“The Outlaws” is about a group of misfits brought together by community service. Every character is struggling with their lives, but it is the shared feeling of rejection that they faced from the society that brought them together. “The Outlaws” is funny, emotional, and at the same time thrilling to watch. The interest starts to grow when a few group members come across a bag of cash. The cash belonged to a party but was brought by a group member to the community center that they were restoring for safekeeping. This unclaimed cash becomes the reason behind life threats and attacks, forcing many to take unlawful measures to get away with it. The brilliant performance by the entire cast, the simplistic yet captivating visuals, and the uncomplicated yet humorous storyline make “The Outlaws” a must-watch.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Outlaws’ Season 1: Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?
Rani Rekowski, daughter of a Sri-Lankan mother and a Polish father, is a kleptomaniac. Stealing was her form of rebelling against her parents, who never entertained anything that was not educational. Rani felt free when she stole party wear and jewelry that she knew her parents would never approve of. But her joy was short-lived since she was caught by the guards at the mall for theft. Shanthi Rekowski, Rani’s mother, was shocked after learning of her daughter’s secret. She would always proudly mention to strangers and friends that her daughter was a scholarship student at the University of Oxford, but this was not the Rani she knew. Rani had grown up listening to how both her parents struggled during their childhood days due to the political conditions in the countries they grew up in. Rani felt guilty for demanding anything out of the ordinary from her parents, knowing how deprived they were as children. Therefore, her pent-up desire needed an outlet, and shoplifting gave her the thrill that she had always searched for. After getting caught, she was asked to dedicate herself to community service by the court. Rani had promised her parents to not mess up. If she did, her father would no longer allow her to stay at their place. Rani had to be good, but she had her eyes on Christian Taylor.
Christian Taylor, a black young man, had lost his youth to responsibilities. He took care of his sister, Esme, and struggled with it sometimes. While Christian wanted his sister to get the education he did not, Es believed that it was only by working for the hood gang that she could be rich and happy. Christian struggled to make her understand the importance of education, and after befriending Rani, he asked her to teach his sister. Christian wanted to stay out of trouble and live a simple life, but he could not run away from the gang. To spare Es from the influence of the gang, he was asked to carry out a mission that would risk his life.
Myrna Okeke started the Bristol Justice Collective during the 80s, and she was proud of her unapologetic approach. She was a radical activist who believed that only by disrupting or vandalizing would people take notice of their objective. She had dedicated her life to the upliftment of the black community and despised any capitalistic endeavor. She was caught after she took over a recruitment kiosk for the police. She thought that by attacking the police kiosk, she could garner attention to police brutality against black youth. As a result, she was asked to dedicate her time to community service. She met John Halloran at the community service, who always contradicted her beliefs.
John was a business owner; he had inherited the business from his father and had to prove to him that he was worthy of his consideration. But the business was at a loss, and he desperately needed an investor for it to be functional. The fact that he was spending his time on community service did not help his case. When two thieves entered his house at night, he caught hold of the one who was black and smashed his face. This violence was, of course, unacceptable, and that was the reason why he had to spend hours in community service. While Myrna was a leftist activist, John was a capitalist with an extremely negative view of the black community.
In this unique group was a lawyer, Gregory Dillard. He was admittedly incompetent at his job and used to forge signatures on documents and miss court hearings. He was a terrible lawyer, but he knew that he would be equally bad in other fields as well. His wife divorced him, and he felt very lonely from then on. He decided to seek pleasure from a sex worker, but the police spotted his car and asked him for his driver’s license. He attempted to take off from the scene by speeding, but his car tyres were punctured in the process. He became a laughing stock at his office from then on, though he tried to keep his cool no matter what. He found a friend in the famous singer/influencer Lady Gabriella Penrose-Howe.
Lady Gabby had millions of followers on social media, and as an influencer, she documented every aspect of her life. While Lady Gabby was a sweetheart in public, she had serious anger management issues that perhaps stemmed from neglect since her childhood days. Her father was the 16th Earl of Gloucestershire, who barely had time for his daughter. Gabby was known for leaving midway through any project and never completing anything she aimed for. She was determined to organize a music festival, but the people around her assumed that it would be another abandoned project at the end of the day. Gabby was arrested for vandalizing her girlfriend’s car on a drunken night. She accused her girlfriend of cheating on her and expressed her insecurity about their relationship.
