Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, Netflix’s ‘Black Rabbit’ captures the tumultuous relationship between two brothers, Vince and Jake Friedken, in all of its shades. Although on the surface, their lives are leagues apart, reality tells a different story. As the owner of New York City’s up-and-coming hotspot, Black Rabbit, Jake is constantly burdened with his professional life and often forced to make harsh judgment calls. However, that still puts him in a better spot than Vince, whose life has significantly more lows than highs. When their paths collide, the siblings get embroiled in a conspiracy unlike any other. The first two episodes of this crime thriller series, titled ‘Cyclone’ and ‘The Black Rabbits’, bring the present to the surface, while also laying down its foundations with frequent dives into the past. The familial conflict at the heart of the show is one with decades of history behind it, and needs its fair share of time to be unraveled in full. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jake and Vince Lead a Messy Life Miles Away From Each Other
The story begins with Jake Friedken preparing himself for one of the biggest nights of his life, with a party in full flow right next to him. Interrupting the celebrations for just a moment, he introduces himself as the owner of this restaurant, Black Rabbit, before recounting how much work has been put into making his dreams a success. At the completely other end of the building, however, two men don ski-masks and grab their guns, ready to create havoc. As Jake goes deeper into his speech, the two men make their way to the upper floors, fearlessly walking past the CCTV room. There, they run into one of the employees and inquire about a safe. When the employee explains that he is just a chef, he is tossed aside, and the two criminals break into the main hall instead. Jake, along with every one of his guests, is taken aback, and it finally hits him that his night of glory is about to take a dark turn.
The story then dials back to six weeks in the past, with Jake waking up from a night spent in the restaurant itself. He urgently makes his way out, ignoring the chef’s worried questions about Anna, one of the employees. Elsewhere, Vice Friedken sits listlessly near a slot machine, watching people and time go by. His real intent is revealed soon enough, as he is waiting for prospective buyers for his vintage coin collection. Although he passionately describes the rarity and worth of each and every coin in his possession, the buyers have plans of their own and hold him at gunpoint. Helpless at first, Vince is forced to give away his collection to the thieves, but soon resolves to hit them with his car. In the process, the older thief is accidentally crushed to death, and Vince receives a deep cut on his arm. Nonetheless, he has no time to spare and rushes out of the crime scene.
Jake’s Big Plans are Delayed by The Re-entry of His Brother
Jake makes his way to his ex-wife, Val, and his son, Hunter, and maintains an air of normalcy. However, the cracks in this facade begin to show elsewhere, as Anna, his employee, shows no interest in making it to work that day and instead appears preoccupied. Unaware, Jake then invites one of his investors, Naveen, and proposes a new business venture: creating a flagship restaurant at The Pool Room of Four Seasons in New York City. While the protagonist understands that this is a big step and promises that he has the connections needed to turn this into reality, Naveen is not quite satisfied, which paints the exchange in an awkward tint. Another knot in Jake’s life is added when Vince, his elder brother, rings the phone. Vince explains that he needs to stay in New York City for a few days, and that requires his brother’s help. While Jake obliges, he vents his mixed feelings to his friends, including Wes Williams, a pop artist, and Roxie, a famed chef.
Jake and Vince’s reunion begins with a bumpy catch-up session, where the latter plainly lies about the circumstances that have led him back to New York. Although Jake realizes that something more troublesome is going on, he decides to put his trust in his brother. To that end, he gives Vince free access to their inherited home, along with enough money to buy a new phone. However, the moment Jake leaves the premises, Vince ventures out on his own in a journey to reconnect with his roots. The first pitstop is The Plank, a bar run by his friend, Mattie. The deuteragonist takes a trip down memory lane, and we learn that he has a daughter, Gen, who now works in a tattoo shop. Although Vince is anxious to reconnect with his daughter, he is ambushed by two men, who assault him as a reminder of the debts he owes. Realizing that he has not left his troubles behind, Vince dejectedly makes his way back to his brother.
