Three men and a trunk full of cash—what does the future have in store for them? Netflix’s show The Town revolves around Efe, a middle-aged man who had spent most of his life in a small town. At his mother’s funeral, he was reunited with his brother, Selim. Immediately after the funeral service, Selim disclosed that he was in debt, and he expected his brother to help him out. Efe was displeased with the conversation; he wasn’t in the mood to discuss money immediately after attending their mother’s funeral. Now, long story short, just when these brothers and Ahmet, their friend, thought that their lives would never really change and financial crisis was their constant companion, they stumbled upon a trunk full of cash. There were two dead men in the car, and it was evident that it had something to do with the mafia. Although Selim was hesitant about taking all the money, Ahmet and Efe didn’t pay heed to him and kept the cash for themselves. They knew stealing the cash would cause trouble, but they were willing to risk it all. Did they get away with the crime? Let’s get into the details.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Yildirim and Efe team up?
Yildirim had been following the men with the money in the trunk. He planned to overtake their car, shoot them, and take the cash, but unfortunately things didn’t go the way he’d hoped. The night was foggy, so he didn’t notice that the car had fallen into a ditch. He assumed he’d lost sight of the car, but later when his associate updated him about the car’s location, he discovered that the money was gone. He also noticed three men staring at him from a distance, and he figured they had something to do with the lost cash. Yildirim targeted Ahmet; he tortured him for hours until he admitted to stealing the bags of cash. Yildirim was disappointed when he couldn’t find the money where Ahmet claimed he’d kept it. As it turned out, Efe and Selim had already shifted the bags once they figured out that the gangster they’d seen before had tracked down Ahmet. Efe confronted Yildirim and held him captive, but he’d already informed his associate, who arrived at the location with a gun in hand. Nihat was one of the Sepekcis, but he was a mole. He’d teamed up with Yildirim and planned to steal the money and run off. When Ahmet started shooting at random, Yildirim begged him to stop. They realized they had to come to a negotiation. Nihat didn’t blame Efe and Ahmet, because he believed he would have done exactly what they did if he had come across so much money. Nihat was ready to offer Efe, Ahmet, and Selim some money so that they didn’t cause any more trouble, and the rest they would keep for themselves. Now, Yildirim was under the assumption that the trunk had 8 million dollars, but Efe and Ahmet had counted the money, and they’d found 12 million dollars. So, they decided to keep the 4 million dollars, and they asked for an additional 1 million for all their trouble. Since Yildirim had no idea that they had already kept aside 4 million, he agreed to the 1 million they asked for. Efe and Ahmet agreed to help him escape from the town. As they were crossing a river, Yildirim slipped and was almost about to drown when Ahmet rescued him. They had considered letting him die, but they remembered that he had a daughter waiting for him, so they ultimately chose to help him. Yildirim was grateful to the men for honoring their deal. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to escape; the mafia gang and the cops were on high alert, and they’d already figured out that a few men were trying to cross the river. Eventually Yildirim found out about the 4 million dollars, and while he was upset at first, there was no denying that the only reason he was still alive was because of Efe, Ahmet, and Selim, and they surely deserved more than just a million dollars. Yildirim and Efe continued to work together on a plan to deal with the notorious gang and keep the money.
What happened to Zeynep’s husband?
Ahmet’s sister, Zeynep, desperately wanted to distance herself from her husband. She’d tried to leave him, but he was an abusive, dominating man who wouldn’t let go of her. The torture and the abuse only got worse with time. He wanted a child, but Zeynep was already on pills to avoid pregnancy. As a young man, Efe had fallen in love with Zeynep, and she knew about his feelings. But due to the tragic death of his brother, who used to be in a relationship with Zeynep, Efe chose to never pursue her. But seeing how her life had taken shape, Efe felt the need to save her. Zeynep had packed her bags and was about to leave her husband for good when she discovered that he’d locked the main door. He accused her of killing her childhood lover, and it escalated into a heated argument, and Zeynep ended up slapping him. Faruk was furious, and he tortured Zeynep. After that night, she realized that she not only wanted to separate from him but also hoped to see him die miserably. She poisoned his alcohol to seek revenge on him. As usual, Faruk consumed liquor, and at night he started throwing up. He was unconscious and helpless. Zeynep chose to do the morally right thing even though she’d wanted to watch him suffer and die. Faruk was admitted to a hospital, and the ending of The Town suggests that he survived. While he was in hospital, Zeynep chose to run away with Efe, Selim, Ahmet, and Begum. She looked forward to a new beginning.
Why Did Efe Feel Responsible For The Death Of His Brothers?