Finally, we have Frank Sheldon in the group of oddballs. He was arrested for forging signatures on cheques and remained in prison for eight years. After his release, he returned home to his daughter and his grandchildren. He had to wear an anklet so that the police could monitor his movements. His daughter, Margaret, discussed with her children how her father was a liar and a thief, and that they must never trust him. She had her heart broken by her father several times, and she did not wish for her children to go through the same experience. She loved her father endlessly, but she knew that he had always prioritized himself over everyone else.
The group was monitored by Diane Pemberley. It was during her community service that she realized how she wanted to be on the other side of the story. She did not wish to spend her life doing unlawful activities, but rather fulfill her dream of becoming a police detective. She started to snitch on those who were part of her group and gained the favor of her supervisor. She was now the supervisor, though she had bigger dreams.
What Was Christian Asked To Rob? Who Found The Bag Of Cash, And What Did They Do With It?
Christian wanted the Brookhill crew to leave his sister alone, and for that, he had to carry out a task on their behalf. He was handed a gun while he was working at the community center. Diane conducted a thorough bag search when she could not find a heat gun in the tool kit. Christian was scared, knowing he had hidden the gun in his bag, but Rani saved him. She took the gun from his bag and carried it with her. Her intelligence helped Christian get away with it. He was asked by the Brookhill crew to steal a line/phone from the London crew who had arrived in Bristol for business. Rani had overheard the conversation and knew how dangerous it would be for Christian. She trusted the good side of him and knew that he did what he had to save his sister from joining the crew. When Christian went that night to rob the phone, he discovered that the bag in which it was hidden was stuffed with cash. That amount of money would help him and his sister to get away from Bristol and escape the life that they were forced to live. He stole the money along with the line. Rani drove her father’s plumbing van to the spot to help Christian escape. When she noticed that men were entering through the door, she pressed the horn to warn him. Rani provided him with a diversion, and he managed to escape. The London gang managed to take pictures of the van, and the CCTV footage from the night was studied by the police. Rani had risked her life and career for him, and she did not regret it.
For safekeeping, Christian stored the bag in the community center that night, though it turned out to be a bad decision. While the members were working during duty hours, the bag suddenly fell from the broken false ceiling. Frank, Myrna, and John had discovered the bag. They debated whether or not they should report it to the police. Frank, of course, believed that giving away the cash would be a terrible decision, and gradually, due to their circumstances, Myra and John agreed to take their share of the cash. Myra wanted to use the money to fund her collective. She was voted out of the group for her extreme ideas, but after she discussed how she could fund them, they welcomed her back, though her condition was simple—they had to protest her way, which did not involve any kind of negotiation. Whereas John wanted to use the money to invest in his business, which would fall apart otherwise. He had managed to impress a Chinese investor, but after a video taken by Lady Gabby at the community center became viral, he lost respect in their eyes. They refused to work with him, and he had no other choice but to accept the cash since he could not disclose his failure to his father. Even though John’s father had handed him the business, he was an active member and took all the major decisions for the company. He referred to the company as his company and not their company, leaving John offended. He knew his father would question the sudden inflow of cash, so he got hold of Frank, who was to be the fake investor investing in their company. He went by the name Howard Cherry and managed to create quite an impression on John Halloran Senior. Though the old man was not that easily convinced, he studied the legal documents sent for the investment and decided to verify the account by calling the legal firm. John had used Greg to make the false legal documents by threatening to disclose his faulty practice if he failed to oblige. After contacting Northcott, he was informed by Greg’s nemesis, Spencer, that there was no account for a Mr. Cherry in their database. Spencer had always hated Greg, and his recent success in bringing in Lady Gabby as the firm’s client bothered him. He remembered that Gabby had once disclosed that Greg kept his forged documents in his office cupboard, and he thought of giving it a look.
Frank used the money to buy himself a one-way ticket to Rio de Janeiro. He also used the money to give a vinyl record player to his daughter, the same one that he had once stolen from her to pay his bills. Throughout her childhood, Margaret remembered her father as someone who kept running away from his family, and he was about to do the same now. His grandson, Tom, found the ticket and reminded him how he had failed his mother each time and how he must confess his interest in leaving her again.
Why Was Lady Gabby Unable To Conduct The Music Festival?
Lady Gabby’s father was an earl who lived in an elegant castle overlooking a massive lawn. Gabby wanted to conduct her dream music festival on that lawn, and she made a presentation to get it approved by her father. The Earl was a shrewd man. He complimented his daughter and gave her a positive response, but the moment she left the room, he warned Greg that he would not allow his daughter’s festival to ruin his property. He also knew that his daughter did not have what it took to see through the festival, and it was because of her emotional weakness that he chose to not directly discuss his opinion with her. Greg had to disclose the news to Gabby, who was heartbroken after. She later shared with Greg how her father never had time for her. When she was six, she witnessed her mother’s body hanging from the ceiling and had to go to the police all by herself. He could not spare any time even after knowing that his wife had committed suicide and that his daughter needed him more than ever to be by her side. Gabby grew up emotionally deprived, which perhaps explains her need for approval from the rest of the world.