Elsewhere, Jake struggles to keep business afloat, in large part due to Anna’s absence, rendering them an employee short. Although he manages to handle the bar all on his own for a while, the roles start to get tangled soon enough. Fortunately, Vince comes in right on time as a saviour and volunteers to take on the mantle for the night. We learn that he co-founded the place with Jake and has experience managing it as well. Vince puts all of his skills to use and turns the night into a successful one for Black Rabbit. As their day starts coming to a close, the two protagonists wonder if they can take things back to the old times and recreate that dynamic. However, the future tells a different story, as we return to the two criminals breaking into the restaurant. Without skipping a beat, they rush to a jeweler in the crowd and begin ransacking his collection. Wes tries to call for a de-escalation, but the plan backfires, and one of the armed men shoots him right in the chest, leaving his fate hanging.
Jake and Vince’s Pasts Come Knocking
The scene then jumps back into the past, to the very foundations of Black Rabbit. We learn that Vince was the brains behind the entire business, and he cited their shared experience of running their father’s bar as the driving force. In the present. Jake relaxes for a moment with Estelle. She is the lead designer of the project and was one of the major reasons behind Black Rabbit’s success. He wishes to recruit her for The Pool Room venture and make it their best work yet. Elsewhere, Vince reconnects with Gen, and the two try to piece together their fractured relationship, but to little success. Jake makes his way to Black Rabbit, but is surprised to find a journalist named Lisa Klein waiting for him. She intends to conduct a joint interview featuring the protagonist and his star chef, Roxie, but tensions begin to simmer in no time, leading to an awkward conversation.
Estelle strikes up a conversation with Wes, her boyfriend, in the hopes of steering it to a serious conversation about their future, but he quickly deflects it in an act of self-interest. On the other end of the city, a new thread begins to emerge as the two goons from last night make their way through a bathhouse to their secret hideout, which is run by the underworld bookkeeper, Joe Mancuso, who is deaf. It turns out that Mancuso has a history with Vince and had specifically marked him off limits. However, one of the two assailants, named Junior, is Mancuso’s son and wishes to expand the empire on his own. To that end, Vince’s debt of $140,000 stands as a hurdle, and the crew decides on the best course of action. Although the team is fully capable of using the cruelest of means, they instead decide to give the man another chance at freedom.
Vince Fails to Bring in the Money, Again
While Jake continues on his business quests, his brother takes on a wholly different way of minting money. Going back to his weaknesses, Vince checks into a casino and begins burning through the cash he has collected, hoping to make several times the original sum and pay off all of his debts. While luck initially seems to be in his favour, this does not continue for long, and soon enough, he falls face-first into loss. Although this does not deter his confidence, it is enough for Junior and his friend, Babbit, to take action once again. However, Vince is quicker and makes a mad dash, forcing the duo on a chase. He runs through varying corridors, hoping to make a clean exit, but is found right in the elevator and beaten to a pulp. The elder Friedken gathers enough strength to exit the casino and make his way to the only anchor he is familiar with: his brother. However, the tides have changed drastically, and Jake demands an immediate explanation for the fresh coat of injuries on his brother.
With nowhere to hide, Vince comes clean at last, explaining that he has more than a hundred thousand in debt, but no way of repaying it. This leaves Jake as his last resort, and the younger brother struggles to locate the best course of action. However, he is determined to save his brother and decides to venture into the lion’s den himself. Once at Mancuso’s, we learn that the man is directly connected to the protagonists’ parents and keenly notices the different trajectories the two brothers have followed over the years. Once settled, Jake explains that he will be taking over the responsibility of paying back the money, but he cannot do that in bulk either, owing to the monetary problems he has stuffed deep into his closets. However, he does propose giving $2000 every week till the slate is cleaned once again. But the old mob leader is not so keen on letting them go just yet.
Asserting his dominance, Mancuso raises the stakes by using Black Rabbit as collateral. When Jake aggressively rejects the idea, he is met with violence, which makes it clear that he is no longer within familiar territories. Mancuso also demands the next batch of payments within four days, before reminding Jake of how deep he is in the quicksand. While the protagonist understands that he is largely there due to his elder brother, this is nonetheless their shared fight. As such, the episode ends on a curious note, establishing the primary conflict while also intensifying it with the addition of new variables. As Vince is still far from a road to recovery, the battle is as much an external one as it is internal. Jake’s case is no different, as he has to come to terms with his ambitions not lining up with his cold, harsh reality.
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