Chapter 9 (Lupin)

Chapter 9 is the fourth episode of the second part of the Netflix series Lupin, and the ninth episode overall.

Synopsis
Leonard tails Assane to his home. Hubert orchestrates a frame-up. Assane leaves a clue online for Guédira that sheds light on Dumont.

Plot
Lucas Lecroix, an accountant working for Hubert Pellegrini, is knocked down by Benjamin while on his way to work. Assane, standing nearby, goes to help Lecroix, but Benjamin, dressed up as a jogger, steals the man’s briefcase and runs off with it. Assane makes a show of chasing Benjamin down. When they are both out of sight, they make note of the contents of Lecroix’ briefcase, at which point Assane returns and gives it back to him. Believing that Assane saved his livelihood, Lecroix is immensely grateful.

Hubert is brought into the police station by Laugier and Belkacem for questioning. While in the interrogation room, Hubert insinuates that he will be able to count on his friendship with Albert Fontan, the Minister of the Interior, to set him free. He denies every charge that the police lay at his door regarding the necklace theft. However, when the police officers put their facial reconstruction of “Paul Sernine” in front of Hubert, he immediately identifies the man in the picture as Assane Diop. When the discussion turns to Leonard, Hubert denies knowing him; shortly afterwards, a phone call from Albert Fontan forces his release.

Juliette meets Assane in a park, where she admits that her father was let go, lamenting that he always gets his way. She considers cancelling a concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet which was intended as an extravagant event in honor of her foundation, but Assane encourages her not to, reminding her that the concert is intended to raise money for children who legitimately need it. He leaves upon receiving a phone call, which turns out to be little more than Benjamin complaining about the constant barking of Fabienne’s dog, J’accuse.

Sitting with Hubert and Leonard, Pascal Oblet reveals that Fabienne’s funeral was paid for Benjamin. Hubert is glad to have proof that Assane is not working alone. Pascal suggests that Benjamin be placed under surveillance, so that he might lead them to Assane’s home. Hubert puts Leonard in charge of the operation, but privately tells Pascal to get rid of him, as he has made too many mistakes.

Remembering Claire from the day in Étretat, Guedira brings her into the station for questioning about Assane with Belkacem. Still upset with Assane but reluctant to give him up to the police, Claire claims that she doesn’t know where he lives, which both Guedira and Belkacem find implausible. Upon being asked whether she sees him regularly, Claire responds that the word “regularly” isn’t part of Assane’s vocabulary. Guedira, annoyed with Claire’s impudence, asks her about the undercover police officers who were outside her building when he brought Raoul home. Claire denies knowing what Guedira is talking about, stating that the previous days were difficult for her and that she is just happy to have Raoul back. Belkacem tells Claire that several officers will be posted around her residence in case Assane returns; Claire responds that he will not, as she does not want him near her son.

Despite Claire’s wishes to the contrary, Assane has continued to contact Raoul, sometimes telling him about collector’s editions of the Arsène Lupin stories. During one such conversation, Raoul becomes apprehensive and tells his father that he feels that his capers are never going to end. Assane promises that he is almost finished with everything; Raoul responds that this is what he always says. Assane laughs, telling Raoul that he sounds just like Claire, and asks him if she is sitting nearby directing him. Raoul says that he is saying this to Assane of his own accord.

Benjamin, having agreed to trade J'accuse with Assane, brings the dog to Assane's apartment. Unbeknownst to Benjamin, Leonard has followed him. Inside, Benjamin and Assane discuss Juliette’s upcoming concert. Benjamin comments that Assane successfully managed to manipulate her into it; Assane, on the other hand, says that he legitimately believes that Juliette would be doing good work, and that he doesn’t want to let Hubert stop her. Benjamin leaves J’accuse with Assane, and departs.

Assane puts on a record and begins making dinner for himself and J’accuse. Shortly after Benjamin’s departure, Leonard enters Assane’s apartment. Due to the volume of the record, Assane does not hear Leonard preparing to shoot him, nor does he hear Pascal sneak in and strangle Leonard to death before he can take the shot. After he is finished, Pascal quickly leaves and calls the police, claiming that there is a scuffle going on at Assane’s apartment that needs investigation. When Assane finally exits his kitchen, he is shocked to see Leonard’s lifeless body lying in front of him. He grabs J’accuse and leaves just before the police arrive. That night, Claire and Juliette both watch in horror as Assane becomes national news for being the suspect for both the murder and the Louvre heist.

In Assane’s apartment examining the evidence, Belkacem tells Laugier that Assane was the man she arrested in Normandy, and that she was going to interrogate him. Laugier shows her that he has found the pen that "Paul Sernine" took from the Louvre in October. The two laugh at Guedira, who is gawking at Assane’s massive collection of Arsène Lupin-related memorabilia. Dumont calls Laugier into a separate room, where he says that he doesn’t want anybody to hear about the case, and that he wants to restrict access to the evidence to only the two of them. Laugier agrees, but is somewhat suspicious.

