'This City Is Ours' Season 1 Recap And Ending Explained

The British crime drama series on BBC One, This City is Ours, mostly impresses with its detailed characters and their respective motivations. The 8-episode series is centered around a Liverpudlian crime family, headed by Ronnie Phelan, who has been considering retirement and has therefore been conflicted about choosing his successor. On one side is his long-time accomplice and friend, Michael Kavanagh, while on the other is his only son, Jamie. With season 2 already on the way, here’s a look back at everything that happened in the first installment, which can be a promising watch for fans of long-drawn crime dramas. 

Spoiler Alert

What is the series about?

This City is Ours begins at a golf course somewhere in Merseyside, where a business deal takes place between representatives of a Colombian cartel and the members of a crime family based in Liverpool. The deal is concluded by the end of the day, with the cartel representatives agreeing to sell cocaine to the crime family, which they will further sell on the streets through their extensive network before paying back the Colombians. The crime family is headed by Ronnie Phelan, a notorious drug lord who has been running a successful cocaine smuggling business for many years. But Ronnie has also been considering retirement, because of which he has been considering his choices of successor. While he has obviously been considering making his only son, Jamie, the new leader of the gang, he is also not very certain of the young man’s capabilities in such a dangerous business.

On the other side, Ronnie’s most trusted henchman and business associate, Michael Kavanagh, has been eyeing the position of gang leader for quite some time now. He genuinely believes himself to be the most capable successor, and feels that the smuggling business would not have been running so successfully without him. There is truth to Michael’s assessment, as it is he who first brought the Colombian cartel, known as the Amigos, onboard as business partners. Naturally, he has a close connection with one of the high ranking representatives of the cartel, Ricardo Guzman, and desperately hopes that the deal goes off without a hitch. However, things do go wrong when one of the senior members, Davey Crawford, informs Ronnie that the shipment has been seized by the authorities at the port, meaning the drugs, worth millions of pounds, have been confiscated by the authorities. 

This piece of alarming news puts the entire gang in trouble with the Amigos, and Ronnie decides to keep the matter from Ricardo for now. Instead, he focuses on finding the mole in his gang because of whom the shipment was seized in the first place, and after some investigating, he realizes that Davey has been running a drug peddling business on his own. Since it seems like Davey had gotten the shipment seized to hurt his competition, Ronnie orders Michael to kill the man and exact revenge, but cancels the hit moments before Michael is about to pull the trigger. Instead, he decides to confront Davey during their upcoming trip to Spain, which eventually changes the whole structure of the crime family.

What is the reason behind Ronnie’s death?

Before this trip to Spain is over, the gang leader, Ronnie Phelan, is himself killed in a brutal knife attack, and it happens to be his most trusted associate, Michael Kavanagh, who commits the murder. The killing, which takes place at Ronnie’s luxurious mansion somewhere in rural Spain, is nothing short of patricide, for Michael was almost like a son to him, and it is bound to remind viewers of Macbeth’s plan of killing King Duncan. But unlike Macbeth, Michael did not face any hesitation or need any extra support from his lover, and his girlfriend, Diana, had actually tried to talk him out of doing anything hasty after guessing that he was about to stir up some trouble. Michael wakes Ronnie up, stabs him to death violently, and then leaves his body to be discovered by others in the house the next morning.

The real reason for this murder stemmed from Ronnie’s actions the previous day, when he took Davey and Michael to a secluded spot to confront the former about having betrayed the gang. In his final moments, Davey revealed that he was not the man running the side business peddling drugs, but it was Jamie who had started it. This clearly meant that Jamie had been stealing drugs from the gang and selling on the side, and he had brought Davey into this secret trade. Whatever amount he made from this business went directly to him, aside from some meagre portion that he gave to Davey, and unlike the money that the gang earned through its elaborate business, it was not divided among so many people. The revelation also made it evident that it was Jamie who had broken the trust of the gang and therefore deserved punishment.

However, Ronnie was not willing to hear anything more against his son, and perhaps fearing that Michael would get to know too much about Jamie’s wayward habits, he immediately shot Davey dead. The murder of Davey was actually never part of the plan that Michael and Ronnie had made together, as they only wanted to punish the long-serving gang member. But Ronnie’s decision to pull the trigger made it very evident to Michael that the man was totally biased in favor of his son, despite knowing about all of Jamie’s shortcomings. This immediately made things lopsided in the gang, according to Michael’s understanding, as the boss would only favor his son in every situation and protect him whenever he would inevitably do something wrong. Most importantly, Michael also realized that this bias would impact Ronnie’s decision while choosing his successor, meaning Jamie would be picked over him, despite the boss knowing that his son is unsuitable for the role. Because of these reasons, Michael decides to break the trust of all these years, and remove Ronnie from the picture forever, so that the rest of the gang members could decide their next leader, and he could easily take on the role.

