Upamanyu Biswas
The second season of Netflix’s ‘Criminal Code’ ends with Suellen and Benicio figuring out a way to thwart Isaac’s ambitions while also finding some personal redemption for themselves. After spending large swathes of the narrative one step behind every one of Isaac’s moves, the last few moments turn the tables on the leader of the Ghost Gang as he is faced with issues that range from existential to personal. However, despite the best efforts of our central duo, capturing Isaac and his gang of thieves proves to be a challenging task that forces everyone to up their game. By the end, this culminates in an epic showdown of immense consequence where old and new rivalries are brought to the fore, as we are left with an open-ended scenario that could have further implications down the line. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Criminal Code Season 2 Recap
As expected, season 2 begins the narrative with the Federal police team under Rossi’s leadership dealing with the fallout from season 1’s ending. To that end, Suellen, Benicio, and the others are keeping tabs on members of the criminal underworld in an effort to squeeze out more information on the elusive Ghost Gang led by Isaac and the Ambassador. Despite having a fairly clear idea that the gang is busy planning for their next move, Suellen and Benicio have no way to intervene unless they get a comprehensive picture and the lay of the land in front of them. Unfortunately, this is a luxury they can’t afford as Isaac, his brother Gabriel, and their close associate Lobo are already on the move with a grand robbery plan, targeting the Fortaleza Central Bank. Although the authorities show up in time to put up some resistance, the robbers fight their way through the barricade and escape.
During the escape, the Professor (Assuncao) is killed by a rogue member of the heist named Xuxa. His death has a sobering effect on Suellen and Benicio, especially because the former is responsible for allowing the Professor to be a part of on-field duties. As the new head of the team, Suellen takes even greater accountability for the Professor’s passing and makes it a mission to bring Isaac and his crew to justice while also exacting revenge against Xuxa. The Professor’s murder also sets a series of dominos into motion as Rossi ends up losing his authority in the office because the top brass in the Federal Police lose confidence in his abilities to produce results and mitigate costly mistakes. In his stead, Inspector Vendramin is appointed as the new person in charge of the department, while Rossi is demoted to Deputy Sheriff.
Determined to get one step ahead, Suellen and Benicio start tracking down Xuxa as a way to get closer to Isaac and his gang. They find out that he frequently meets up with sex workers in a seedier part of town, using it as a trail to locate him. The search eventually leads them to the Shangri-La strip club. During a stakeout mission, they find Xuxa creeping around the club’s outer parts, taking it as a cue to make their move. After an intense chase, they manage to take him into custody, thereby apprehending the person responsible for killing the Professor. However, he reveals that in their bid to take him down, they completely became blind to Isaac’s movements, who also happened to be inside Shangri-La at the time. Subsequently, Suellen asks Luana, a sex worker and part-time informant for Benicio, to infiltrate Shangri-La to find out more about the Ghost Gang.
Criminal Code Season 2 Ending: How Do Suellen and Benicio Foil Isaac’s Plans?
Throughout season 2, Suellen takes a wide variety of approaches to corner Isaac, but her efforts go down in vain. No matter what she tries, the Ghost proves to be an elusive figure who has luck on his side. However, with every incident, she gets closer to making him commit a big mistake, which finally happens when one of his heists goes awry despite the fact that he gets his hands on most of the jewelry valuables. During the Vera Cruz robbery, Suellen and Benicio, along with the rest of the federal police, put up an aggressive front against Isaac’s crew. As they mount an escape, the cops follow them back to their warehouse, which immediately becomes ground zero for more fighting. At the end of the altercation, Suellen lands a significant blow on Isaac by killing Gabriel, which forces him to cut his losses even though he is deeply affected.
Following Gabriel’s loss, Isaac becomes concerned that his chances of making it out of the police’s grasp are slim. Additionally, he is profoundly hurt by Gabriel’s passing, even having some flashbacks about their descent into a career as professional thieves. Subsequently, he starts thinking of other ways to make a fortune without going back into the world of robbing. However, the Ambassador is a significant obstacle in his path to realizing his dreams. As such, he conspires with Djeison to kill the Ambassador, a bold move that has immense repercussions for the rest of the narrative for everyone involved. After murdering the Ambassador, Isaac starts working with Cabeca to make his way into the drug empire, which is a solution for his current predicament and also a way to make one last successful effort at getting money.
In the final parts of the season, Isaac and Soulless gear up for a massive smuggling gig involving cocaine transport at the Santos port. They arrive there with the express purpose of taking over the Ambassador’s business operations without any hitch in the plans. However, Benicio and Suellen track them down to the port, where an epic fight breaks out between the authorities and the criminals. Both sides open fire on each other while some others look to flee. During the battle, Benicio leaves Suellen behind to deal with Soulless, who is obsessed with his personal vendetta against the man. In the meantime, Suellen kills Isaac’s buddy, Lobo, which leaves Isaac with no choice but to flee. As such, the authorities seize the entire contraband of cocaine from the port, which is later advertised as a victory for the Federal Police.
