The Gold – Season 1 Episode 2 “There’s Something Going on in Kent” Recap & Review

There’s Something Going on in Kent

Episode 2 of The Gold begins with a montage that will be explained in the final moments of this episode. It is essentially the setup masterminded by Kenny to translate the gold bars into real money. Kenny is seen buying gold from Jersey without serial numbers. He even has a receipt to show for them.

Palmer has floated an ad for Scadlynn gold market to take the yellow metal from the general public on the streets. He uses his partner Garth Chappell’s help for the same.

Edwyn visits a bank in Zurich, Switzerland with Parry to open a bank account. This will eventually be the resting place for the money deposited against the gold. The solicitor is smart in avoiding signing his name on anything and instead uses Parry as the scapegoat. Kenny uses the help of an associate’s widow, Jeannie Savage, to make cash drops at the bank. Palmer visits Constantino Precious Metals Ltd. The proprietor of this company is an importer of gold and it is all part of the plan. Kenny also uses the help of his friend Brian Reader to make the cash drops.

Boyce wants to nail the other robbers. But since they do not have telling evidence, it is more of a fishing expedition when he asks the coppers to arrest them and bring them in for questioning. Their skilled lawyer presents solid alibis and releases all of them. Kenny and Palmer talk about getting a smelter to burn the numbers off the stolen gold. All of that bullion has serial numbers on them which make them easily identifiable. But a smelter will make the stolen gold almost indistinguishable from regular gold. Elsewhere, Boyce wants Jennings and Brightwell to be sent to the Customs Office. 

Although the boss isn’t of much help in tracking down the gold, his subordinate, Mr Osbourne takes an active interest in the case. Palmer goes off on his wife, Marnie, after she brings home an expensive car. He explains that their time will come. But for now, they must lay low. After being rejected, the coppers ask Osbourne for help. He points them in the direction of Hatton Garden and correctly guesses they’d be fishing for a smelter. Although the papers haven’t picked up on anything, the gold is turning into money fast. The police do not have a lot of time to nab these criminals.

Jennings confesses to Brightwell about her struggles in the force. She has always been at a disadvantage due to her gender, making it considerably more difficult to get into the Flying Squad. When they spot the car with the smelter, Jenning stakes over the wheel and follows the car. They are unable to nab the culprit as they expertly use the railway crossing to get away. Edwyn keeps buying new places across London and meets realtor Sienna Rose in the process. Marine had been suspecting John of something fishy. Her suspicions are confirmed when she finds the gold bars in his smelter workshop.

Isabelle and Edwayn have a falling out after the latter insults her at the school she grew up in. This constant tug-of-war between old money and new ways pits them against each other. Garth withdraws cash from the bank and hands it over to Reader, who makes the cash drops. Micky’s missus and girlfriend both want houses in return for keeping quiet. He phones Kenny and arranges separate residences for them using Edwyn and Parry’s help. 

Boyce is impressed with Osbourne and asks him to assist them on the case. He asks him to go through every gold transaction done since the day of the robbery and fish for anything suspicious. Jennings and Brightwell use the acquaintance of someone on the force to get Kenneth’s name, who is correctly guessed to have been dealing gold on that particular robber’s behalf. The area he lives in, Kent, is something that Boyce is wary of. Kenny has a lot of connections on the force and his affluence is also very influential. Hence, they must keep this business restricted to a few people. 

Osbourne’s showstopping explanation of how Kenny and the team are pulling it off is the highlight of the episode’s climax. Kenny was shown buying bars of gold for a specific reason – to remove the serial numbers. They’ll buy more gold to get a receipt for that. If they get stopped moving the unmarked stolen gold, they can show a receipt for it. That’s where the role of the crooked gold merchant, i.e., John Palmer comes in.

For further procurement of pure gold, they take the help of Constantino. He will draw up fake importation paperwork for them. That allows them to have the gold certified for sale by an assay. Once the gold is marked, they can sell it to a bullion wholesaler.

The situation would be such that such wholesalers would be buying back their own gold and then selling it to the public. Brink’s-Mat will be worn by literally everyone in the UK! Osbourne says that the gold will be converted into money in no time. The entire process will take two months at most. The race between Kenny and Boyce is on!

The Episode Review

Osbourne’s rationalization of the episode’s events really nicked it in the end. Before it was all stuffed into one breathless monologue, much of what happened in episode 2 did not make sense. The Gold continues to be frustratingly elusive and uncomfortably close up as a story about people and their ambitions. The show seems less concerned with the actual heist and the investigation and more angled towards a story of its own.

Neil Forsyth and the writers’ room have dedicated themselves to exploring a part of the historic heist, which is fair. Given the large scale of characters involved, they had to purposely narrow down their area of focus. I am still not on board with the flurry of fictional characters as the real events surrounding the incident are compelling enough to qualify for good drama. 

All it boils down to, essentially, is a battle between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Kenny fittingly bookended this episode with an ultimatum: “Let’s see who wins this race.”