Efe always thought that he attracted death. In some way or the other, he held himself responsible for the unfortunate demise of his brothers, Sinan and Selim. Efe lost Sinan twenty-one years ago, and he blamed himself for his death. Sinan, Efe, and their father went together on a hunting trip when Efe had told Sinan that he was in love with Zeynep. Sinan was devastated when he discovered that Zeynep knew about it and that she shared the same feelings for him. He felt betrayed, and he ran into the forest to momentarily escape from his emotions. That was when Sinan and Efe grew distant. Later, Sinan had apparently befriended a group of thugs, and they stabbed him to death over some misunderstanding. Efe’s mother had always blamed Zeynep for her son’s death. She believed that Zeynep’s decision to move away had affected her son, and he ended up mixing with the wrong people. She had warned Efe to never pursue Zeynep because she believed she only brought misfortune upon those who loved her. Zeynep obviously felt guilty for Sinan’s untimely demise, but at the same time, she couldn’t have helped it. Efe had hurt his brother, but then again, he chose to be honest instead of hiding the truth from Sinan. No one could’ve predicted that incident that resulted in Sinan’s death, and even though Efe blamed himself, he wasn’t really responsible for it. We also discover that Efe and Zeynep had tried to make their relationship work after Sinan’s demise, but it didn’t work out. Mostly because Efe was too afraid, and somewhere deep down, he perhaps convinced himself that he should pursue Zeynep, at least for the sake of his brother.
Selim was killed by Cenar, a Sepekcis gangster. Efe blamed himself because he believed he should’ve protected his little brother. Now, Selim was an adult man who chose to get involved in the mess to keep his share; Efe didn’t force him to do so. Of course, they could’ve avoided the tragedy if they had chosen to not keep the money for themselves, but that was a thing of the past. They had already messed up with the wrong people, and Selim made the error of trusting a police officer who had claimed that he would be taken to the station, but instead he was delivered to the Sepekcis. It was unfortunate and entirely the fault of a corrupt system where the cops and mafia worked together. Efe wasn’t directly responsible, but then again, as the elder brother, he blamed himself for not taking the right decision and getting his brother entangled in the madness. He thought that the easiest way to get rid of his constant guilt was by killing himself, but that wouldn’t be a fair punishment. He figured that staying alive was his punishment, and every day he had to constantly live with the idea that he was responsible for Selim and Sinan’s death.
Why did Efe take the blame on himself?
Efe refused to play by the rules of the game after Selim was murdered. He was ready to unleash his wrath, and he didn’t care about the consequences anymore. He had teamed up with the only honest cop in town, Inspector Isa, to take down the mafia gang. They’d planned to track the base of the gang, involve the Special Ops, and arrest these notorious criminals. But as time passed, Efe started to lose faith in the plan. He had realized that the system was corrupt and things wouldn’t go smoothly. It was likely that an influential person would sweep in and protect his brother’s killer while he would helplessly watch that happen. Efe chose to take the matter into his hands, and he ended up shooting a confession video. He took the blame for the deaths of Sepekcis’ men, Sami and Berat, and he also accepted that he stole the illegal money that the gang had smuggled into the country. Efe had also recorded Pembo, the police officer who had delivered Selim to the gang, confession. Efe had held Pembo captive and forced him to state on record about his involvement with the gang. Meanwhile, Yildirim had guided Caner to the six bags of cash. It was simply to lure him to the spot so that Isa could take a video of the gangster in action. Caner and Huso were disappointed, and they demanded Yildirim reveal where the rest of the cash was. He clarified that he would only do so after he was reunited with his daughter. Just as Caner was about to leave with the bags of cash, Efe blocked his path. He attempted to kill Caner, but his men arrived at the spot, resulting in a shootout. Isa came to Efe’s rescue. He instructed the gang members to drop their weapons, and he tried to approach them when they confirmed that they were ready to surrender. But as expected, Caner’s men shot Isa. Efe was furious, and he didn’t care about protecting himself anymore. He approached Caner’s vehicle and repeatedly fired shots in his direction. Soon he ran out of bullets, and Caner was ready to make use of the opportunity. In the end, when Caner pulled the trigger, Begum came to Efe’s rescue. She shot Caner, and together they escaped. Before leaving, Efe asked Isa to tell the cops that he’d shot Caner. Begum was pregnant, and he hoped that the police officer wouldn’t put a would-be mother behind bars for shooting a criminal. Later, Efe uploaded his confession video that immediately gained traction. Thousands of people watched the video and resonated with Efe’s frustration. Since Caner was already in police custody, he blamed Huso for the death of his brother. He hoped that the people of the country would ensure that justice was brought to his brother.
The ending suggests that Efe, Ahmet, Begum, and Zeynep would have left the town with the money had they left. Efe had already mentioned in his video that he would be running away with the money, and he believed that was the only way to punish men like Huso, who always looked down upon the common people and got away with all sorts of crime. Considering the public now knew the truth and there was a genuine pressure on the authorities, Huso will likely be arrested. Since Begum was pregnant, Efe found a reason to keep up the fight. He had to protect her at all costs, and presumably they will move to a remote location and build their lives from scratch. Considering the people sympathized with Efe, it is likely that no one would report him even if they saw him around. Worst case scenario, if the cops caught up with him, Efe wouldn’t mind surrendering himself as long as his loved ones were protected.
