In the previous episode of Lupin, Assane and Benjamin hatched a plan to rob the red bracelet owned by real estate mogul Max Moller’s wife, Tara Xang, who would be attending a gala. However, despite a successful heist, Benjamin was caught by the police while escaping the gala and brought into custody. Assane was forced to betray his friend, as the kidnapping gang had asked him to do so in exchange for his mother’s life. But Benjamin, being a loyal and understanding friend, didn’t break his discretion about Assane’s survival. Lupin, Part 3, Episode 5, opened with Guedira interrogating Benjamin, who was captured at the Château de Thoiry, for stealing the red bracelet. Guedira attempted to extract information on Assane from Benjamin, but he persisted in his statement that Assane was dead. Meanwhile, with Raoul, Claire had also become sure that Assane was alive somewhere. Just like Raoul, she was now trying to connect the dots to find where Assane might be.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Claire Know Assane Was Alive?
In the hospital where Claire worked, she found a doctor looking for the identity data of the medical professional who took Assane’s dead body into the morgue, but he couldn’t find it. Claire had asked the receptionist to send her a copy if she managed to find the ID. The receptionist informed Claire that no medical professional by that name had ever worked in that hospital, prompting her to dig deeper into the matter. She went to meet the journalist who had published the obituary of Assane Diop in “The Objector.” But as the journalist revealed that he couldn’t catch his name, Claire asked him to draw a picture of the person who informed him about Assane’s death.
As the drawing was completed, it looked exactly like Benjamin, leading Claire to become sure that Benjamin must have been involved in faking Assane’s death news. Hatching a great plan, Claire goes to meet Ben in prison and lies to him about Assane confessing to his fake death to Claire. Ben broke down in tears and apologized to Claire, saying that he didn’t have any option other than following what Assane said, because ultimately Assane wanted his family’s well-being. He never wanted the media to bother Claire and Raoul for his actions; therefore, by faking his death, he wanted to free them from further trouble. Claire shed a tear of happiness, realizing that Assane was alive. But she still didn’t figure out that Alex was another disguise for Assane, so she continued talking to him and asking him to meet her.
How Did Assane Manage To Trick Guedira?
Guedira, who had every hope of finding Assane and arresting him, was shocked to find Assane waiting for him in his office. Assane told him that he needed Guedira’s help to protect his mother from a gang that had kidnapped her. But Guedira, instead of hearing him out, handcuffed him. However, Assane managed to unlock the handcuff in the nick of time. Guedira, realizing that it was almost impossible to capture Assane against his own will, decided he should help him in his mission to save his mother. Assane promised him that after rescuing his mother, he would turn himself in. Guedira even video-recorded that promise made by Assane, but in the blink of an eye, Assane managed to delete the video.
Assane told Guedira his plan, involving him disguising himself as an art collector named Justin Avisto, who would meet with the kidnapping gang and trick them into selling the painting of Chez Tortoni at a cheaper price. That’s how the painting would be retrieved from the kidnappers. To execute the plan, Assane and Guedira coerced a museum’s curator, Lassaire, into cooperating with them by threatening to arrest him for selling fake antiquities. Finally, accompanied by Lassaire, Guedira arrived at a hotel to meet with the kidnapping gang in the disguise of Justin Avisto. He managed to negotiate with the assistant of the kidnapper, demanding the painting be sold at a cheaper price. However, in the meantime, Lt. Sofia, who was also tipped by Assane, arrived there to put an end to their business deal. Sofia pointed her gun at Guedira, who revealed his real identity, saying that he was on a secret mission. Police captured the assistant and Lassaire, while Guedira talked with Sofia. Meanwhile, Assane managed to escape the scene, forsaking his promise to Guedira.
Sofia was upset with Guedira for carrying out a secret mission without even informing her. Guedira had to tell her everything, from his meeting with Assane to his promise and the kidnapping of his mother. Sofia didn’t want to trust Guedira, so he gave her his phone, asking her to open the last recorded video. As Sofia opened it, it turned out to be Guedira confessing his fondness for Sofia instead of Assane’s confession. Actually, after getting out of the precinct, Assane and Guedira discussed their plan at a cafe, where Assane asked Guedira about Sofia and secretly recorded him. Guedira was once again fooled by Assane, who embarked on his journey to follow Ferdinand, one of the members of the kidnapping gang, to uncover who his boss might be.
Who Was The Kidnapper?
Back to flashbacks, we saw Claire was always opposed to Assane fighting with the boys in a boxing center. She didn’t like the violence and asked Assane to stay out of it. But their coach, Keller, who was a tough guy, always intending to provoke these children to fight with each other and become violent, had created such pressure on Assane so that he could not get out of it. However, Keller, Assane, and Bruno had many other traumatic memories that will gradually unfold in the upcoming episodes.
In the concluding moments of Lupin episode 5, the kidnapper’s face is finally revealed. It turned out to be Keller, who had grown up to become a gangster, and now he wanted to take revenge on Assane by exploiting him. But exactly what happened in Assane’s childhood that made Keller his archenemy will unfold in the upcoming episodes of Lupin Part 3.