How is the new leader of the crime family selected?

Although Michael acts surprised and stunned at Ronnie’s murder, he is instantly the top suspect in Jamie’s eyes. Michael’s best friend and henchman, Banksey, still sticks by his side, while the husband of Jamie’s cousin, Bobby Duffy, who is also a member of the gang, picks Jamie’s side. For the longest time, Jamie and Michael express their feelings against each other, indirectly of course, and refuse to let the other become the new leader of the gang. Both consider themselves more deserving, and more importantly, each other to be untrustworthy. Michael has plenty of valid reasons to claim that Jamie would be a horrible leader, and that his temperamental nature and fragile ego would ruin the business. On the other hand, Jamie is totally convinced that Michael was the one who killed his father, and he wants to exact his revenge.

Eventually, it all boils down to a rather unique (not really) way of deciding who the next leader of the crime family is going to be. The two men decide to resort to the method used in the old days, through a direct face-off between each other. Thus, Jamie and Michael face each other at an underground fighting ring in Liverpool, where they box against each other. Although Jamie had been very confident about his win, for he is considerably younger than Michael, he is beaten fair and square by his competitor. But sticking to his characteristic lack of honor, which also makes him the most annoying character in the show, Jamie resorts to cheating, as he is handed a blade by his enforcer and best friend, Bonehead. The plan is to use the blade to stab Michael and win the fight in this manner, even killing him in the process if possible. But Michael is simply a better fighter, and he takes down Jamie even after the latter tries using his blade.

Therefore, Michael becomes the new leader of the gang as per the agreement, but Jamie obviously goes back on his word once again, and as he feels the need to eliminate him from his path, he decides to kill Michael. Jamie himself carries out the attack, as he corners Michael’s car at a gas station, fires multiple rounds at him and then escapes. With his family being one of the most notorious drug smugglers in the city, Jamie obviously has to ensure that he is not officially linked to the crime, for which he covers his face with a mask and tries his best to not get caught on any security camera. Unfortunately for him, Jamie fails at this act of vengeance as well, as Michael survives easily, mostly because the shots had been wayward, and the few bullets that actually hit his body were stopped by a bulletproof vest he had been wearing for safety. But with his and Jamie’s animosity now a public matter, Michael decides to retaliate, and he attempts to shoot his opponent dead while he is out in his car.

However, Michael ultimately stops himself from shooting Jamie, only because he is with his fiancée, Melissa, and their baby son, Alfie. Firstly, Michael has no intentions of harming Melissa and Alfie, which is why he stops himself from shooting. Secondly, the scene also reminded Michael of how he was about to kill not just a villainous individual, but also deprive his family in an indirect way. Himself being in a relationship in which his partner, Diana, constantly makes him aware of how much she fears that something might happen to him, Michael is unable to go ahead with the plan only for the sake of Jamie’s family, and what he means to them.

What is the proposed plan to bring back peace in the family?

Obviously, the constant attempted hits between Michael and Jamie causes problems for the rest of the members, and it also hurts the image of the family. The streets start talking about the rift in the crime family, and rival gangs think of ways to take advantage of the situation. Meanwhile, Michael had been trying to get closer to Ricardo Guzman, who had informed him that their shipment had never been seized and confiscated by the authorities, but had actually been stolen by Jamie and his men. The protagonist possibly felt that Ricardo might give him and the gang more time to pay the amount due from the previous deal, but the Colombian eventually shows his true face. Although he is technically willing to forget the previous deal gone wrong, Ricardo wants to continue business with the gang and wants them to sell another shipment of drugs in England on his behalf. He makes it very clear that he will have Michael killed if this plan of his is not successful.

Therefore, Michael realizes that he has to reconcile with the rest of the gang, so that they can pull off this deal for Ricardo, and he himself can be freed from the life of crime. The family members decide to officially meet to propose a plan to restore their unity, in which Michael clearly states that he no longer wishes to be the leader, or even a part of the criminal gang. Expressing his desire to retire, he proposes a plan in which Banksey and Bobby become joint leaders of the gang and oversee the fresh deal with the Amigos. Michael does not want any cut of the deal, since his only goal right now is to free himself from a life of crime, which he can do only if Ricardo lets him live. He proposes that the rest of the members divide and share the profits from the deal among themselves, and then continue running the business as they see fit. Ronnie’s wife, Elaine, who is the acting leader of the family, supports Michael’s plan, along with most other family members. While Jamie has a problem believing Michael, he too agrees to the plan, and there is momentary truce among the family members.

Why does Cheryl help Michael?

