'The Gentlemen's Theo James Teases a "Dangerous" Season 3 After That Explosive Season 2 Finale

Season 2 of the series takes us down a dark road for Eddie. After being brutally beaten up and left for dead by Bobby's men, Eddie is brought even lower when his new wife, Bella (Benedetta Porcaroli), is killed the day after their wedding. Fueled by a desire for vengeance, when he finds out that Gospel John (Pearce Quigley) and, by proxy, Freddy (Daniel Ings) are responsible, retribution is bloody. Collider spoke with Theo James about this wild season of The Gentlemen. James discussed that final scene between Freddy and Eddie, Eddie's mindset moving forward into Season 3, his complicated relationship with Susie, and just how dark Eddie can become after all of this tragedy.

Theo James on the Bloody Finale Between Eddie and Freddy in 'The Gentlemen' Season 2

"...if that happened to yourself, would you be able to forgive someone? And I don't think you could."

COLLIDER: Eddie gets very, very dark this season, and I think the final scene between you and Daniel [Ings], for Freddy and Eddie's scene, is so grim. Is there any potential for Eddie to forgive Freddy for what he's done, or do you think they're permanently separated by this point because of what he did to Bella?

THEO JAMES: I think the interesting thing about that scene was we were trying to figure out a way to keep an element of [Eddie]’s morality intact, despite the fact that he's murdering people and doing terrible things, because he can't kill his brother, because then he loses his family in its entirety and he loses his moral compass, but then he can't forgive him because his brother's done something reprehensible. So, how does he control him? How does he do that?

We came up with this idea of doing what he does in a very bloody and terrible way. I think there's an ability for forgiveness, but I'm not sure if Eddie will be able to give him that. In a basic way, you try to think: if that happened to yourself, would you be able to forgive someone? And I don't think you could. [Laughs] But it's sad because he's misled, and there's an element of guilt from Eddie that his brother was passed over and all these things. But I guess we'll see in later seasons.

James Explains Why Eddie Is Obsessed With Getting His Family's Land Back

"It brings great riches, but at what cost?"

It's interesting that in this season, Eddie's desire to reclaim his family's land is really a much stronger driving force than I expected. Where do you think that motivation comes from?

JAMES: I think it's about legacy. In Season 1, he's a civilian who's trying to protect his family, essentially, and he realizes that he's pretty good at the crime world, and he's astute and has a brain. But by Season 2, I think ego and power is slowly leaking into his being.

On a kind of surface level, it's the idea of claiming back what once was the family's and once his lineage, but on a grander scale, it's about British colonial power, the ghost of that. It brings great riches, but at what cost? It's also about kingship; Guy [Ritchie]’s very interested in this orb and sceptre idea, which we explore in Season 2, about how someone with the ability to lead can both be orb and sceptre, which is someone who can give judgment but also forgive at the same time. So, I think it's mixed in. It seems purely in acreage, but ultimately it has loftier themes.

Can Eddie and Bobby's Trust Be Rebuilt After the Betrayal in Season 2?

"...that's a thorn in his side, which he needs to eventually avenge..."

It's interesting that he has those two sides of him that he has to battle with because, honestly, he pays the price for betrayal against Bobby in the season, which is so brutal. I feel like Bobby's normally very much the sceptre in this situation rather than just the orb. Where do you think Bobby and Eddie stand at this point? Can trust be rebuilt between them? I mean, a lot has happened, let's be real.

JAMES: Yeah, and again, talking about Season 3 — we're talking about this right now — I think Eddie can't forgive him. To Ray Winstone’s character, he says, “Ah, you give him a slap on the wrists,” which is understated, should we say, the violence enacted on Eddie, but he's okay with getting over it. But I think, Edward, that's a thorn in his side, which he needs to eventually avenge, and I think that's the fun of it, right? You're waiting for when and how he's going to avenge, because he will.

James Reveals if There's Real Love Between Eddie and Susie in 'The Gentlemen'

"...class is a theme and it's also a reality of Britain."

One of my favorite relationships on this show is the relationship between Eddie and Susie. I think they have such a great connection. Through the whole season, everybody's commenting on the fact that there's something more between them, and they're always like, “No, no, no, it's not that,” but every conversation they have is very charged. Do you think there's anything beyond the platonic connection for them, and if not, what do you think it would take for them to move beyond that platonic relationship?

JAMES: I think there probably is. I think in a very English kind of oppressed, suppressed way, they’re kind of in love with each other in a strange way. But they're broken by class in a way, which is another emblem. I mean, it's still a comedy, and it's entertainment at the end of the day, so that may sound too fucking pretentious, but class is a theme, and it's also a reality of Britain. So, the idea that this kind of dangerous, but ultimately an aristocrat duke would go and get with a crime boss's daughter who grew up on an estate in East London — it's problematic for those characters. So I think there's a connection, but a complicated one.

Has Eddie Finally Gone Too Far in 'The Gentlemen' Season 2?

"He's charming, but a fucking sociopath."

Just to wrap up, I thought it was really interesting that at the beginning of the season, the death of that accountant really, really weighed heavily on Eddie’s conscience, but by the time he's in Italy with that priest, he feels zero remorse. Should we be worried for Eddie moving forward? Has he hit the breaking point, or is there more to go for him to bend his conscience, so to speak?

JAMES: I think what you're starting to witness is the idea of a good person, but the tendrils of a sociopath, and again, that's interesting. To me, that's interesting to me. Tony Soprano's one of my favorite TV characters of all time. He's charming, but a fucking sociopath. Walter White, probably. All these characters.

I think he feels remorse, and he should probably continue to feel it, but when it's convenient to him to feel it, if you know what I mean. I think that that's an emblem of someone who's lacking in empathy; he starts off as an empathetic person, but slowly his sense of empathy is being removed. That also echoes this idea of these British colonialists back in the day. They had wealth and very little empathy for everyone around them. They just wanted more. I think that’s some of the quandaries that we're trying to explore.

I mean, interestingly enough, in that scene when we were doing it, I played it various ways where he had a little more remorse for the accountant in Episode 6. But I like the idea of this character that, in an aristocratic sense, it's already ancient history, and it's water under the bridge, which is also an interesting conceit because when you're born into that level of privilege, and you couple it with this ability to kill people, that's a pretty dangerous combination.

The Gentlemen Season 2 is now available to stream on Netflix.