Chapter 3 (Lupin)

Chapter 3 is the third episode of the first part of the Netflix series Lupin.

Synopsis
Assane confronts Commissioner Dumont and plants a decoy to divert the police. Hubert Pellegrini's connection to Babakar's fate comes to light.

1995
Inspector Gabriel Dumont meets Hubert Pellegrini, informing him that Babakar is continuing to deny responsibility for the theft of the Queen's Necklace, and pointing out that absent any solid evidence of Babakar’s culpability, he will be let go. Dumont also notes that prior to the theft, Hubert had increased the insurance policy on the necklace. Hubert claims that he had changed the policy after being informed by a collector that the necklace was undervalued. In a later meeting, Dumont tells Hubert that Babakar’s location on the day of the theft rules him out of having been the culprit, and that his fingerprints, which had been found on the safe, had most likely been planted there in order to frame him for the crime. Sensing that Dumont believes him to be guilty of insurance fraud, Hubert makes mention of his many powerful connections and vaguely threatens to hurt the detective’s wife. He instructs Dumont to urge his own wife Anne that a signed confession to the theft will reduce Babakar’s time in prison. In fact, Hubert is well aware that Babakar’s inevitable failure to produce the jewels will lead to a very lengthy sentence.

At the orphanage, Assane notices a blonde girl being harassed by a group of boys. He attempts to intervene, telling the boys to leave. Before the group can gang up on Assane, Philippe Bouchard enters the room, and Assane is able to sit down next to the girl, and asks her if she is all right. The girl laughs and tells him that there are two types of men — barbarians (who behave aggressively and rudely towards women) and knights (who treat them as though they can’t survive on their own; Assane, according to the girl, fits into this type) — and that she doesn't care for either. Realizing that she may have been overly harsh, the girl also mentions that she knows who Assane is and is sorry about Babakar's death. After playfully calling Assane a knight once again and inviting him to make himself comfortable, the girl introduces herself as Claire.



Some time later, Assane and Claire sit on a park bench, reading. Noticing that Assane is engrossed in his book about Arsène Lupin, Claire jokingly comments on Lupin's many successes with women. Assane tells her that he appreciates the way that Lupin is never caught unawares and isn’t afraid of anything. Suddenly, the boys who had been teasing Claire earlier arrive on the scene; Claire cautions Assane to "play dead", believing that this will make them more likely to leave. The boys rudely joke that Claire and Assane have slept together. Although Claire exhorts Assane to remember her words about the barbarians and the knights, Assane gets up and attacks them.

Afterwards, as Claire is cleaning Assane’s injuries in the bathroom, he tries to kiss her. Claire pulls away and giggles, telling him that she doesn’t need a boyfriend. Assane claims that she just doesn’t know that he is the man of her life, and much to her amusement demonstrates that he was able to steal a cigarette lighter from one of the boys he had fought. Later, Assane tells Claire that he has thought about her classification of knights and barbarians, and suggests that he fits into a third category — the gentleman, who “doesn’t care about anything, except what matters.” Claire is moved by this, and kisses Assane. She tells him that she likes the idea that they will always be there for one another.

Present Day
Dumont, now middle-aged and living in an expensive house with his wife and two children, has been promoted to chief commissioner of the Parisian police department. Unbeknownst to him, Assane has broken into his home and rigged cameras in all of the rooms, in order to be aware of his plans and engagements.



Assane goes to the town hall of Paris' third arrondissement, where Dumont has an appointment, pretending to be an IT specialist and loudly mentioning that there is an issue surrounding porn on the computer at Dumont’s office in the building. Highly embarrassed, Dumont winds up allowing Assane to lead him to the office. However, Assane takes him to an deserted corridor and uses pressure points to knock him out. When Dumont wakes up, he is horrified to find that he has been tied to a chair in the middle of a dark room in front of a television screen. In another room nearby, using a voice modifier, Assane accuses Dumont of framing Babakar for the theft of the Queen's Necklace. Dumont argues that he didn’t frame anybody, and asks if his interrogation has anything to do with the break-in at the Louvre. Assane asserts that Dumont has accepted bribes from criminals in order to line his pockets, and threatens to tell his wife Hélène if he doesn’t give up any more information. Dumont, now highly agitated, maintains the he doesn’t understand what Assane wants.

Assane calls Dumont’s wife; Dumont tries to talk to her but is informed by Assane that she cannot hear him. Hélène does, however, hear Assane threatening her husband, and becomes terrified for his safety. Dumont, horror-struck, tells Assane that he used the bribes to provide for the future of his children, and begs for water. Assane hangs up the phone, enters Dumont's room and gives him a water bottle, leaving before the commissioner can see his face.