Does Soulless Die? What Does it Mean For Benicio?
While Suellen has to contend with Isaac and Lobo by herself, Benicio chases Soulless to the riverbank with the express purpose of sending him back to prison. It is undeniable that the two have a special rivalry because of everything that happened in season 1 (Soulless killing Santos, Benicio’s previous partner). As such, the tension between them is often one that can be cut with a sharp knife. Once Benicio corners Soulless near the water body, the two have a verbal reckoning with one another. While the former is determined to send his adversary back to prison where he belongs, the latter states that everything he is doing, right or wrong, is in the name of a noble cause – his family. As a result, the ensuing one-on-one fight between them is intense and dripping with high stakes.
In the initial part of the encounter, they seem equally matched when it comes to their physical prowess. However, as the mud around them starts to take its toll, Benicio loses his initiative in the battle and is progressively dominated by Soulless. The latter uses this to his advantage and prepares for a final choke move to end his rival’s life. In the last second, Benicio manages to wriggle out of his grasp by stabbing Soulless, who is caught off-guard by the sneak attack. Subsequently, he lays down on the mud, his life slowly ebbing away while Benicio finally regains his balance. Soulless hands Benicio the pendant around his neck, urging his rival to hand it to his son once he is dead. Despite triumphing over his enemy, Benicio is struck by emotions as he watches Soulless close his eyes.
The final words by Soulless clearly have a profound effect on Benicio, who must feel a kindred connection because of his own estranged relationship with his son, Samuel. We see throughout season 2 that Benicio struggles to connect with Samuel despite taking time out of his day to do things with him. Therefore, to hear Soulless ask him to deliver his necklace to his own must trigger a sense of sadness within the protagonist, making him realize that he is not so different from his rival after all. In fact, while they may be on opposite sides of the law, they repeatedly showcase the same adherence to justice in their own way. To that end, Soulless’ character showcases the complexity of human beings and how people who do bad things can also have good things about them, which is only exemplified further as he meets his end.
What Happens to Isaac?
Although the Federal Police manage to reassert control at the end, their work is far from over as Isaac manages to escape. Following the fight at the Santos port, Isaac goes to a hiding place where he recovers a hidden stash of money, weapons, and supplies needed to begin his life from scratch. To that end, he takes up a low profile, effectively keeping himself under the radar of the police. In the meantime, the media believes that the Federal Police has scored a great victory even though the people within the ranks, such as Suellen and Benicio, know that their achievements are only half of what they are being advertised as. This becomes all the more prescient when we see Isaac show up at Italio’s doorstep in the final parts of the season, meaning he has a new partnership with the man.
Earlier in the season, Isaac considers it beneath him to be availing help from someone like Italio, whom he calls “Playboy” because of his high-end lifestyle and lack of seriousness. When Italio steps in to support Isaac’s efforts following the Ambassador’s murder, the Ghost Gang leader thinks that he should have gotten in touch with better partners. However, by the end, these options are completely out of the question because of the Federal Police’s eyes on him. As such, it makes sense that Isaac swallows his pride and decides to work in cahoots with Italio, indicating that he now has an enormous benefactor helping him regain his footing in the underworld. It leaves the door open for further exploration in season 3, which is inevitably going to have more altercations between the authorities and Isaac.
Is Cabeca the New Ambassador?
The Ambassador’s death is one of the big plot twists in season 2 of ‘Criminal Code.’ After playing such a notable role in season 1 and significant parts of the second season, the Ambassador feels like an untouchable player wielding immense influence and power over the others. However, season 2 illustrates that no man is safe from ambitious individuals who are always looking to tear down those in power. The Ambassador finds this out the hard way, with Greco putting pressure on him for one side and losing his grip over Isaac and the others. Subsequently, he is taken out by Isaac and his own right-hand man, Djuisen, who team up behind his back to take him out of commission. Subsequently, a huge power vacuum opens up, and Isaac tries to grab it for himself with aid from others, such as Cabeca.
At the start of season 2, Cabeca starts off as the ringleader of the Sao Paolo Avare Penitentiary, a considerably weighty position that gives him a great deal of power inside the prison. However, by the end, he becomes even more powerful because he practically assumes the Ambassador’s position as the leader of his organization, meaning that he is, in many ways, the new Ambassador. This means that he is now in charge of the drug operations that the Ambassador was previously handling. Additionally, with Isaac in hiding, Cabeca has full reign to do whatever he wants with his newfound power, making him a formidable threat moving forward. Thus, taking him and Isaac down will likely form the bulk of the narrative in a potential third season, continuing Suellen and Benicio’s fight against organized crime both in and out of their neighborhoods.
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