The ending of Criminal Code Season 2 was largely centered around the Federal Police of Brazil stopping a massive shipment of cocaine that was set to leave from the Port of Santos, pass through Italy, and end up in Antwerp. And the finale was also about 2 confrontations: one between Suellen and Isaac and another between Benicio and Soulless. The road to how that came to be was undoubtedly complicated, but the resolution was relatively simple, with a tinge of melancholy and catharsis. Even though both seasons of the show have been a slog to get through, it doesn’t seem like the creators are in the mood to pump the brakes, as they’ve left the door open for a third season, which hasn’t yet been confirmed by Netflix. Anyway, let’s talk about that ending, what it means for the characters, and what we can expect to see in the yet-to-be-announced Criminal Code Season 3.
Spoiler Alert
The Lead-up to the Corumba Heist
The Ambassador’s original plan was to bring in 2 tons of cocaine to Paraguay, help Greco (an Italian drug lord) get it to Italy, and get paid a huge sum of money. But the governments of Corumbá and Paraguay nabbed that cocaine, thereby driving a wedge between the Ambassador and Greco. In retaliation, the Ambassador had Guzman, a public prosecutor, killed with the help of Soulless, who did the Ambassador’s dirty work because he needed to help his wife and son. That didn’t change anything, because a corrupt police officer in Corumba used the cocaine as leverage to get the Ambassador to cough up a huge sum of money. That’s where Isaac came in. He had already proven his worth by springing the Ambassador from prison in the last season and by conducting a jewelry heist for Cauboi in this season. Isaac claimed that his Ghost Gang could do a dual heist in Aracatuba and deliver the money that the Ambassador needed to pay off that corrupt cop who was sitting on the cocaine. The Aracatuba heist went sideways royally. Isaac’s brother, Gabriel, died. And while Isaac managed to rob the jewelry, he failed to get the cash. Since Cauboi had bailed on them, there was no way to fence the jewelry for cash. That rubbed the Ambassador the wrong way, and he decided to not only keep the jewelry but also not pay Isaac what he was due. So, Isaac got the Ambassador’s right-hand man, Djeison, to turn against him, and with his help, Isaac murdered the Ambassador.
Now, before dying, the Ambassador, on Djeison’s advice, had employed Soulless to conduct a heist on the warehouse where the Corumba police had stashed the cocaine. Soulless was hitting the Ambassador’s drug houses to fend for his family because his new friend from jail, Cabeca, had convinced him that if he gave him cocaine, he’d give Soulless the money he needed to support his wife and child. Greco had also gravitated towards Cabeca after losing faith in the Ambassador’s ability to deliver the cocaine. But when the Ambassador asked Soulless to bring the cocaine to him, he took up the job. However, before he could pull it off, the Ambassador died, thereby leaving him with no means to earn. Hence, Soulless vowed to kill Isaac, since he was the reason he couldn’t help his wife and child. Cabeca helped Soulless and Isaac reach a middle ground, as he got them to steal the cocaine from the police warehouse in Corumba together, deliver it to Greco, and live luxuriously for the rest of their lives. Cabeca wanted to level up to the deceased Ambassador’s level. Isaac wanted to enter the drug-smuggling business. Soulless wanted to support his family. Therefore, it was a win-win for all if the heist went smoothly. Fortunately or unfortunately, it didn’t.
Soulless and Isaac survived the heist
Soulless, Isaac, the Ghost Gang, and the men that Cabeca had arranged for hit the police warehouse to get the cocaine, knowing full well that they’d be overwhelmed by the Corumban Police, the Federal Police of Brazil, and the Special Unit officers within a matter of minutes. But since it was a make-it-or-break-it situation for them, they took the risk. While they managed to secure the cocaine in a truck, almost everyone was wiped out by the law enforcers. Soulless and Lobo somehow drove the truck away from the warehouse and towards the Port of Santos. Isaac and 2 of his men fled the scene in a car and reached an airport near the border of Brazil and Bolivia to meet Guilherme, who’d fly them to the Port of Santos. Yeah, Guilherme wanted in on the drug-smuggling business. Since he had previously worked for the Ghost Gang after being recruited by Amaro, he knew Isaac. So, they reunited, and this newly reforged bond ended up being beneficial for Isaac and what remained of the Ghost Gang, because how else would he have escaped the police’s clutches after conducting such a reckless heist? By the way, as Isaac and his 2 thugs boarded Guilherme’s plane, I wondered what would’ve happened if more members of the crew had survived the onslaught?
