What You Need To Remember Before Watching Lupin: Part 2

Season 1 of "Lupin" was a surprise hit that thrilled the audiences with its charming characters and immaculately planned crimes. The show proved so popular that it ended up making Netflix history by becoming the first French series to crack the U.S. Netflix Top 10. Though named after and loosely based on the adventures of the classic gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, "Lupin" is a modern-day reimagining that centers on Assane Diop (Omar Sy), a talented heist man, and a massive Lupin fan with a penchant for modeling his own crimes after the legendary character's exploits.

Assane's endgame is to avenge his disgraced father's death by unleashing his considerable outlaw talents on Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre), a rich and powerful businessman whom he holds responsible. The modern-day Lupin manages to cause plenty of damage over the five episodes of Season 1, but Pellegrini and his henchmen — led by the dangerous assassin, Leonard (Adama Niane) — manage to get in some pretty heavy hits, as well. With "Lupin" Part 2 arriving on June 11, a confrontation seems imminent. But what, exactly, should you keep in mind before returning to the show? Here's what you need to remember before watching "Lupin" Part 2."

Though Assane manages to pull off his grand necklace heist, his plans to expose Hubert don't go quite as planned. By the end of "Lupin" Part 1, the poor thief's back is against the wall in many ways. It turns out that an enemy that's willing to employ assassins is also willing to deploy them, and Assane's team-up attempt with disgraced exposé journalist Fabienne Bériot leads to the latter's death, courtesy of the ruthless Leonard. 

Assane has his own run-in with Leonard on a train to Étretat with his family, but he manages to defuse the killer's assorted attempts to gain control of the situation with a mixture of physicality and cunning. Unfortunately, even the thief's plot to get Leonard arrested doesn't keep the antagonist out of the picture too long. In the very last moments of the season, Assane suffers his worst defeat yet, as the killer kidnaps his son, Raoul (Etan Simon), from the beach. The "Lupin" Part 2 trailer appears to show that Hubert is planning to use Raoul to lure Assane out, and it certainly seems that things are coming to a head. 

For much of "Lupin" Part 1, Assane plays an extremely dangerous game, and his luck eventually runs out. As Juliette Pellegrini (Clotilde Hesme) becomes convinced that her father is innocent and Assane's quest for vengeance is unjust, she tells Hubert the thief's true identity. This has grievous and immediate effects on Assane and the people around him, but it turns out that deaths and kidnappings are only part of his immediate troubles. 

Throughout the season, a fittingly hapless — though not quite as incompetent as you'd assume — team of cops is investigating Assane's various antics. One of the detectives who take an interest in the case is Youssef Guedira (Soufiane Guerrab), whose increasingly elaborate, Arsène Lupin-themed theories draw ample ridicule from his colleagues. To be fair, his devotion to this seemingly outrageous line of investigation does seem rather strange — except for the little fact that Youssef is absolutely right about Assane modeling himself after Lupin, and knows it very well. 

So it comes to be that right after Assane's son is kidnapped, he finds himself face to face with Youssef, who calls him "Lupin," and clearly knows what's up. This makes him the second police officer to learn the gentleman thief's true identity, along with Gabriel Dumont (Vincent Garanger), the crooked cop Assane kidnapped. With villains and members of the police now aware of his true identity, it appears that Assane has to use every trick in his book to stay alive and free.

Before diving headfirst into "Lupin" Season 2, the most important — and, incidentally, also the most delightful — thing to keep in mind is that the story isn't going to end here. According to Netflix's "Lupin" website, assane-diop.com, "Lupin" Part 3 is very much on the cards. 

While we don't know what adventures await the gentleman thief after the second season, it'll be interesting to see whether his struggles with Hubert will carry over to Part 3, or if Mr. Pellegrini is simply a starter villain on Assane's path to bigger things. It remains to be seen what kinds of stunts Assane is able to pull to get out of the pickle Part 1 left him in, but the fact that he has more adventures in store implies that the thief hasn't even begun to unlock his true potential quite yet. It's hard to imagine Assane becoming any cooler and more skilled than he already is, but the audiences will be thrilled to witness his journey in "Lupin" Part 2. 

"Lupin" Part 2 is available for streaming on Netflix on June 11.