S02E07 – Ace of Spades: Όταν ο Harry παίζει με τα χαρτιά του θανάτου

After the trip to Mallorca, where Seraphina failed to secure Conrad's support for her own plan to rebuild the family, the Harrigans return to London and begin regrouping. After Conrad buries his dogs, he decides they need to make the rounds of their various “businesses” to find out who remains loyal and who has started looking elsewhere, ahead of the final confrontation with Frankie. Meanwhile, Frankie is determined to wipe them all out and, following a conversation with Kat, is effectively given one week to get the job done.

He sets a trap for Paul, using Sicily, an ex-girlfriend who works as a stripper, as bait. His plan is to lure Paul in and, through him, bring Harry into an ambush. However, there is one small detail he hasn't accounted for. During a phone conversation with Harry, Paul calls him “brother”. Harry immediately realises something is wrong. Between them, there is an unwritten rule: Paul only uses that word when he is in serious trouble. Harry understands that it is a trap and eventually decides to go to the meeting alone, but he has a very specific card up his sleeve: information about Frankie's son!

And this is where we reach the most interesting scene of the episode.

Frankie welcomes Harry to the casino with his usual theatrical flair. He even offers him the chance to switch sides and work for him. Harry, unsurprisingly, isn't interested. The real surprise comes when he reveals that he knows about Michael, Frankie's son, who is currently being held at Newgate Prison. Frankie tries to make it look as though he doesn't particularly care about his son's fate, presenting him almost as a burden he could easily get rid of. Harry, however, isn't convinced.

The conversation eventually leads to a game of Russian roulette. Frankie loads three bullets into the revolver and begins playing with Harry's life. Harry remains almost expressionless, even with the barrel pointed at his head. When he finally manages to get hold of the gun and turn it towards Frankie, the latter realises that the game has changed. He orders his men to let Harry and Paul walk away.

Paul, of course, leaves the ordeal visibly shaken, while Sicily pays for her decision to work with Frankie with her life. Once again, Harry proves that he can survive situations in which anyone else would have already lost the game.

Meanwhile, Maeve continues pulling the strings within her own family. This time, she targets Gina, suggesting that she stage a suicide attempt to force Harry to quit his job and distance himself from the Harrigans. Despite her obvious hatred for Maeve, Gina seems willing to listen to her advice. What Maeve doesn't know is that, in the previous episode, Harry and his daughter had finally grown considerably closer. Their relationship had begun to heal, and Maeve is attempting to destroy precisely that new balance.

It's fascinating how differently the two women perceive family. To Maeve, people are pawns she can use to serve her plans. For Harry, despite a professional life that has turned him into a man who solves problems through extremely violent means, his daughter remains one of the very few things he isn't willing to sacrifice.

At the same time, Seraphina continues working on her own vision for the future of the Harrigans. Together with Bella, she is exploring the possibility of essentially creating a new version of the family, away from Conrad's control. She approaches her stepfather, Charlton, asking him to invest €10 million in her plan. Bella appears to be part of this effort, although it's far from clear how much Seraphina can actually trust her, given her relationship with Kevin.

Seraphina is perhaps one of the most unpredictable characters at this point. We don't know whether she genuinely wants to save the family or is preparing to build her own empire using the Harrigan name. What is certain is that she has no intention of waiting any longer to claim the position she believes she deserves.

Maeve, on the other hand, is beginning to lose the control she once took for granted. Her attention is no longer limited to Harry and Gina. She also turns against Eddie. When she discovers that he is looking for information regarding Medusa's murder, she confronts him with particular brutality, threatening him and cutting his face with a knife. Her behaviour suggests that she no longer trusts even the people she once considered her own.

And then there's Jan. Or rather, there isn't Jan, since she has disappeared without leaving a trace. While searching for her, Harry finds Donny's address through the information Conrad had gathered during Jojo's interrogation. When he arrives at the apartment, he discovers Donny's dead body. He also finds the gun he had given Jan, essentially confirming that she was responsible for Donny's murder in the previous episode.

Harry has no choice but to take care of the situation once again. He calls Zosia to make the evidence disappear and clean up the mess.

And Harry's final phone call is perhaps the most important moment of the episode.

After managing to walk away from the casino alive, he calls Michael, Frankie's son, who is being held at Newgate Prison. He tells him that he is going to be attacked at three in the morning and that he is going to take a serious beating.

There is an interesting detail here. Harry doesn't reveal who is behind the impending attack, nor does he make it clear whether he is calling to warn Michael or threaten him. The latter seems particularly plausible, considering that Harry has just discovered Frankie's biggest vulnerability. Frankie tried to convince him that he doesn't care about his son, but Harry didn't believe him for a second.

Personally, I think the call serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, Harry wants to make it clear to Frankie that he can reach his family, just as Frankie is trying to do with the Harrigans. On the other, knowing how unpredictable his opponent is, Harry may actually be trying to protect Michael from an attack that is already being planned. Nevertheless, the wording of the warning and the way the episode ends leave us with more of a sense of an impending threat than an act of protection.

Either way, Harry has found a way to take the war into territory where Frankie can no longer feel safe. And this may well be the first real blow Frankie has suffered, not because he lost a game of Russian roulette, but because someone has managed to identify what he truly cares about.

What Did the Critics Say?

Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut considers this the strongest episode of the second season so far, mainly because we finally get to see Harry and Frankie come face to face and confront each other without anyone standing between them.

He highlights the casino sequence and Johnny Flynn's excellent performance, pointing out that Frankie is an exceptionally intelligent, organised and yet completely unpredictable character. He also discusses Maeve's attempt to push Harry away through Gina, as well as the uncertainty surrounding Seraphina's real plans.

The most interesting part of his review concerns the finale. Wilson believes that Harry now appears to have the upper hand over Frankie, but his final phone call to Michael introduces a much darker possibility: Harry may actually be planning to kill Frankie's son, regardless of the fact that Frankie ultimately allowed him to walk away.

Personally, I consider the seventh episode one of the most interesting instalments of the season, mainly because we finally get to see Harry and Frankie face each other. The casino scene is excellent, and Tom Hardy delivers another one of those performances where expressions, silences and subtle movements carry more weight than dialogue.

Johnny Flynn, on the other hand, proves to be an excellent addition to the cast. Frankie has an almost theatrical and unpredictable personality that brings a different kind of energy every time he appears on screen. He is an opponent whose next move you can never really anticipate, and that works in the show's favour.

Where I am beginning to have some reservations is the constant recycling of the same threats. We've seen plenty of attacks, betrayals, executions and traps, but the balance of power remains almost exactly the same. Harry always finds a way out, Frankie continues making threats, and Maeve keeps pulling the strings. At some point, however, the game needs to change for real.

What's particularly interesting is that the episode ends with Harry doing something that could prove far more dangerous than his actual confrontation with Frankie. If the latter is forced to protect his son, the next encounter between them could take place under entirely different circumstances.

And that's exactly what I'm hoping to see in the remaining episodes. Fewer threats that ultimately lead nowhere, and more decisions that come with real consequences.

Harry may have won this hand, but the war is far from over.