The Ending Of Lupin: Part 2 Explained
Contains spoilers for Part 2 of "Lupin"
The French thriller-heist series "Lupin" was a huge success when Part 1 premiered on Netflix on January 8, and it appears that the main storyline mostly wrapped up with the Part 2, which dropped on the streaming service on June 11.
The show stars Omar Sy as Assane Diop, a man seeking revenge for the 1995 murder of his father Babakar Diop (Fargass Assandé). Babakar's former employer, the powerful and wealthy Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre), framed Babakar for stealing a diamond necklace and then had him murdered in jail. Both Diop as a character and the series itself take inspiration from the adventures of expert thief Arsène Lupin, a Sherlock-Holmes-type master of disguise originally created by Maurice Leblanc in the early 1900s.
"Lupin" is set in the present day, and as Part 2 progresses, our gentleman robber is forced to go on the run when he's framed for murder and the police learn his true identity. Diop continues to evade capture while perpetrating a series of capers that culminate in a big charity concert event held by Hubert Pellegrini's daughter, Juliette (Clotilde Hesme). There, he makes his last stand, and publicly outs Hubert and his crimes.
Here's the ending of "Lupin" Part 2 fully explained.
Detective Youssef Guedira proves to be a trustworthy ally
In his quest to bring Hubert Pellegrini to justice, Assane Diop has to contend with Pellegrini's corrupt associates in law enforcement. Diop knows that any evidence he turns over to the police will be destroyed by those in charge. In fact, we see how influential and connected Pellegrini is when two detectives question him and he calls his friend, the Minister of the Interior to the French government, to secure his release. However, after detective Youssef Guedira (Soufiane Guerrab) saves Diop's son, Diop finally feels there's someone on the right side of the law whom he can trust.
Guedira is himself a huge fan of the Arsène Lupin books, and this quality allows him to get closer than anyone else to catching the elusive Diop. The same way that Guedira realizes that Diop's pseudonym Paul Sernine is an anagram for Arsène Lupin, he cleverly decodes an online message from Diop that leads him to a USB drive. The drive holds all the evidence against Pellegrini and his numerous accomplices, including police commissioner Gabriel Dumont (Vincent Garanger). Once the detective realizes the extent of the corruption, he arrests the police commissioner at the charity concert.
However, when it comes to incarcerating Diop, much like the audience, Guedira is in awe of the thief's skill and allows him to get away. "Lupin" repeatedly establishes that those like Detective Guedira who are fans of the Lupin books are somehow set apart from the rest of the population and are more trustworthy.
Philippe Courbet is Assane Diop's accomplice in disguise
Another secret fan of the Arsène Lupin anthology emerges in the form of the unfamiliar accomplice Philippe Courbet (Stefan Crepon). Courbet is initially introduced as the unscrupulous money manager for Hubert Pellegrini who's assisting in embezzling funds from the charity his daughter Juliette established. But "Lupin" loves to show its plot twists in flashbacks, which detail out how our protagonist had a plan in place all along.
In the final episode of "Lupin" Part 2, it's revealed that Diop actually recruited Courbet at the library where the best editions of the Arsène Lupin books are kept (apparently you're not a true fan if you decide to read it on a Kindle). As the series' philosophy holds, anyone who's a genuine fan of the books can be considered trustworthy and a potential ally. Diop uses his mastery of disguise to transform Courbet's original punk emo aesthetic to the much more severe, bespectacled financier we've known so far.
No matter how affluent Pellegrini might be, his motivating drive is always more money. He covets and worships it, even making a toast to "the origin of the world," which he clarifies is, of course, money. Through Courbet, our charismatic swindler Diop is able to manipulate Pellegrini's greed and use it against him. This tactic illustrates that Pellegrini's biggest assets, his wealth and connections, are also his downfall. It's through his connections that he's fed the false information about Courbet's identity — and after meeting with the young man, the money-grubbing tycoon is hooked when Courbet describes his job as making "people who are rich even more rich."
The diamond necklace that set the story in motion signifies its end
Ever since Assane Diop stole the very same diamond necklace that Hubert Pellegrini accused his father of taking, he's doled out pieces of its gems to various accomplices and even some unwitting co-conspirators. In the final episode of "Lupin" Part 2, Diop makes his last stand at the Pellegrini family charity concert. He takes the stage to publicly call out Pellegrini after coercing a confession from him at knife point about his father's murder and the fabricated theft of the necklace. Diop then escapes the building in disguise, but not before sending a recording of Pellegrini's statement to Youssef Guedira, whose team proceeds to arrest the magnate. We then learn that the last diamond of the necklace was used to pay Philippe Courbet for his part in the conspiracy, and now, the necklace is no more.
The dismantling of the necklace is not unlike the personal deconstruction that Diop has had to endure during his crusade for justice. He's lived a disjointed and dismantled life that lacks the stability his love interest Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) needs in a partner. His disguises even allow him to change form just like the necklace: from one cohesive unit to an unrecognizable pile of parts. To make the parallels even more noticeable, at the very end of "Lupin" Part 2, Diop bids goodbye to Claire and their son Raoul (Etan Simon), then disappears into thin air as a squadron of officers show up to pursue him. Just like the necklace, Diop has severed all ties that bind him together and vanished after having given up the gems of his life: his son and the woman he loves.
However, all is not lost. "Lupin" showrunner and creator George Kay told the New York Times that Part 3 is already in the works and "will be a departure into a new set of adventures."