Chapter 3 (Lupin; Part 3)

Chapter 3 is the third episode of the third part of the Netflix series Lupin, and the thirteenth episode overall.

Synopsis
As Fleur and Guédira strike a deal, Belkacem visits Benjamin. Assane tries to outmaneuver a new enemy in the shadows while keeping tabs on his family.

1998
Assane arrives for a session at the boxing gym, but is accosted by Keller, who tells him that he will be barred if he does not pay the fee. Assane laments to Bruno that he does not know how to acquire the 3,000 francs that Keller is demanding. With Bruno, Assane devises a plan which involves Bruno pretending to steal the wallet of one of the inhabitants of a nearby wealthy neighborhood, while Assane makes a show of returning it. Once in the rich man’s house, Assane discreetly steals one of his valuable statuettes.

Keller is impressed bt Assane’s theft, informing him that the statuette is in fact worth 100,000 francs. He tells Assane that he is now part of the family. When Keller asks Assane where he got the idea to steal it, Assane pulls out a well-worn copy of The Confessions of Arsène Lupin. Keller takes the book from Assane and tells him that he needs to learn about real life. An envious Bruno watches Assane and Keller walk off together.

Present day
When Assane informs him of what happened at the church, Benjamin is convinced that the woman on the other end of the phone is not really Mariama, and that the entire thing is a trap. Assane, however, believes the opposite, pointing out that the woman had remembered the Wolof song that Mariama had sung to him when he was a boy. Benjamin remains skeptical, asking if the song is a popular one in Senegal; Assane, now with tears in his eyes, asserts that he is sure that the woman is Mariama, and that her kidnappers will kill her if he doesn’t do something about it. The cell phone that Assane had picked up from the church vibrates with a message, telling Assane to steal the Edouard Manet painting Chez Tortoni from a man named Cisco within three days’ time. Cisco turns out to be a young thug who leads a local gang. His modus operandi is giving those who cross him the chance to draw an ace from his deck, and shooting them dead if they don’t.

Benjamin makes Assane a false deck of cards comprised entirely of aces, and upon meeting up with Cisco, Assane, using the false name Sam Delangle, discreetly slips one onto the gang leader’s cards. Cisco is impressed when Assane draws the ace, and Assane offers his services as a getaway driver. Cisco agrees, and instructs Assane to return the following day at noon. After Assane has gone, Cisco tells his right-hand man Kad that he does not trust Assane, but believes he will be useful.

Assane, however, does not leave, but instead searches Cisco’s extensive property for the painting. He finds it in a room being occupied by Cisco’s ageing, infirm mother, who wakes up and asks for “Nicolas,” Cisco’s real name. Assane admits that he is not Cisco, but that he works for him. Cisco’s mother tells Assane that Cisco is a good son who takes care of her, and asks him whether he takes care of his own mother. Assane replies that he tries to. At that point, several members of Cisco’s gang, led by Kad, burst into the room and demand to know what Assane is doing, but Cisco’s mother shoos them out and thanks Assane for his visit. Once Assane has left, Kad interrogates him, demanding to know what he was doing. Assane claims that he was looking for the bathroom. Kad orders Assane to leave; as he passes, Assane discreetly steals the man’s cell phone.

Assane heads to a kebab shop and asks if he can use the restroom. Kad, who has been tailing Assane, follows him inside. Assane discreetly exits out the back door before Kad can get to him, paying a local teenager to give the phone back to Kad when she sees him. Back at the gang’s headquarters, Assane finds himself on the receiving end of Cisco’s gun. Cisco informs Assane that Kad believes he is a snitch; Kad mentions that nobody by the name Delangle had been in any of the prisons in the area, despite the fact that Assane had claimed to have done time in one. Assane, however, turns the tables, arguing that Kad is the snitch, and that he had called the police attempting to have Assane arrested.

Cisco is irritated by the dispute and demands to see Kad’s phone. After Kad hands it over, Cisco finds an unknown number in his recent calls. Upon dialing the number, he reaches Benjamin, impersonating a police officer named Correntin. Cisco orders Assane to get out and turns his gun on his right-hand man. Kad frantically tries to argue that the whole thing was a set-up, but Cisco coldly points to his deck of cards and delivers his usual rejoinder: “an ace, or you’re dead.” To his immense relief, Kad draws the ace of hearts, and Cisco spares his life.

Guédira brings Fleur to his office and shows her the evidence he has collected regarding Assane’s connection to Lupin, and the possibility that he faked his death, complaining that none of his colleagues are taking it seriously. Fleur is impressed by Guédira’s sleuthing and compliments him. Guédira tells Fleur that he will let her use his archives if she gives him any new information she uncovers. At that moment, Belkacem enters the office, and is confused why Guédira has brought a stranger in. Guédira unconvincingly tries to claim that Fleur is an officer from another police station; to Guédira’s shock, Fleur instead tells Belkacem that she is his girlfriend. Belkacem is stunned by the notion that Guédira has a life outside of work, and leaves.

Claire visits Benjamin in his antiquary and implores him to look her in the eyes and tell her that Assane isn’t dead. Benjamin is upset about concealing the truth from Claire, but does not give any information up. Some time afterwards, while she is returning home, Claire is accosted by Fleur in the entryway to her apartment. Fleur asks Claire whether she can give her any information about Assane’s connection to Arsène Lupin, or the theory that he is not actually dead. Claire gives Fleur a cold stare, but remains pointedly silent. Fleur leaves her business card in Claire’s mailbox.

