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
Dumont meets Hubert Pellegrini and informs him that Babakar is continuing to deny responsibility for the theft of the necklace, reminding him 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 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 Babakar’s 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 vaguely threatens to hurt the detective’s wife, before telling him 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, the social worker enters the room, and Assane is able to sit down next to the girl, who tells him that there are two types of men--barbarians (who behave 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. However, she also mentions that she knows about what happened with Babakar and is sorry for the loss. After playfully calling Assane “Sir Knight,” the girl introduces herself as Claire.

After their lessons are over, Assane and Claire sit on a park bench, reading. Noticing that Assane is engrossed in his book about Arsène Lupin, Claire comments that Lupin is like Romeo, due to his success with women. Assane tells Claire that he appreciates the way that Lupin always seems to be planning ahead and isn’t afraid of anything. Suddenly, the boys who had been teasing Claire earlier arrive on the scene; Claire cautions Assane not to do anything, believing that this will make them more likely to leave. The boys rudely joke that Claire and Assane have slept together. Ignoring Claire’s warnings, Assane gets up and begins fighting them.

Afterwards, as Claire is cleaning Assane’s injuries in the bathroom, he tries to kiss her. Claire pulls away and laughs, 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 views on knights and barbarians, and states that he fits into a third category--the gentleman, who “doesn’t care about anything, except what matters.” Moved, Claire kisses Assane and tells him that she likes both being with him and the idea that they will always be there for one another.

Present Day
Dumont, now middle-aged and living comfortably with his wife and children, has been promoted to chief commissioner of the Parisian police department. Unbeknownst to him, Assane has broken into his house and rigged cameras in all of the rooms, in order to be aware of all of his plans and engagements. Assane goes to city hall, where Dumont has an appointment, pretending to be an IT specialist and loudly mentioning that there is an issue surrounding porn on Dumont’s work computer. Highly embarrassed, Dumont allows Assane to lead him into a corridor in order to discuss the problem; however, Assane knocks 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, apparently empty room. Using a voice scrambler, Assane begins to question Dumont about his relationship to Babakar’s case, accusing him of framing his father for the theft of the 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 if he doesn’t give him any more information as to his supervision of Babakar’s case. Dumont, now highly agitated, maintains the he doesn’t understand what Assane wants.

Assane calls Dumont’s wife Hélène; Dumont tries to talk to her but is informed by Assane that she cannot hear him. Hélène does, however, hear Assane’s voice threatening Dumont, and becomes terrified for her husband’s safety. Dumont, horror-struck, tells Assane that he used the bribes to provide for the future of his children. Assane hangs up the phone.

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 what he will 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 urges Assane to tell her what is keeping him so busy, but he evades her questions. Before they hang up, Claire implores Assane not to get into too much trouble. In the meantime, news of Dumont's kidnapping has reached the police station. Laugier rounds up Belkacem, Guédira and several others 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 in an orange beanie dragging a large case into a van; the officers think that Dumont is in the crate. Guédira suggests using the GPS on Dumont’s phone to locate the van.

In the interrogation room, Assane reveals that he has installed security cameras throughout Dumont’s house and knows everything about his family. Dumont is enraged, and becomes even more so when Assane threatens to release deepfakes of him making outrageous and incriminating statements if he doesn’t cooperate. Dumont 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 understanding everything, begins to take pity on Assane, telling him that he understands how he feels and that if he releases Dumont now, he will not attempt to have him arrested. Assane says that he rarely changes his mind about people, but wants to change his mind about Dumont.

Meanwhile, 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 demand to know how he came to have the case. The driver reveals that he had been hired to drive a man around city hall several times and then drop him back off in front of it. Guédira suddenly realizes that Dumont has never left city hall. 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 return to city hall just as 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, whose social media pages have all been erased, 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 at 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.

Cast

 * Omar Sy as Assane Diop
 * Ludivine Sagnier as Claire
 * Nicole Garcia as Madame Anne Pellegrini
 * Hervé Pierre as Hubert Pellegrini
 * Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guedira
 * Vincent Londez as Capitaine Romain Laugier
 * Shirine Boutella as Lt. Sofia Belkacem
 * Moussa Sylla as Lieutenant Barreto
 * Vincent Garanger as Gabriel Dumont
 * Johann Dionnet	as Jeune Gabriel Dumont
 * Marie Barraud as Helene Dumont


 * Eric Paul as Monsieur Philippe Bouchard
 * Véronique Viel as La Maire
 * Jean-Marc Lallement as Adjoint au Maire
 * Léo Boucry	as Ado 1
 * Guillaume Auvert as Ado 2
 * Melvin Habib as Ado 3
 * Bénédicte-Lala Ernoult as Employé de Mairie
 * Christian Gazio as Chauffeur Camionette
 * Mamadou Haidara as Jeune Assane
 * Ludmilla Makowski as Jeune Claire
 * Etan Simon as Raoul

Music

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

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.