“Shantaram” episode 9 began with another flashback when Lin Ford’s real name was Dale Conti. He had just escaped from Pentridge Prison, and the Australian Federal Police was searching for him. Officer Nightingale (previously seen as an interrogating officer) visited Lin’s mother’s house, suspecting he might have come back home to meet his mother. After a discussion, Lin’s mother asked Nightingale why he hated her son so much, to which Nightingale replied that he despised people who wanted to earn a living through illegal means like selling drugs or robbing banks. According to him, Lin had every opportunity to live an ethical life, yet he chose to commit a crime, and that was something he couldn’t accept. At this point, Lin’s mother knew that she wouldn’t be able to see her son again, but she was happy that her son had finally found his freedom, as he was not guilty of killing that officer during the bank robbery.
During this entire conversation, Lin was standing outside her mother’s house and was waiting for Nightingale to leave so that he could finally say a final goodbye to his mother. However, as soon as Nightingale left, Lin spotted a vehicle parked near the house, and the man inside it looked like an undercover cop. Lin decided not to take any chances and thus walked ahead without saying a final goodbye to his mother. Lin had become a fugitive in the eyes of the law and had to live a life in constant fear from now on. He believed he would be able to live a simple life in a far-off land like India, but the horrors of his past had hunted him down again. Is there any ray of hope left? Let’s find out.
Spoilers Ahead
What Had Happened To Didier? Did Lin Get His Passport?
It appeared that Lin was ready to leave Bombay, as we see him teaching Parvathi how to manage clinical emergencies so that she would be able to take care of the people of the Sagar Wada slum in his absence. On the other hand, the slum in Sagar Wada received assistance from Khader Bhai, who sent workers to lay down water pipes, allowing the people to have access to clean water. Qasim Bhai was quite impressed by whatever Lin had done so far for the people. Lin didn’t want to brag about it; instead, he just wanted to say goodbye to everyone and thank them for letting him live in the slum for so long. Meanwhile, Prabhu showed Lin his new taxi, which was a simple way for him to make extra money through which he would be able to take care of himself and Parvathi.
Lin wanted to say a final goodbye to Karla before leaving, so he visited her apartment. He invited her to have one last dinner with him so that he might persuade her to leave Bombay with him. Lin knew it would be difficult for Karla to leave with him because she had so many other things to deal with in Bombay, but he wasn’t afraid to ask her. Karla agreed to meet him for dinner without knowing what Lin could ask her for. But it seemed like she didn’t want Lin to leave since she was also in love with him. However, leaving Bombay was not so simple for Lin. When Lin went to Reynaldo to look for Didier to get his new passport, he couldn’t find him. Lin went immediately to Didier’s place, where he found Didier had isolated himself in his room and was avoiding any human contact. Lin found Didier completely traumatized since he had been arrested and tortured by the cops.
Didier’s speech was incoherent as if he spent every day of his life in great fear. He told Lin that he couldn’t get his passport. At this moment, Lin couldn’t do much but smile at his ill fate, knowing it was impossible for him to get a new passport anywhere else. Lin forgave Didier for not being able to arrange a passport for him, as Didier was struggling himself. Didier told Lin that every torture in jail reminded him of his father, who once considered him worthless and physically abused him. Didier said that he once loved Alberto, a handsome man whose beauty faded with age, which was why Didier left him. Didier said that he was now in the same situation as Alberto because he neither had a loved one by his side nor the beauty that he once had in his youth. Lin realized that Didier was under a lot of guilt, so he revealed his true identity to lighten Didier’s burden, saying that he was a wanted fugitive from Australia who had been accused of bank robbery. Lin assured Didier that by living in fear, we only waste the good time in life when we should be enjoying each moment of our freedom.
Why Was Raheem After Lin?
Maurizio went to Modena’s house to get the money that Modena had stolen from Maurizio (as we saw in “Shantaram” Episode 8). Lisa knew there was no money in the room, but she still wanted to safeguard her and Modena’s passports, which Maurizio eventually found and took away. Maurizio intimidated Lisa, threatening to seize their passports if Modena did not give him the money. Lisa was terrified by Maurizio, Raheem, and Zhou. When Modena tried to talk to her in the street, Lisa asked him to return all of the money to Maurizio, which Modena would never do at any cost. Lisa told Modena that Maurizio had taken their passport, making it impossible for them to leave India. Lisa refused Modena’s offer to leave India and went to Karla’s house.
Karla greeted Lisa and asked why she didn’t leave with Modena, to which Lisa replied that she was afraid and exhausted from running away from all the dangers. Lisa felt relieved when Karla informed her that she would arrange passports for her. She returned to Modena’s house, where she informed him of Karla’s proposal and apologized for her previous behavior. Modena was relieved as well, and they comforted each other while making love. However, Maurizio was captured by Raheem and his men for betraying him.
