Chapter 7 (Lupin)

Chapter 7 is the second episode of the second part of the Netflix series Lupin, and the seventh episode overall.

Synopsis
Hubert makes a deal with Dumont and sets a trap for Assane, who's one step ahead. Claire knocks on Hubert's door.

1995
Assane gets sent to the office of Monsieur Bouchard, the director of the College d’Andrésy, for his earlier theft of the violin. While Assane is waiting for Bouchard to arrive, the answering machine picks up a message from Lorenzo, the shop owner, recommending that Assane be reprimanded as severely as possible. Assane steals the tape from the machine before Bouchard walks in. During their meeting, Bouchard tells Assane that after he hears from Lorenzo, they will discuss Assane’s punishment. Assane asks Bouchard what will happen if Lorenzo doesn’t respond; Bouchard says that he will simply go to the shop and ask him in person.

To get around the issue, Assane and Benjamin call Bouchard from a pay phone, with Assane affecting a deeper voice in order to impersonate the luthier (as Bouchard and Lorenzo have never met in person).

Present Day
In anguish over Raoul’s disappearance and at a loss for what to do, Claire takes the train back to Paris, struggling to hold back tears. A woman sitting across from her opens up a newspaper, carrying a story about the death of Fabienne Beriot and her fight against Hubert Pellegrini, as well as the appearance of “Salvator813” on The Other Edition. Glancing at the insert photograph of “Salvator,” Claire becomes alarmed upon immediately recognizing that he is actually Assane. After borrowing the paper and reading the story, she grows increasingly distressed as she pieces together the reality of Assane’s situation and its implications for Raoul’s fate.

After arriving in Paris, Claire encounters Benjamin leaving his shop. She asks him what he knows about Assane’s involvement with Hubert. Benjamin tries to cover for Assane, but is shocked when Claire reveals Raoul’s kidnapping, and her belief that Hubert is ultimately responsible. Although Benjamin asserts that Assane will successfully rescue Raoul, Claire is unconvinced, and implores him for help, telling him that she just wants her son back.

In Normandy, Guedira, having finally managed to escape Assane’s bindings, realizes that Leonard’s car is going up in flames, and hears Raoul’s voice calling for help from the boot. Horrified, he races over to the car and manages to prop the boot open using a rod as a crowbar. As Guedira and Raoul escape back to the safety of the other car, Leonard shoots at them in a haphazard manner; however, the two manage to evade his bullets and drive off as the sun begins rising. Guedira tells Raoul that he and Assane are both enormous fans of Arsène Lupin, and Raoul asks who Guedira’s favorite character is. Guedira responds that it is Inspector Ganimard, as they are both police officers. Raoul finds this amusing, and states that his favorite character is Lupin himself, as he reminds him of his father.

Assane, meanwhile, has been taken into custody by Belkacem, who is still convinced that his emotional reaction to the burning car the previous night was an act. Assane repeatedly begs Belkacem, who has examined the contents of the boot of Leonard’s burned-out husk of a car, to tell him what was inside it. Belkacem becomes so fed up with Assane’s pestering that she angrily reveals that she found nothing inside it at all. Immensely relieved to discover that Raoul is still alive, Assane smiles to himself.

As they are running out of fuel, Belkacem tells Hector, the Gendarmerie officer she is with, to pull into a service station. Assane says that he needs to use the bathroom; Belkacem tells him to hold it, but Assane claims that he cannot. Belkacem finally agrees to let him go, and orders Hector to keep watch. In the bathroom, Assane tells Hector that he needs his cuffs to be taken off. Hector obliges, but Assane quickly cuffs him up instead and leaves.

Assane tells a man filling up his car that he has a flat tire, flashing Guedira’s police badge. When the man goes to inspect it, Assane shoots one of the tires in Belkacem’s car, gets into the man’s vehicle, and drives off. Belkacem, meanwhile, becomes enraged when she discovers Hector chained to a pipe, and even more so when she witnesses Assane escaping.

In Paris, Claire gains an appointment with Hubert personally. She tells him that she does not find him intimidating, as taking her son was the worst thing he could possibly have done to her. These impassioned statements do little more than amuse Hubert. Claire proposes that she exchange the diamonds from the necklace (currently in Benjamin’s possession) for Raoul. Hubert tells her that he doesn’t care about the jewels; rather, he wants Assane. Desperately worried for Raoul’s sake and furious with Assane for endangering his life, Claire agrees to let several undercover police officers, including Pascal Oblet, be posted in wait outside her apartment building. Speaking separately with Dumont, Hubert tells him that he will use Raoul as bait to bring Assane to him.

While driving back to Paris, Assane, who has possession of Guedira’s phone, sees that he is being congratulated by Dumont for collecting Raoul. Assane texts back, posing as Guedira and claiming that he cannot talk, as he is driving. Dumont gives an order to bring Raoul to the Park Hyatt hotel in the city center, where Hubert and Juliette are launching their new foundation.

