Redefining Closure: An Alternative Ending to the Top Boy Finale

After watching the finale of Top Boy, I found it satisfying, though not without its flaws. Subsequently, my TikTok feed was inundated with critiques and discussions about the finale, pointing out valid concerns. After some thoughtful reflection aimed at creatively addressing these issues, I’ve conceptualized an alternative ending for Top Boy. While I don’t claim perfection, I believe this version does more justice to the series finale, and it considers the entire saga since Top Boy: Summer House on Channel 4. It respects and incorporates elements that worked well in the original conclusion. It’s crucial to note that this is purely a work of fantasy writing, presented in the spirit of storytelling.  Finally, the Season 3 finale came out almost two months ago, so I am assuming you have already watched it and are now spoiler-ready. Brace yourself! 

Episode Extension for a Complete Narrative

To improve the series, my first adjustment involves extending it to eight episodes, mirroring the format of Season 1 and 2, rather than the current six episodes. This extension allows for a more thorough exploration of the intricate storyline. Additionally, let’s ensure that each episode’s title is drawn directly from script lines within the respective aired episode, as opposed to the following one. This meticulous approach will maintain alignment between the episode content and its title, contributing to a more cohesive viewing experience.

Opening Scene: A Shocking Twist

This alternative picture opens with a heart-pounding scene, following Sully’s shocking act of violence against Jamie at the end of Season 2. After Sully kills Jamie, Aaron, consumed by fury, hastily grabs a kitchen knife, and furtively chases after Sully. Aaron lands a stab in Sully’s back. But in a scuffle, Sully manages to retaliate, fatally shooting Aaron before making his escape. Stefan is left emotionally devastated and reeling in shock.

Tribute to Jamie and Aaron: Unraveling the Mystery

In the aftermath of Jamie and Aaron’s tragic deaths, the community unites at their funerals to commemorate their lives, and speculation runs rampant that Sully is responsible. At the funeral, Stefan tells Si that Jaq threatened Stefan not to let the police know what he saw. He tells Si that he complied.

A wider police investigation is initiated. Lead detectives are former Summerhouse undercover cops Lee and Sarah. Tia, a crucial witness, undergoes rigorous questioning to uncover the truth. Was she coerced by Sully to provide access to the Tovell family’s flat? The police officer who arrived on the scene noted that she did not react with shock or tears to the events. These issues cast suspicion on her, leading the police to formally charge her as an accomplice to the murders. Ultimately, Junior (Sully’s hitman for in-prison jobs) takes a drastic step by orchestrating Tia’s poisoning in prison through a cake Tia arranged to smuggle in , forcing the police to drop the case due to a lack of witnesses.

Dushane and Sully’s Confrontation: Past Debts 

Dushane and Sully engage in a bitter confrontation over Jamie’s killing. Dushane questions Sully’s failure to uphold his own personal promise to protect Jamie and reminds him of their past. Dushane highlights how he had saved Sully from the clutches of Bobby Rakes, Rafe, Cypress, and Khadeem, all of whom had wanted him dead. 

Dushane emphasizes that Sully should have honored his word to keep Jamie alive. Dushane reminds Sully that Sully didn’t express any objection when Dushane told Jamie to kill Kit. Why did Sully keep quiet then? Why let Jamie kill Kit and oppose the ultimatum after the fact? 

Dushane reminds Sully that he gave Jamie his word he would stay alive when Jamie came out of jail, and now Summerhouse has no honor. Their word means nothing on the streets. Sully mentioned he had to kill Dris and Dushane forgets that sacrifice. Dushane argues there is a difference: Dris betrayed them as an enemy from the inside, Jamie was once an enemy from outside, but came in and followed orders. They are not the same. Message sent by killing Dris was not to cross Summerhouse, but Jamie’s killing sends a message not to trust Summerhouse.

Sully, feeling the weight of his past actions, pulls a gun on Dushane. In a pivotal moment, Dushane agrees to Sully’s terms to quit the drug business, signaling a truce. 