Previously in “Shantaram” Episode 8, we saw Maurizio and Modena sell all of the drugs and earn a lot of money to go abroad, but because Modena betrayed him and took all of the shares, Maurizio was left with nothing and had to face Raheem because he couldn’t supply drugs to him despite taking all of his money. Raheem grabbed him and started beating him, but Maurizio devised a cunning plan to exact revenge on Lin. He told Raheem that his drug dealer was Lin Ford, who took all the money but never delivered the goods. Lin was not involved in any of it; he was simply a victim of Maurizio’s jealousy and, unwillingly, became Raheem’s enemy. Raheem started searching for Lin and asked Didier about him, but Didier lied and said that Lin had left for Varanasi. Didier suspected Lin was in danger, so he tried to warn him through a slum boy, but it was too late because Lin was not even in the slum and was on a dinner date with Karla.
Karla went to meet Lin at a restaurant to have dinner together, where Lin expressed his love for her once more and requested her to leave Bombay, which Karla refused even though she wanted to. Lin’s heart was broken when she kissed her goodbye. Lin returned to Reynaldo, where Didier was already terrified of seeing him. Didier drove him away from Reynaldo as Raheem’s men followed him. Lin couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him or why he was being followed. At this point, Lin’s escape from Bombay seemed not only difficult but also impossible, as he had made another enemy, Raheem, who was about to capture Lin to get his money back. Even if Lin told the truth that he doesn’t have any of his drugs or money, Raheem might not trust him.
Did Khader Finally Get Pandey’s Loyalty?
Khader Bhai finally got what he wanted. Sunita finally called her lover, Pandey, who arrived at Zhou’s palace to speak with her. Sunita begged Pandey to save her from Zhou’s captivity, but he told her that it was not safe for her outside either. If Walid Bhai found out about them, he wouldn’t think twice before killing Sunita. Karla recorded their entire conversation on tape and then went on to talk to Pandey. Karla blackmailed Pandey, saying that if he did not help Khader Bhai in getting ownership of Sagar Wada, then all his immoral relationships would be revealed to the world. It would not only bring shame to Pandey and his family, but he may also lose his position or his life. Pandey had no other option but to accept Karla’s offer and help Khader Bhai.
Khader Bhai was extremely pleased with Karla’s work. However, Karla was concerned about Sunita, and thus Khader agreed to release her without any further delay. Khader even asked Karla what she wanted for herself, but she couldn’t tell him her heart’s desire, as all she wanted was someone who would be able to stop Lin from leaving Bombay. Fortunately, Karla knew someone who would be able to do so, and she quickly visited Kavitha’s apartment. She asked Kavitha to stop writing her article on Lin, which could be the only thing that could stop Lin from leaving. Kavitha refused to do so initially as she felt it was her responsibility as a journalist to bring out the truth and make others aware of it, but Karla convinced her not to because it didn’t matter who Lin was; it mattered what he was doing for the slum. Kavitha decided to postpone the article when Karla informed her about another, deeper controversial story happening in Bombay. Karla promised to give her a story on a Bombay Gangster who had been using his power to get hold of Sagar Wada slums. She didn’t name the gangster at the end of “Shantaram” Episode 8, but we could be certain that she was going to reveal Walid and his wrongdoing in exchange for Lin’s freedom.
‘Shantaram’ Episode 9: Ending Explained – How Did Nightingale Get Lin’s Information?
Officer Nightingale got a lead through which he found out about Charlie Pendergast, Lin’s partner in crime, who had killed the officer for whom Lin pled guilty. Nightingale arrived at Charlie’s residence as quickly as possible and threatened him to come out. After a gunfight, Charlie came out of his house and tried to surrender himself. The cops asked him to throw his gun, but as soon as he threw it, the gun accidentally fired a shot, and in a reflex action, one of the cops, Barry, shot Charlie. He was bleeding badly when Nightingale squeezed his wound and forced him to reveal the truth. Charlie confessed to killing Officer Floris but did not give out the whereabouts of Dale Conti, aka Lin Ford. Charlie died, and Nightingale was unable to obtain any further information regarding Dale Conti. When they returned to their department, Nightingale noticed a fax with Lin’s photo on it, and the fax was from India, sent by Kavitha’s lover, Nishant.
Lin Ford, aka Dale Conti, had gotten himself into a major jam that he couldn’t easily get out of. As we saw in previous episodes, we speculated that it would be Khader Bhai who may endanger Lin, but now he appears to be less threatening than the other things surrounding Lin. Maurizio secretly exacted his revenge on him, which would bring a huge crisis into Lin’s life, and on the other side, it was Nishant and Kavitha who willfully summoned the greatest peril for him from Australia. From here on, “Shantaram” is quickly gaining momentum, which brings back the excitement of seeing Lin thrive despite all odds. So, we’re about to find out whether Lin can face his fear or run away from it once more. So, stay tuned for future episodes of “Shantaram” to learn more about Lin’s journey.
See More: ‘Shantaram’ Episode 10: Recap And Ending, Explained – Why Did Lin Start Hating Karla?
