Words by Lucas Annison
Warning: contains spoilers for Gangs of London season two
Gangs of London actor Joe Cole has given a taste of what's in store for the award-winning show’s third season as he admitted it's so intense his own mum can't even bear to watch.
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Following the dramatic conclusion of season two, which ended with Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) being left to the mercy of police by Elliot Finch (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù), fans have been hankering for the next season to get their fix of the barbaric violence the show has become synonymous with.
Sean being left hanging (literally) from a piece of industrial equipment on a barren wasteland while his now one-armed brother Billy (Brian Vernel) is taken away by Elliot led many to believe the Wallaces' dynasty as London’s premier crime family was over.
The trailer for the third season suggested otherwise, though, as we see an imprisoned Sean come face-to-face with former cop Elliot who has now fully submerged himself into the gritty London underworld.
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Cole summed it up best when asked whether the new season will have the same shocking screenplay that has brought so many hand-over-the-mouth moments as the first two (Elliot’s eye-pressing scene in the launderette springs to mind): “It’s Gangs Of London, you know what I mean?”
I’ll take that as a yes, then.
However, he did reveal that we’re not going to be seeing wall-to-wall 18+ content.
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“There’s a nice blend [and] there’s stories that need to be told," he told LADbible.
“There’s new faces on the block”, he teased - which we can only imagine will end in very peaceful, quiet discussions.
If any fans are worried that Sean's arrest is going to hamper his chances of taking back the control of London he had in season one – rest assured as Cole confirmed we’re going to see him ‘come out swinging’ in a ‘hold your breath’ season that marks a ‘shift’ inside his mind.
Cole also spoke about Sean’s changing personalities throughout the show.
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“In the first season he’s quite immature [then] he’s a cold and calculated gangster in season two, doing some pretty horrific things.
“We see him as a man with nothing to lose in season three, and he comes out swinging.”
Good luck to anyone getting in his way, though I don’t think that’s what archenemy Elliot would want to be hearing.
Cole's family might not want to hear it either, as the actor told LADbible: “It’s too violent, my mum can’t watch it!”
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Confessing the impact the 'violent with a capital V' show might have had on him too, Cole said he has become 'desensitised, but I think society has'.
He’s probably not wrong, given most of us were playing GTA 5 in school.
It feels quite apt Cole mentioned that too, considering the show is based on the eponymous 2006 video game released on the PlayStation Portable.
All of us, except for Cole’s mum maybe, will be happy that CGI and television magic has moved on so we can now see the violence in full HD as opposed to the less-than-realistic video game version.
Gangs of London season three will premiere on 20 March on Sky Atlantic.
Topics: TV and Film, Entertainment, Celebrity
Chloe Rowland