Directly afterward, however, Dushane contacts Rafe and Jermaine, offering to collaborate as business partners if they eliminate Sully before he completes any major drug shipment. Dushane makes it clear that Natasha is off-limits, advising they target Pebbles in order to get to Sully. 

Pebbles’ Intrigue and Relationship

Oblivious to his ulterior motives, Pebbles forms a romantic relationship with Lekan, who is playing along with a secret plan hatched by his friends Jermaine and Rafe. While Lekan and Pebbles occasionally sell “food” together, Lekan hints Peebles at wanting to meet Sully for more significant business, including an investment in his underworld IT hacking firm. Pebbles keeps Sully’s information confidential, frustrating the group’s plans. Keeping his agenda away from Pebbles, Lekan secretly meets Rafe and Jermaine, asking them for more time as he works to soften Pebbles and then gain an inroad to Sully. 

A Tragic Turn at Natasha’s School

A shocking incident occurs when Sully goes to pick up his daughter, Natasha, from school. As they head towards Sully’s car, Stefan, watching from a nearby vehicle, decides to take drastic action. With Si driving, Stefan wears a mask and attempts a drive-by shooting at Sully, who quickly reacts by revealing a concealed gun of his own. 

In the chaos that ensues, Natasha is tragically killed, and Erin,who followed Stefan in the car to watch the man who also killed her father die,is shot and hospitalized. Si and Sully make eye contact, as Si drives away. This is their first meeting since Si was choked with Sully’s gun.

Mandy confronts Sully about Natasha’s shooting. Sully warns her that herself, Si and Stefan are next on his death list. Mandy reaches out to Dushane for help. Dushane advises her nothing will happen to Erin, but Mandy is not assured. 

Pebbles attends Natasha’s funeral with Lekan as her plus one. In their moment of sharing condolence greetings with Sully, Lekan offers to assist Sully in any way, including with to help him avenge the Fields killing Natasha. Sully says nothing to Lekan. He calls Pebbles aside and quizzes her about Lekan. She tells Sully that Lekan is a smart man with IT hacking skills. She jokes Sully may one day need him.

A Sister’s Vengeance

Lauryn’s fate takes a dark turn when Vee and Speaks, Curtis’s sister and their sidekick, break into her home while Jaq and Becks are out of the house. Following a confrontation about Curtis’s death and Lauryn’s role in it, they forcefully drown Lauryn while she is in a drugged state. Lauryn, in her final moments, claims that it was Sully, not her, who was responsible for Curtis’s death. 

Vee tells Speaks that Lauryn had a point, because it was Sully who called her to mention Curtis was dead. Vee and Speaks kidnap Lauryn’s baby. Speaks leaves a burner phone in the apartment.

Jaq and Becks return home to discover Lauryn’s lifeless body. Jaq receives a call on the burner phone, which is from Vee and Speaks, revealing that they have kidnapped the baby. Vee sarcastically jokes Lauryn “daftly” named the baby, Jaq. 

To secure the baby’s safe return, Vee demands that Jaq steals all the drug supply from Dushane and Sully and delivers it to her, providing a coercive motive for Jaq’s actions. 

The Negotiation 

Jaq and Sully meet at the café. Jaq cites her motive for stealing as Lauryn’s drug-related death, a tragedy that had deeply affected her. She keeps mute about Vee having her nephew, as Vee explicitly instructed. Sully agrees to decide if he will let Jaq live when she returns the stolen goods. 

Becoming distrustful of everyone in his world, after Jaq’s betrayal, Sully contacts Pebbles and asks to meet Lekan. When Sully and Lekan meet, Lekan uncovers deleted messages between Kieron to Jaq, revealing hidden conversations they had after Jaq had stolen the “food”. This sets in motion a plan for Sully and Junior to kill Kieron. Sully insists Lekan be there when he and Junior meet Kieron.