Mistrustful of Benjamin, Belkacem decides to pay him a visit, asking him where he was on the night of December 3rd. Benjamin feigns offfense and sarcastically offers to let her search his store for the black pearl. A sound from upstairs causes Belkacem to grow even more suspicious, but it is merely J’accuse walking down the stairs. Belkacem leaves, and Benjamin breathes a massive sigh of relief. He dashes upstairs to the location of his and Assane’s secret lair, where he and Assane examine possible suspects for Mariama’s kidnapping. Both believe that one of their previous victims is ultimately responsible.

At a café, an apprehensive Claire watches another customer read a newspaper article about Assane’s funeral. Sitting across from her, Raoul abruptly launches into an explanation of how Assane could have faked his death and escaped the casket, claiming that this is what Arsène Lupin would have done. Increasingly concerned about Raoul’s mental health, Claire pleads with him to remember that the Lupin stories are works of fiction, but he dismisses her words and gets up from the table, telling her that he doesn’t want to miss his first session with his new basketball coach.

The coach, “Alex”, is in fact Assane disguised in extensive prosthetics and using a voice modifier, such that neither Claire nor Raoul is able to recognize him. When they have a moment alone together, Claire quietly informs Assane that Raoul is struggling with the loss of his father. She gives Assane her phone number and asks him to keep her updated on how Raoul is doing. Assane smiles and agrees to do so. Claire stays to watch the first part of the lesson, and is overjoyed to see Assane doing his best to help Raoul feel comfortable on the team.

After the lesson, Assane removes his disguise and dashes back to Cisco’s headquarters in his Sam Delangle get-up, apologizing for his lateness. With his men, Cisco plans the robbery of an armored vehicle, casting Assane in the role of the getaway driver. Assane visits a mechanic in order to get a car, deliberately choosing a rather prosaic model, as he feels that a faster but flashier car will be more easily spotted. He asks the mechanic to cover it with non-permanent orange paint.

The robbery goes reasonably smoothly, with Assane evading capture by driving into a car wash, which promptly removes the vehicle’s new coating of paint and confuses the police, who are still looking for a bright orange car. Even after all of this, Cisco is still suspicious of Assane, and once again orders him to draw an ace from his deck. Unbeknownst to Cisco, Assane has installed a smoke bomb in the deck of cards. When he draws a joker, the bomb goes off, knocking Cisco and his men unconscious. Wearing a smoke mask, Assane contacts Benjamin, who calls the police and tips them off to Cisco’s location. Cisco has placed the Manet painting into a safe inside the car, and Assane manages to make off with it after unlocking the safe by correctly guessing the year of Cisco’s mother’s birth. When Cisco regains consciousness, he finds himself confronted by a group of armed police officers.

In his “Alex” persona, Assane has continued coaching Raoul. One day, when he and Raoul are leaving the court, Claire meets them outside, and Assane tells her about Raoul’s development as a player. However, Claire is angered when she sees Fleur loitering nearby, and tells Raoul to wait for her in the car. Assane walks up to Fleur and stands over her in an intimidating fashion, but Fleur is undeterred, telling Claire that she has information that will interest her. After she is gone, Claire gives a rueful sigh and sarcastically thanks Assane, not knowing that he is standing beside her. Claire also thanks “Alex” for standing up for her.

Later, Assane brings the Manet painting to a pre-arranged rendezvous spot near the Seine. Ferdinand, one of Mariama’s kidnappers, arrives to collect the artwork. Assane demands to know that his mother is alive; Ferdinand places a call on his cell phone and holds it out to Assane. On the other end, Mariama urges Assane not to do anything else for her kidnappers, but she is cut off. Ferdinand takes the painting and drives off with it. Unbeknownst to him, Assane has placed a tracking device made by Benjamin onto it. He tails Ferdinand to a building at the Place d’Italie.

Cast

 * Omar Sy as Assane Diop
 * Ludivine Sagnier as Claire Laurent
 * Antoine Gouy as Benjamin Férel
 * Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guédira
 * Shirine Boutella as Sofia Belkacem
 * Mamadou Haïdara as young Assane Diop
 * Etan Simon as Raoul Diop
 * Martha Canga Antonio as Fleur Bélanger
 * Salif Cissé as Jean-Luc Keller (1998)
 * Vincent Overath as Cisco
 * Walif Afkir as Kad
 * Blandine Pelissier as Cisco's mother
 * Ayoub Marceau as Cisco's man #1
 * Robert Moundi as Cisco's man #2


 * Faued Nabba as Raphaël
 * Francois Nowacki as police captain
 * Malik Amraoui as mechanic
 * Frederic Kniep as rich man (1998)
 * Elodie Roupret as wife of rich man (1998)
 * Adou Khan as kebab shop owner
 * Isabelle Girard as Cisco's mother's nurse
 * Nicolas Berno as Ferdinand (2021)
 * Ulysse Dutilloy as scooter driver
 * Noé Wodecki as young Bruno
 * Yanis Benatallah as Mathis
 * Bartholomeus as Ferdinand (1998)
 * Ted Etienne as man reading newspaper

Music

 * original music by Mathieu Lamboley
 * "Got What You Need" by Erik Per Johan Liden, Per David Noren and Lukas Roher
 * "They Think I Care (Ft. Ice-T)" by Tracy Lauren Marrow and Charles Andre Glenn
 * "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys
 * "Legends (Ft. the Midi Mafia, Chel Strong, Maxton Waller)" by Kevin John Risto, Waynne Nugent, Ade Rain Chang-Nugent, Chelson Mechale Strong and Maxton Arrott Waller
 * "The Bigger the Boom" by Shawn O. Thomas and John B. Miller

Trivia

 * Vincent Overath (Cisco) was one of Ludivine Sagnier's (Claire) students at the École Kourtrajmé.