‘The Outlaws’ Season 1: Ending Explained: Who Was Christian Taylor? How Did The Group Manage To Help Him Out Of The Situation?
With Rani’s help, Esme decided to take the school exam, but before entering the hall, she started to panic. Rani’s parents had taken away her phone after the police questioned them about the presence of the van during the robbery. After receiving the question paper, Esme felt tremendously anxious and left the hall. She went to the Brookhill crew knowing that it was her only way to build her future. She expressed her interest in working for the crew. Having Es by their side was advantageous since they were after her brother. Es confessed that her brother wanted to move out of Bristol, and he had some money coming his way. The crew now knew that Christian had been lying to them about not stealing the cash. They planned to murder him, but Es overheard their plan. She came forward holding a gun that she had stolen from them. She asked them what they were about to do to her brother, and during this exchange of words, she noticed through the rearview window of a car that Spider, a member of the crew, was about to attack her from behind. She shot him in his stomach and ran away to Christian. He asked her to hide in their safe spot and took the gun from her.
He had overheard the trio discussing the bag of cash, and he confronted John, asking him to return his money. John informed Christian that the money was no longer available, but Christian could not take no for an answer. He threatened John with the gun, and Rani saw the incident. He wanted to explain himself to her, but she did not wish to care. The detectives, Sergeant Haines and DS Selforth, had their eyes on the center when they saw that the person concerned had entered the building after robbing it. They asked Diane to look for evidence and inform them if she noticed anything out of the ordinary. Diane was focused on becoming a detective, and she tried her best to find the culprit. She noticed footprints on the cover of the commode and found a gun hidden behind the cistern. When she questioned the members about the gun, Rani admitted that it belonged to Christian. He ran away as soon as she pointed at him, and Rani regretted her decision to give him away.
She wanted to make her parents proud, but at the same time, she knew that giving away Christian was incorrect. She teamed up with the rest to find him. Initially, John, Myrna, and Frank were not interested in it since they were the reason why the money was gone in the first place. But as they reflected on their lives, they realized that if they did not help the kid, they would regret it forever. Myrna had once burned down a police station to protest, but later she found out that the station was not empty, and one police officer had passed away. She regretted the decision every day of her life and made it a point to offer flowers at his grave to cope with her mistake.
Meanwhile, Frank realized that he had been selfish all his life, and he needed to help someone out, even if that would negatively affect his life. John agreed to snitch on Christian and update Diane about his location, though he gradually grasped how difficult Christian’s file was and how he could not help the way his life had turned out. Rani sneaked into Diane’s make-shift office to find Christian’s file and remove details to make it difficult for them to locate him, but what she found stunned her. She saw that the picture attached to Christian’s file was not that of the Christian she knew. It was later found that his name was Benedict, and he was serving hours at the community center for the leader of the Brookhill Crew, who was named Christian. Ben had once thrown Spider out of the pub in which he worked, and for that, he was beaten and made to be the replacement for Christian at the community service.
The group searched for him all over his neighborhood, and they were followed by the Brookhill Crew. They found that his mother was a heroin addict explaining why he had to live separately with his sister. She informed them of the abandoned building in which the siblings might be hiding. They found Es there, and soon Ben entered the building. The group requested him to hand himself over to the police since that would bring less trouble than running away for the rest of his life. Also, other than Rani and John’s testimony, there was no other evidence to prove that it was his gun. After the police interrogated Rani, she admitted that she had blamed him for carrying the gun because he rejected being in a relationship with her. Meanwhile, Myrna pointed out how John was charged with racist aggravated assault; therefore, he could not be trusted for what he said. The police had no way to prove that the shot fired from the gun belonged to Ben. Therefore, all they could do was offer him hours of community service.
In “The Outlaws,” Season 2, we can expect The Dean to search for Ben since he continues to owe him the money. After Spencer discovers Greg’s dark secrets, he must be in deep trouble. The detectives will not let go of the case, considering that they could anticipate that the group played a role in keeping the secret safe. Whatever the case, watching the group of misfits on another thrilling journey would be interesting, hopefully.
See More: ‘The Outlaws’ Season 2: Ending, Explained – How Did The Group Manage To Get The Dean Arrested?
