Crooks – Season 1 Episode 1 “Panther” Recap & Review

Panther

Episode 1 of Crooks starts in Berlin at a famous museum, where a tour guide is telling tourists about a highly valuable 18th-century coin worth more than three million Euros. Things get interesting when two men, Karim and Tarek, smash the glass containing the coin with hammers and steal it. Museum security tries to chase them, but the thieves are prepared and successfully flee the scene.

The scene shifts to Charley, who uses his skills in safe cracking and thievery to give his son, Jonas, and his wife, Samira, a special tour of the zoo. A couple of days later, Charley receives a call from a client, Henning, who wants to hire his services. At the location, Charley encounters Stephan and Nero, his old colleagues, and he immediately senses that something is amiss.

They want Charley to crack open a D-10 safe containing two million Euros in hard cash. Henning has a plan to keep the guards away and distracted while Charley breaks into the safe. Stephan offers Charley 20 percent of the cut, but Charley refuses, stating he no longer steals. Stephan is confident Charley will change his mind and eventually join them. Charley returns home but keeps the details from his wife.

Meanwhile, Alina and Joseph, who sell drugs to make ends meet, get into trouble with the rapper, and as a result, Joe is told he can no longer drive Alina or any of the girls working with the club. It is revealed that Karli, Joseph’s boss, is on his deathbed, and his brother, Bachofner, plans to inherit everything from clubs to other assets. 

Before signing the papers, Karli asks to see Joe, adding credibility to the rumors that Joseph is Karli’s illegitimate son. Alone together, Karli asks Joe to promise to go into hiding once she passes away. Joseph also directly asks Karli if he is his father, and though he doesn’t verbally confirm, it becomes clear that Joseph is indeed Karli’s son.

Things take a turn when Joe is ordered to go to Vienna with Zwanziger to take delivery of a precious coin. Bachofner plans to sell this highly coveted coin to Russian collectors. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Henning shows up at Charley’s house and subtly threatens him, implying dire consequences if he doesn’t help with the project.

Fearing for his family’s safety, Charley reluctantly agrees to help Stephan steal the two million euros. At the next meeting, Charley meets Joe and Zwanziger, learning that they are Stephan’s friends and partners. On the night of the heist, Charley and Nero successfully break into the room, leaving only the D-10 safe to crack.

However, things become complicated when Karim (the man who stole the coin from the museum) arrives, intending to retrieve the coin from the safe following a fallout with his brother, Al-Walid. Charley was unaware that he was stealing the ancient coin that had been stolen from Vienna by the Al-Walids, as Stephan had not told him the entire truth, knowing Charley would never agree to it.

Soon, the plan goes awry, resulting in Karim’s death and Nero being stabbed multiple times.

The Episode Review

Crooks is shaping up to be a great show right from the first episode. It’s got all the makings of a Netflix hit. The story is top-notch, and the characters are incredibly well-crafted and multi-layered. 

The show follows Charley, a former master safecracker who turned his back on his criminal past after meeting his Samira and starting a family. He’s living an honest life now, but as they say, you can’t outrun your past, especially when it’s a muddy one.

Charley’s past comes knocking, and he gets pulled into a dangerous plan that’s sure to spell trouble.