Later, in a confidential call, Lekan instructs Rafe and Jermaine on the specific location where they can locate Sully, precisely during his planned attempt to harm Kieron. He expresses concern that Sully asked him to be there. Rafe and Jermaine persuade Lekan to be there and promise to have his back.

Community Unrest & Kieron’s escalation 

The meeting between Sully, Junior, Kieron and Lekan takes place against the backdrop of escalating tension between the Summerhouse community and authorities. After the initial failure to deport Kieron (Season 3 success story), and the Summerhouse development project is halted (Season 2), people are allowed to stay in the council flat. No forced evictions (Season 3 miscalculation). 

However, after Kieron’s failed deportation attempt, a secret, nighttime deportation attempt involving Dianna, Kieron’s mother, portrays the authorities as sneaky. The authorities persist despite her struggle with cancer. As the community’s resistance escalates, the police are called in, resulting in chaos and further community unrest.

Amid the community aggression, Kieron arrives to meet Sully and Lekan in Sully’s car. With Leka’s help, Kieron is confronted with the IT evidence, showing his deleted messages with Jaq. After the tense conversation that unfolds, Junior emerges from the van behind to abduct Kieron. 

However, Rafe and Jermaine burst onto the scene, firing shots at Sully and Junior. A frantic shoot-out ensues, and Sully and Junior narrowly escape, but tragically, Jermaine loses his life in the process. In a desperate act, Sully also shoots and kills Lekan, adding another layer of complexity to the unfolding turmoil.

Amid the crossfire, Kieron seizes the opportunity to break free, dashing into the chaotic crowds, evading Sully and Junior’s intentions. Noticing Kieron approaching, community members rush to inform Kieron about his mother, Diana, facing an attempted deportation at that moment. 

Overwhelmed by anger and fear, Kieron sprints towards his mother with a surge of emotions. Tragically, a police officer, misinterpreting his intentions, fatally shoots Kieron, believing he is a threat. This devastating incident sends shockwaves of pain and violence through the entire community, intensifying their collective anger and despair.

The profound tragedy further fuels anger and arson within the community. (Not a police vehicle hitting a girl). Chants of #BlackLivesMatter echo as Kieron lays on the floor, dead. 

A Web of Conspiracy

Jonny’s brother is killed at the old people’s home, but Jonny escapes with some injuries. He retreats to Ireland with Lizzie and Lithe. Fixated purely by his revenge on Sully, Lizzie informs Jonny that they also need to eliminate Dushane to prevent Dushane from pursuing the money that she and Lithe have taken. Lizzie also reveals that she’s been followed by a man in Ireland for some time. In response, Jonny assures her that he will discreetly put out some men to provide her and Lithe with protection.

Much later, we see Lizzie and Lithe’s stalker entering his hotel room to contact Dushane’s lawyer, Wilson Lee, and inform Wilson that he has located Lizzie. Unexpectedly, Jonny’s men emerge from hiding in the hotel room closets. They seize the phone and talk to Wilson directly, proposing a scheme: they want Wilson to undermine Dushane’s plans and, in return, offer Wilson GBP1million of Dushane’s stolen money, which is in Lithe’s custody. 

After negotiating, Wilson and his agent, who has been persistently pursuing Lizzie, reach an agreement. In this deal, Dushane is led to believe he’s receiving help from deceptive “escape men” who, unknown to Dushane, are actually agents working on behalf of Lizzie, Lithe, and Jonny to ensure Dushane’s downfall.

Dushane’s Final Moments

Dushane, struggling with heart issues, doesn’t engage in a frantic chase through the estate. Instead, he manages to steal one bag from Jaq after a confrontation. A scuffle ensues with Dushane and Jaq for the second bag. Vee, overheard speaking through Jaq’s Bluetooth earphones, signals Speaks to shoot at Dushane. Dushane flees with one bag, unaware of who fired the shot at him.