The writing seemed so contrived that Guilherme arrived in a small private plane; it had space for 3 or 4 passengers, and only 3 people made it to the airport? That’s just nonsensical. It would’ve made more sense for Guilherme to arrive in a reasonably-sized plane, only to be hit with the realization that just 3 had survived. That would’ve been devastating and impactful. The only other thing that was more nonsensical than this was Soulless’ borderline magical powers of persuasion, which he used on two cops of the Military Police of Brazil to get them to look the other way while Soulless and Lobo drove away to the Port of Santos. I mean, I understand that Soulless is supposed to be a man of God and the epitome of intensity, but that’s just stupid. I suppose the writers couldn’t come up with something to make the trip from Corumba to the Port of Santos interesting. Hence, they came up with… that! Anyway, Isaac, Soulless, Guilherme, and the rest of the survivors of the heist met Cabeca, who revealed that the last step of their plan was to load the drugs onto a container ship that’d stop in Italy, thereby fulfilling their deal with Greco, before traveling to Antwerp. As per the Ambassador’s original plan, this shipment would’ve been done via melons. But with the Ambassador gone, Soulless and Isaac had to creep up to the aforementioned container ship via a speedboat, deliver the cocaine to its crew, and leave. That part was easy, but the rest wasn’t.
Season 3 Expectations
In Criminal Code Season 2’s ending, Suellen and Benicio cornered Soulless, Isaac, and Lobo at the container yard after they’d finished transporting the stolen drugs to the ship leaving for Antwerp. Benicio went after Soulless, while Suellen took on Isaac and Lobo. Benicio managed to kill Soulless, but it wasn’t a particularly satisfying conclusion for him because, during his dying moments, Soulless requested that Benicio give his locket, which had his wife and son’s photo in it, to his son. Benicio had assumed that Soulless, the guy who had killed Santos, the man he’d pursued for such a long time, would be a monster, and it’d be quite fitting to gut him like a fish in the Port of Santos. But when Benicio realized that Soulless was just a man who was trying to do right by his family, thereby reminding him of his dynamic with his own son, Samuel, he felt heartbroken. Weirdly enough, we didn’t get to see if Benicio fulfilled Soulless’ last request. I don’t know if the confrontation between Benicio and Soulless’ family is something that the showrunners have reserved for Season 3 or if they just forgot to shoot that scene for Season 2. We did see that Benicio had gotten a posting at the border between Paraguay and Brazil and was on good terms with Samuel, even though the boy had moved to the Netherlands with his mother and his mother’s boyfriend. Deputy Vendramin had said that Benicio would be questioned by Internal Affairs for “gifting” a pair of earrings to Luana, an informant who had helped the Brazilian and Paraguayan police get their first photograph of Isaac. I’m not sure if that border patrolling duty was Benicio’s punishment or if it was a job that he had taken willingly to make both Brazil and Paraguay drug-free. But, by the looks of it, he hasn’t been confronted by Monica, Soulless’ wife, and it’ll be interesting to see how that affects Benicio’s mental health.
Meanwhile, at the container yard, Suellen managed to kill Lobo, but Isaac got away. The Port Authority and Federal Police nabbed the cocaine shipment, and Rossi took all the credit for it. Suellen seemed very happy that this case was over and she’d finally gotten the time to be with her daughter, Ahyu. However, her arc has three unresolved subplots in the form of Xuxa, Vanessa, and Isaac. Xuxa killed Assuncao, and he was just whisked away to some Paraguayan prison. Suellen was overcome with guilt for putting Assuncao in the field and sending him to his death. And that was the resolution that Suellen’s internal conflict got? I suppose, much like Soulless’ prison break leading to his confrontation with Benicio, the showrunners have something in store for Xuxa and Suellen in Season 3. Then there’s Vanessa, who lost her husband because of Suellen, and she was beaten up by Suellen while she was pregnant with Gabriel’s child. Is Vanessa going to allow Suellen to live happily with Ahyu so easily? I don’t think so. Finally, there’s Isaac’s need to avenge his brother, Gabriel, by killing Suellen, because she’s the one who had killed Gabriel. Isaac is currently living it up in Guilherme’s mansion, which is in some undisclosed location, probably planning how to execute the “playboy’s” dreams of bringing in drugs from Bolivia to Brazil. We didn’t see him express any kind of anguish for not getting to put a bullet in Suellen’s head. I think he’s more focused on rebuilding his reputation and his army, which have been decimated by the Corumba heist. He also needs to take care of Djeison, who has snitched on him to the Paraguayan and the Brazilian authorities. Once that’s done, I guess he’ll try to complete his revenge saga in Season 3. In addition to all that, the concluding moments of Criminal Code Season 2 highlighted Greco and Cabeca’s newly established business relationship. Even though Cabeca had failed Greco, since he promised to cover his losses by successfully pulling off 3 shipments from Bolivia to any port of Greco’s choice (which’ll probably be Calabria), the Italian accepted Cabeca’s olive branch. Whether or not he’ll actually be able to do it in Season 3 is what remains to be seen. Cabeca has seemingly bribed the Paraguayan side of the border patrol. What about the Brazilian side? Especially when they’ve Benicio? Well, let’s hope that Benicio will give Cabeca a run for his money and bring an end to the international drug trade with his bare hands (and a little help from his colleagues).