The interrogation is then interrupted when Assane gets a call from Claire, who is on a break from a shift in the hospital where she works. Claire asks Assane if he has been thinking about something he can do for Raoul’s upcoming birthday. Assane, realizing that he has completely forgotten about it, attempts to claim that he is planning a surprise. Claire is dismayed, as Assane had said the same thing last year but had failed to deliver on his promises. She tries to get Assane to tell her what is keeping him so busy, assuring him that he can speak openly with her, but he evades her questions. Before they hang up, Claire implores Assane not to get himself into too much trouble.



In the meantime, news of Dumont's kidnapping reaches the police station. Laugier rounds up his officers and tells them to look for any leads on the case. Security camera footage outside city hall shows a tall man of West African origin, wearing an orange beanie, dragging a large case into a van; the officers think that Dumont is inside it. Guédira suggests using the GPS on Dumont’s phone to locate the van.

In the interrogation rooms, Assane reveals that he has installed security cameras throughout Dumont’s house and knows everything about his family. Dumont is enraged, and grows even angrier when Assane threatens to release deepfakes of him making outrageous and incriminating statements if he doesn’t cooperate. He demands to know what Assane wants; Assane, now equally riled up, yells that he wants to find out what happened to his father, accidentally giving away his identity. Dumont, now comprehending everything, begins to take pity on Assane, telling him that he understands how he feels and that if he stops the inquisition, he will not be arrested. Assane says that he rarely changes his mind about people, but wants to change his mind about Dumont.

The police officers have figured out that the van and Dumont’s phone are in the northeastern suburb of Pantin. Laugier orders Belkacem, Guédira and several others to join him in tracking down the culprit. Upon arriving in Pantin and finding the van and its driver, the officers requisition the case and open it, finding only a clown doll and parts of Dumont’s phone (including the GPS system) inside. Realizing that they are being toyed with, the police find the van’s driver and order him to tell them how he came to have the case. The driver reveals that he had been hired to drive a man around the town hall several times and then drop him back off in front of it.



Guédira suddenly realizes that Dumont never left the town hall at all. Laugier and Belkacem find this idea ludicrous, and ask him who would do such a thing. Guédira responds that Arsène Lupin would. Although he is mocked by Belkacem, the officers decide to follow Guédira’s lead, and arrive on the scene moments after Assane leaves. Upon locating Dumont, they untie him. Dumont denies being aware of the identity of his kidnapper.

Having returned to the necklace case, Guédira decides to tell Laugier about the connections he has drawn between the theft and the Arsène Lupin stories. He states his belief that the man in the orange hat captured on the security footage is the same person as Paul Sernine and the man who had met with Juliette in Luxembourg Gardens. When asked what connects all three cases, Guédira notes that Dumont had been in charge of handling the original necklace theft.

Dumont, now safely back home, remembers that Assane has installed video cameras throughout his house. He angrily destroys them. Afterwards, he calls Hubert Pellegrini and tells him that another party is involved in the Babakar Diop case. However, Assane, who has also hacked into Dumont's virtual assistant, records the conversation.

Cast

 * Omar Sy as Assane Diop
 * Ludivine Sagnier as Claire Laurent
 * Nicole Garcia as Anne Pellegrini
 * Hervé Pierre as Hubert Pellegrini
 * Fargass Assandé as Babakar Diop
 * Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guédira
 * Vincent Londez as Romain Laugier
 * Shirine Boutella as Sofia Belkacem
 * Moussa Sylla as Lieutenant Barreto
 * Vincent Garanger as Gabriel Dumont
 * Johann Dionnet	as young Gabriel Dumont
 * Marie Barraud as Hélène Dumont


 * Éric Paul as Monsieur Philippe Bouchard
 * Véronique Viel as mayor
 * Jean-Marc Lallement as mayor's assistant
 * Léo Boucry	as teenager 1
 * Guillaume Auvert as teenager 2
 * Melvin Habib as teenager 3
 * Bénédicte-Lala Ernoult as city hall employee
 * Christian Gazio as truck driver
 * Mamadou Haïdara as young Assane Diop
 * Ludmilla Makowski as young Claire Laurent

Music

 * original music by Mathieu Lamboley
 * "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash
 * "On Ne Change Pas" by Celine Dion

Trivia

 * Dumont's kidnapping took place on Tuesday, October 27th, 2020. This date can be seen on Assane's cell phone lock screen after he finishes speaking with Claire.
 * Chapter 3 is the only episode in Part 1 not to have been written or co-written by George Kay.