Dushane waits in his mother’s flat at first and then moves to the empty flat opposite his mother’s home. He calls Wilson who arranges for the “escape agents.” Amid the Summerhouse chaos, the fake escape agents working towards Jonny and Lizzie’s plan eventually reach Dushane. 

However, Dushane notices “Jonny’s boy” on the caller ID of one of the agents’ phones, which raises Dushane’s suspicions. During the call, Dushane’s heart problems cause him pain, as he notices the call was cut unnaturally short. As the “escape agents” propose leaving with Dushane, Dushane changes his mind about following them. A violent brawl ensues, resulting in one agent using a taser gun on Dushane, causing him to crash to the floor, holding his chest in pain. 

While searching for Dushane in nearby flats, outside, Sully and Junior rush to investigate the noise coming from the flat where they can hear the sounds from Dushane’s scuffle. They enter a shoot-out with the two fake escape agents, killing one. Junior, Sully’s sidekick, is also killed. The other agent scales out the back window of the flat. 

Sully’s Final Moments and Heartfelt Farewell

Sully confronts Dushane one last time, revisiting key elements of their final conversation: Why did Dushane steal the money? 

Sully takes the one bag from Dushane and contemplates their journey, uttering the iconic line, “If we are not monsters, we are victims.” (Not “food”). However, as they speak, Dushane begins coughing up blood and ultimately succumbs to his heart condition. 

The Room for a Spinoff

Drawing on his knowledge of Jamie and Kit’s connections, Si mentions to Stefan that he spoke to Lizze who arranged for both of them to meet Jonny in London. Back in London, Jonny meets with Si and Stefan, they devise a plan to eliminate Sully and seek vengeance for Jamie, Aaron and Dris’s death. 

With Dushane is dead, they decide that Sully and Summerhouse must be taken down for the Fields to rise to the top again. This is how to honour what Jamie, Kit and Lizze started. Si, expressing his disdain for Sully persuades Stefan to align with Jonny.  

Possible Killers and the Final Showdown

 Several potential culprits emerge in the quest to take down Sully:

1. Jaq, who contacts Sully to inform him that Dushane has taken one bag, but she has the second bag, waiting for him at the Summerhouse. From his exchange with Dushane, before Dushane died, Sully knows this to be true and agrees to meet Jaq. Vee warns Jaq that she will kill the baby if Sully isn’t dead within an hour.
2. Jonny, Si, and Stefan, who discuss their plan to eliminate Sully since Dushane no longer poses a threat to their drug empire. Jonny says Stefan should offer himself up to Sully, after killing Natasha. At that point, Jonny and his men will move in for the kill. He offers to ground Sully and let Stefan “kneecap” him, before killing him, and ultimately, allow Stefan to deliver the fatal blow. Jonny demonstrates the “kneecap” concept to Stefan as Lizzie had done to Jamie. Si encourages Stefan to take up the offer from Jonny, confirmed Lizzie indeed explained the idea to Jamie.
3. Erin makes a full recovery from hospital, but her mother Mandy is seen getting a gun from her former prison inmates who once helped Shelly discard a body. At some point, she leaves the protest scenes alone.
4. Within moments of Dushane passing, Rafe and Sully engage in a phone conversation where Sully argues that Lekan set him up to be killed by Rafe. Rafe admits it and expresses rage that Sully killed Jermaine—his brother—and Sully’s own cousin. Rafe switches the conversation to a video call to show that he holds Pebbles hostage, demanding a meeting with Sully. Sully agrees to meet, while warning that he will kill Rafe if anything happens to Pebbles.

The Last Mystery

In a climactic twist, while seemingly on his way to one of these meetings, Sully is shot in his car, leaving the identity of the assailant a mystery. The resulting speculation refrains from us mischaracterizing Dianna, an African mother in London, as a gang murderer.  Instead, it highlights the countless gang and drug-affected lives that Sully has crossed paths with, as he finally meets his comeuppance.

Daniel Akinmade Emejulu is a proud storyteller and committed Top Boy fan. His favorite character was Jamie.