Benjamin, who has not yet heard the news, recieves a phone call from Assane, who tells him that he needs to leave his shop immediately. He packs his most important possessions and hurries out. Assane calls Benjamin again and asks him whether he is being followed; Benjamin sees Pascal behind him matching his pace and responds that he is. Assane instructs Benjamin to sit at a bus stop, where Pascal will not attempt to do anything to him. When a bus arrives, Benjamin and Pascal both board it, but Assane tells Benjamin to exit the second before the doors close. Benjamin manages to do this, and the bus departs with Pascal still inside it.

The next day, Belkacem acknowledges that Guedira was right about everything regarding the Arsène Lupin theory. Guedira, however, has become unhappy and is doubting himself. Belkacem tries to persuade Guedira that he was right, given the sheer quantity of Lupin memorabilia in Assane’s apartment. Guedira responds that he cannot reconcile the idea of Assane killing Leonard into his theory, since Arsène Lupin never kills. Belkacem reminds Guedira that Arsène Lupin is a fictional character, while Assane is a real person with differing motivations.

Assane and Benjamin, meanwhile, sneak into a storage unit that Benjamin owns. Before they enter, a hooded Assane swipes a cell phone from a man walking past. Once inside, Assane uses the phone to read a recent article about himself, and posts a comment on it under the username “Ganimard.” Benjamin is irritated, telling Assane that the pair need to leave Paris as soon as possible, but Assane responds that running away would be equivalent to admitting guilt. Benjamin admits that even if he were to try to convince Assane of anything, Assane would simply do whatever he wanted.

Dumont recieves a text from Hubert, revealing Benjamin’s identity. He instructs Laugier to go check up on Benjamin’s shop; Laugier takes Belkacem with him, but leaves Guedira at the station. In Benjamin’s store, Belkacem finds the address to the storage unit. Soon afterward, Assane and Benjamin hear the sounds of the police closing in, and hastily make their escape through a secret passage into the Catacombs of Paris. When Laugier and Belkacem enter, they see that Assane and Benjamin have already escaped, but eventually find the tunnel, although they do not know where it leads.

While Raoul is reading an Arsène Lupin book, Marc enters his room and attempts to bond with him. Raoul is somewhat offended when Marc suggests that he is too old for the books, but explains the plot of The Blonde Lady, the story he is currently reading.

While working on his computer, Guedira sees a notification pop up for a news story about Assane. He scrolls through it and sees a comment, consisting of what appears to be gibberish, written by an individual named “Ganimard.” Guedira immediately suspects that Assane is trying to send him a secret message, and unscrambles the mix of letters on the screen to see that they spell out “la lampe juive” (the Jewish lamp), a reference to an Arsène Lupin story. He immediately remembers discovering a menorah in Assane’s apartment. Guedira returns to the scene without permission, finds the lamp and takes it.

Laugier and Belkacem move through Assane’s tunnel, and eventually stumble upon a group of tourists. Once they figure out that they are in the Catacombs, they call for assistance and the site is evacuated of sightseers. Assane and Benjamin, meanwhile, leave the Catacombs via a long stepladder to a manhole that opens onto a small garden. Benjamin returns a map of the secret passages in the Catacombs to a ticketing officer working there, from whom they had taken it in 1995.

Hubert celebrates his impending windfall with Philippe Courbet and Pascal. Dumont arrives and asks him if they can speak in private. Hubert tells Dumont to sit, and tell him whatever he needs to tell him in front of everyone. Dumont states that they secured the evidence in Assane’s apartment, and that they will have to destroy everything that could be used to trace Leonard’s murder back to them. Hubert is happy with this, but Dumont is worried, knowing that several of his officers are on the verge of figuring everything out.

Guedira examines the menorah, and finds a USB drive inside one of the candles included with it. Upon inserting the drive into his computer, he is shocked when he finds footage of Assane’s interrogation of Dumont, featuring Dumont confessing to his corruption. Additionally, the drive contains a number of documents linking Dumont to Babakar and Hubert, as well as information on Leonard.

Assane and Benjamin sit on the side of a bridge looking at the Théâtre du Châtelet, which, as Assane tells Benjamin, hosted the first ever stage adaptation of an Arsène Lupin story. Benjamin comments that tomorrow, it will be their turn. Assane agrees, asserting that they will be finished with Hubert.

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
 * Vincent Londez as Romain Laugier
 * Shirine Boutella as Sofia Belkacem
 * Stefan Crepon as Philippe Courbet
 * Vincent Garanger as Gabriel Dumont
 * Adama Niane as Leonard
 * Salim Kechouiche as Marc


 * Nicolas Wanczycki as Pascal
 * Aloysia Delahunt as Pellegrini press agent
 * Juliette Poissonnier as blonde saleswoman
 * Franck Mercadal as Lucas Lacroix
 * Hélène Mannarino as plateau journalist
 * Yoni Dahan as Catacombs guide
 * Christopher Minkoulou as police colleague
 * Mamadou Haidara as young Assane
 * Etan Simon as Raoul
 * Adrian Valli De Villebonne as young Benjamin Ferel

Music

 * original music by Mathieu Lamboley
 * "Reach Out I'll Be There" (the Four Tops)