avoids the sophomore slump by understanding what worked the first time and pushing the series into more dangerous territory. Ritchie hasn’t reinvented the formula, but the storytelling feels more confident now that Eddie has willingly embraced the criminal world.

Ritchie’s fingerprints remain all over the series. Colorful criminals, sharp dialogue, dark humor and sudden bursts of violence keep the eight episodes moving at a brisk pace. More importantly, the season knows when to let its characters take center stage. James continues to prove he was born for this world, while Scodelario makes the most of a storyline that doesn’t always serve Susie as well as it should.

There are some missteps along the way. The season could have spent more time developing its romantic relationships and given Susie greater agency, but those shortcomings rarely diminish the fun of watching Ritchie’s elaborate schemes unfold.

Two seasons in, The Gentlemen has also moved beyond being a television spinoff of Ritchie’s 2019 film. Eddie, Susie, Freddy and Bobby have given this corner of the criminal underworld an identity of its own.

Season 2 is darker, sharper and ultimately better than its predecessor. Alongside One Piece, The Gentlemen has become one of Netflix’s most entertaining ongoing shows, and hopefully Eddie and Susie’s criminal partnership is only getting started.