However, Jamie once again ruins everything by inciting violence against Michael, this time by targeting him where it hurts the most—by having Diana abducted. His demand is that Michael prove his disinterest in being a part of the gang, and also gets punished for his criminal acts, by ending his own life. The protagonist chooses to retaliate once again, and his attack has the same intensity, as he has Jamie’s baby, Alfie, picked up from his house. He is actually helped by Cheryl Crawford in this, even though the two had never been very close friends or associates. In fact, Cheryl had never been an official member of the gang, but was associated with them only through her husband, Davey. 

Cheryl naturally became very concerned when Davey didn’t return from the trip in Spain, and even more so by the sheer disinterest that the other members showed in looking for him. While she was extremely distraught and fearful for her husband, Cheryl had smartly maintained her association with the gang members, by visiting all the family events and even participating in the meetings. She always feared that Davey might have been killed by the men he once considered his closest friends, and she somewhat got a confirmation of this after overhearing conversations at a family party. But Cheryl still needed official confirmation, and she had been growing close to Diana all this while as well, either out of genuine care for the young woman or simply because of her relationship with Michael. Finally, when Michael came seeking help from her after Diana was abducted, Cheryl took advantage of the situation to make him spill the beans about what had actually happened to Davey. Although Michael himself had helped in getting rid of Davey’s body, Cheryl understands what exactly had happened, and sides with him, holding Ronnie responsible for her husband’s death. 

In truth, Ronnie Phelan had run his criminal gang with his own convenience in mind, and he seemed to have cared very little about the others. Many of his associates and subordinates, like Michael and Banksey, had served prison sentences because of the gang’s criminal acts, but he had never faced any legal trouble personally. This was because Ronnie had been a secret informant for the police squad, selling them inside information on rival gangs. He chose to be blind to his son’s weaknesses, and had been planning to pick him as his successor over other more-deserving candidates. Cheryl had already secured a deal with Elaine that she would receive a 3% cut from the new Amigos deal, as compensation for her husband having abandoned her (as per the official records, for nobody had told Cheryl what had happened to Davey till this point). Now, she decides to help Michael by smuggling baby Alfie out of the house, both in order to ensure that the deal would go through and she would receive her money, and also because she is totally sure that he wouldn’t hurt the baby.

Does Michael confess his crime?

Jamie has to rush to protect his baby, and he is ready to give up Diana in exchange. But even before he reaches the meeting spot, Michael calls up Elaine to inform her of the whole situation, and then hands over her grandson to her, making it clear that he never wanted to hurt the innocent baby. Even after both sides have gotten their respected loved ones back, and the matter seems to have ended, Jamie kicks up a fuss once more, pointing a gun at Michael and threatening to kill him unless he admits to having murdered Ronnie. By this time, Diana had already told Jamie how she had seen her boyfriend kill Ronnie on that night in Spain. Jamie simply wants the protagonist to admit it in front of the others, and Diana also strongly advises him to do the same. The reality is that Diana has started seeing a genuine future with Michael, now that she is pregnant with his child, and so she wants all matters from the past to be settled once and for all. She feels that Ronnie’s family deserve to know the truth, and Michael also needs to get it off his chest. Unlike before, Michael also now shows full determination and commitment towards his girlfriend, by following her advice and confessing his crime. As becomes clear from his words, Michael had also been living with a strong feeling of guilt for having killed Ronnie, which was all the more why he admitted to the crime. He apologizes for the same, stating that although he felt that killing Ronnie was necessary at the time, he has now realized that there was no need for it.

Why does Banksey kill Ricardo in the end?

In exchange for his confession, Elaine lets Michael live and carry out his plan of detaching himself from the gang completely to go live in Spain with Diana. Extremely hurt and shocked by the revelation, Elaine promises that she and her family would never forget or stop hating Michael for what he had done to Ronnie, but she also promises to let him leave unscathed, only for the sake of her grandson. Unlike the impulsive Jamie, Elaine knows that violence will only beget more violence, and so she puts a pause on the matter, at least for now. It seems like the deal with the Amigos will be carried out, and Banksey and Bobby will take over the gang. But Bobby’s wife, Rachel, and her cousin, Jamie, are also hell-bent on losing the Colombians as a business partner and instead striking a deal with an Albanian gang, which will soon get in the way of the operations of the business. Most surprisingly, Banksey pulls off a bold move at the very end of This City is Ours, as he runs over Ricardo Guzman with his car, killing him in the process. This is a direct retaliation against Ricardo having earlier blown up Banksey’s car with a bomb, putting his and his beloved son’s life at risk. Now, Banksey simply kills Ricardo in the most effortless manner, establishing the fact that the Colombian might be an important cartel representative, but it is he and his mates who run Liverpool after all.

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