Guedira takes Raoul to his apartment building, but is stopped by Pascal, who tells him to bring Raoul to the Hyatt hotel at Dumont’s request. At the Hyatt, Dumont congratulates Guedira for retrieving Raoul. Guedira asks why he had to bring Raoul to the hotel; Dumont claims that he received confidential information telling him that Raoul was in danger. Guedira is suspicious of Dumont, but leaves Raoul with him. Raoul says he wants to go home to see his mother, and Dumont assures him that his ordeal is nearly over. Raoul calls Assane from a phone in the hotel, telling him where he is. Back at the police station, Guedira is given a letter that reads, “Merci, Ganimard.”

Raoul is brought to an interview with Hubert, who tells him that he is starting a foundation for children like him whose parents are criminals. Raoul becomes upset, asserting that his parents are not criminals. In response, Hubert asks Raoul to tell him what Assane does for a living; when Raoul cannot, Hubert states that Assane is a thief like his father before him, and suggests that he doesn’t care about Raoul or Claire. Enraged, Raoul yells that this is not true. Hubert menacingly reveals that Raoul is right, as Assane is on his way to the hotel.

Assane infiltrates the gala at the hotel dressed as a waiter and wearing a moustache and false teeth. Inside, he is recognized by a receptionist, who calls for assistance. Several security guards begin chasing Assane, but he manages to knock them unconscious in an elevator. As he has been discovered, he leaves the hotel, having removed his waiter’s jacket and facial disguises. Dumont, still sitting with Raoul, receives a phone call from what appears to be Hubert (but is actually Assane, using recording equipment to fake Hubert’ voice). Dumont hears “Hubert” say that Assane has entered the building, and that Raoul needs to be removed from the premises. Dumont is confused, but agrees to do what he is told.

Dumont brings Raoul to a large black van with tinted windows, which, “Hubert” tells him, is the correct vehicle. Raoul enters, and the van drives off. Back at the reception, Dumont gets another a call from “Hubert,” but is confused, as Hubert is standing in front of him, not having called anyone. Realizing what has happened, Hubert remains relatively unconcerned, as Claire’s desperate pact with him means that he still has a final card to play.

In the van, Raoul and Assane reunite happily. Raoul asks Assane if he really is a thief, and if this is the reason he was kidnapped. Assane becomes serious, and tells Raoul about his history with the Pellegrini family. He asserts that Hubert will pay for what he did. Raoul asks Assane how far he will go, and informs him that Claire says that he will never change. Assane claims that he will, once all of his business has been sorted out. After thinking for a moment, Assane says that if Raoul wants him to stop everything, he will, but Raoul encourages him to continue. Pleased with his son's reaction, Assane drives him home to Claire.

Claire, in the company of a group of police officers led by Pascal, stares out the window of her apartment as Assane’s van pulls up. She beams as Raoul gets out and waves to her, but once she sees Assane with him, her smile fades and she regrets her deal with Hubert. The doorbell rings, and Claire anxiously walks over to her telephone. Before she buzzes Raoul and Assane into the building, she gives Pascal a pleading look, asking him for a moment alone with her son. Pascal agrees.

Claire can scarcely contain her happiness when she hears Raoul calling for her on the stairs. She dashes out of the apartment and joyfully covers him with hugs and kisses. Assane appears in the entryway behind them, observing the scene contentedly, but is confused when Claire’s expression changes to one of fear. Still clinging to Raoul, Claire tells Assane to run away.

Cast

 * Omar Sy as Assane Diop
 * Ludivine Sagnier as Claire
 * Clotilde Hesme as Juliette Pellegrini
 * Hervé Pierre as Hubert Pellegrini
 * Antoine Gouy as Benjamin Ferel
 * Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guedira
 * Shirine Boutella as Sofia Belkacem
 * Adama Niane as Leonard
 * Vincent Garanger as Gabriel Dumont
 * Éric Paul as Monsieur Philippe Bouchard
 * Azzedine Ahmed Chaouch as Thomas Gendre


 * Mathieu Milella as Hector
 * Tonio Descanvelle as bearded waiter
 * Nicolas Wanczycki as Pascal
 * Aloysia Delahaut as Pellegrini press official
 * Christian Diaz as young bearded service station employee
 * Rodolphe Borgniet as hotel director
 * Mamadou Haidara as young Assane
 * Ludmilla Makowski as young Claire
 * Etan Simon as Raoul
 * Adrian Valli De Villebonne as young Benjamin

Music

 * original music by Mathieu Lamboley
 * "The Old Windmill" (Elio di Tanna, Emmanuel d'Orlando)
 * "Good Time Swing" (David Wittman, Marc Aaron Jacobs)
 * "Jazzy Stroll" (Michael Sherwood)
 * "Arabesque in C OP18 2 Minore 1 DG" (Robert Schumann)
 * "I Can See Clearly Now" (Johnny Nash)