The finale of Top Boy ended on a low note unfortunately after much anticipation. This 6 episode final season of Top Boy felt rushed, not very well thought out and low budgeted. You could tell many of the actors didn’t have much input this season possibly due to new Netflix demands and executive policies. Whilst it was good to see Top Boy back on our TV screens, this wasn’t the outcome many of us hoped for.
Spoilers ahead! If you have not watched the latest season of Top Boy, stop scrolling now, watch it and come back to finish reading.
First of all, what happened to Jamie’s funeral? And the funeral for every other important character that died this season? You’d think that there would be at least a mention of Jamie’s funeral somewhere but nothing. Talking about Jamie, what happened to his little brother Aaron? Now we know Aaron went off to University however wouldn’t the death of your big brother urge to to return home to comfort your little brother Steph? I’m aware the actor who plays Aaron, Hope, mentioned he forfeited the character as he believed the character had no arc however I feel as though the writers could have at least mentioned Aaron’s name somewhere into the script rather then have him ghost the entire season. With that being said, we knew Steph was going to be the brother to step up and avenge his older brother Jamie but instead we got a loving romantic arc between him and his school friend crush, Arin. Now whilst I appreciated the writers touching on the importance of safe sex and exploring more into Steph’s personal life, many of us came to witness Steph’s struggles dealing with the death of Jamie and his journey on getting revenge. And sadly there just wasn’t enough of that. There was a couple points at where Steph saw Sully and other where Sully was mentioned but the whole build up to the end was lacking. So when it came to the final showdown between Steph and Sully, it felt lackluster due to little to no build up.
One thing this season of Top Boy got right was Sully. Sully this season is even more of a savage, sadistic, ruthless psychopath played by the great Kane Robinson known to many as Grime Artist Kano. His acting was the best this season showcases amazing facial expressions, body language and line delivery. You really believed the character and the decisions his character made unlike his best friend, Dushane. Unfortunately Top Boy was littered his poor character decision for example, Dushane leaving a dead body in a kitchen, blood everywhere with his fingerprints all over the scene. Surely this can’t be the same Dushane who ran Summerhouse doing and ordering hits? What could possibly be the reason for such a character switch up? I feel as if it was done for plot purposes only so that Dushane can steal from Sully to escape the country. It’s a shame they hurt the character to serve an unfulfilling plot.
The main villain of this season were killed off extremely early into the season their characters didn’t get fleshed out enough. The Irish gangsters were set out to be the most interesting aspect of this season however their run was short lived.
What a disappointing end it was for Lauren. So much more could have been done with the character but instead she’s used as a ploy to catalyze Jaq’s hatred from drug circulation in the community. This leads to Jaq stealing drugs from Sully which results in getting Kieron killed after defending her. In previous seasons Jaq’s character was written more intelligently so her decision making here was bizarre because what was the plan? Stealing the drugs wouldn’t exactly stop drug dealing in the area and to just give it back makes things so much worse because Kieron was killed in the process.
Throughout the entire season featured a protest in retaliation of Kieron’s immigration. It was one of the most powerful scenes of this season which was let down due to over staying it’s welcome. It honestly did not need to last all season long; 1 or 2 episodes would have been enough as Kieron was released yet riots continued.
I did enjoy the fact that Sully’s killer remains anonymous which invites speculation and fruitful discussions. It also shows that Sully has created countless of enemies over the years that anyone could have take his life which makes it harder to pin point exactly who done it. Many people predict it was either Jaq, Rafe or Kieron’s mum. I’m leaning more towards Jaq as Sully was the reason for the loss of so many of her close ones especially Kieron and Dushane. It’s sad to see Top Boy go out like this as it’s the last season. I was expecting something more grand for the popular British Drama. Something bigger and better than previous seasons but nothing. The plot and characters felt underdeveloped and the budget and time felt reduced. I hope we can see Top Boy again some time in the future whether it’s in the form of a spin off or prequel for a better send off.
Written by P Rose.
