Top Boy: The Crime Drama’s Most Intense Season Is Nearly Flawless

Top Boy Season 5 Review: Who will emerge victorious? This inquiry has been central to the narrative since the show first aired on Channel 4.

From the moment Dushane savored that fried plantain in the inaugural episode, viewers were introduced to east London through the lens of Top Boy.

The relentless ambition of drug lords Dushane (portrayed by Ashley Walters) and Sully to control the streets with wealth and intimidation has highlighted existing societal concerns, fostering a realm rife with treachery, violence, and dangerous alliances that are often misconstrued as bonds of kinship.

Their environment is harrowing and has become increasingly intricate with each season, climaxing in the unforgettable, suspenseful moments of the fourth season’s conclusion.

The demise of Jamie at Sully’s (Kane Robinson) behest significantly altered the storyline, and the same can be said for the tragic episode involving Lauryn’s killing of her former partner Curtis (Howard Charles).

The Jenga tower of consequences from the penultimate season is what fueled the discord in Top Boy’s final outing, which meant the tension was immediate and intense.

Pounding its way through with a pulse-like rhythm, starting with a recap of Jamie’s death and continuing on to the aftermath of Dushane discovering that his ‘off-the-streets retirement plans’ had been scuppered by Sully’s insistence on revenge.

Those plans included a different kind of life with Shelley (Little Simz).

SEE ALSO: Everything To Know About Heroine Conquest

This is the action that sets the two at loggerheads for one last time throughout the six-episode run.

Though a noticeably shorter series than its previous ones, the show’s more streamlined approach doesn’t cheat fans of a brilliant conclusion. The condensed season concentrates events and makes decisions, impulses, and actions feel more urgent.

Consequently, there’s a sense of dread that lingers throughout and teases something more poignant to come. Sully and Dushane attempt yet again to navigate the complexities of their unstable friendship and mold Stef into this colder, harder individual, uncertain of what might trigger his next move. This has all helped to keep things moving.

The undercurrent of fear was then punctuated by arrival of newcomer Jonny (Barry Keoghan), whose extroverted, performative brand of violence made him an unpredictable yet intriguing protagonist.

There are a lot of explosive moments painted with blood and body matter, but none of them were self-indulgent despite reaching cinematic heights. All the action was purposeful, and all the antagonists served a point beyond the dramatized shock.

These moments were tactfully balanced out by the more emotionally driven plot points that sensitively approached topics like postnatal depression, child neglect, and young love in a way that honored the world they inhabit.

The shortened season did come with one drawback. While we loved the punchier feel for the way it added a sense of immediacy to the characters’ decisions, it didn’t allow for the more delicate and nuanced storylines involving Lauryn (Saffron Hocking) and Jaq (Jasmine Jobson) to mature.

Equally, while time was spent exploring Stef’s grief across multiple areas of his life (home, romance, street, and in those quiet solitary moments), we would have liked the Top Boy to have burrowed deeper (not necessarily wider) into those feelings so that his ultimate choice felt fleshed out and well arrived at.

In this respect, the show is saved by both Jobson and Oshunremi’s impressive performances.

Jobson has a knack for drawing you in with the intensity of her eyes,whicht seem to translate the emotion behind Jaq’s clipped sentences until the character is ready for that vulnerability to slide out. In short, she’s phenomenal.