The Swedish Netflix series Deliver Me dives deep into the world of gang wars and the devastating impact they have on people’s lives. The story centers around two teenage boys, Bilal and Douglas, and how their lives take a dark turn after they get involved with Mehdi’s gang, ultimately leading to both of their deaths. We see that, even though Bilal wanted to leave the gang after witnessing its gruesome dark side, he faced terrible consequences and was killed. But by who? Will justice be served? In the last episode, we’ll see the struggles their families and friends go through to seek justice. You might not like the climax of the series, but truth be told, I feel the accused got what he deserved. Feel free to disagree! So, let’s find out what happens in the final episode of the series, Deliver Me.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Douglas kill Bilal?
Before the fifth episode, we saw how Bilal was struggling to stay in the gang. He had had enough and wanted to stop not only drug dealing but also carrying weapons. He sought help from his family and Officer Farid to get out of this life. One particular incident that pushed them to the police was when both Bilal and Douglas were tasked with setting fire to an enemy’s car. They were threatened with being taken by social services and sent to juvie, but Bilal couldn’t afford that. He knew his family needed him because they were poor. After this, there was another incident. Bilal was tasked with holding onto a gun, but his little brother Tusane stole the gun without his knowledge. This led to him facing terrible consequences, including being threatened at gunpoint by Mehdi. Bilal knew he had to get out of this situation before it was too late, and he was trying to do just that. With his mother’s support, he was getting clean and cutting all ties with Mehdi, the whole gang, and even Douglas. His father had given his all to collect money so that he could pay off the gang and free his son. However, their money was never enough, and the gang kept demanding more. Otherwise, both Douglas and Bilal would be tortured by the gang for betraying them. Bilal thought of following his mother’s decision to get out of there and go to Nigeria to live with his uncle and start his new life. He told Douglas about it.
You see, Douglas was a lone young soul, humiliated and tortured by the gang, just like Bilal. However, he had no family support since his father had died from cancer, and he was a burden to his mother. So, the thought of Bilal leaving him all alone didn’t sit well with Douglas, obviously. He asked Bilal if he would consider taking him to Nigeria, but Bilal said he couldn’t. This tore Douglas apart. Before leaving, Mehdi gave them a final task: to use two grenades to kill a man. Bilal couldn’t bring himself to do it, especially knowing that Douglas would face the consequences. So, he threw the grenades into the water, defusing them. When they were supposed to carry out the task, Douglas realized Bilal wasn’t coming. They met, and Bilal explained his decision, telling Douglas he couldn’t go through with it and didn’t want Douglas to be part of such a gruesome act. Douglas thought to himself that he was a dead man now. Not only did he not carry out the mission because of Bilal’s decision, but he also couldn’t escape like Bilal. He was scared, but most of all, he felt betrayed. He felt Bilal could have just told him, or if he himself didn’t want to carry out the mission, he should have let Douglas do his job. He shouldn’t have made decisions on Douglas’s behalf.
Bilal, on the other hand, knew he couldn’t take Douglas with him. So, he gave him the gun, which he had been accused of stealing but which his brother had actually stolen. He gave the gun to Douglas for his future safety once he got out of there. Douglas took the gun, thinking Bilal shouldn’t have turned his back on him. After all, they had been best friends since they were kids. He felt Bilal should not have been selfish and should have thought about him and his future, choosing Douglas over his family. Feeling cornered, Douglas turned around and, as Bilal stood in front of him, shot him three times. His best friend died before his eyes.
Who got accused of the murder?
Tusane, Bilal’s brother, and his entire family knew that Douglas was the one who killed their son. Why? Douglas was scared that Mehdi would kill him for not carrying out the task. Bilal’s family had suffered the torture of Mehdi’s gang all along, so they wanted justice. They knew they had to lie or improvise something. Douglas’s statement was that he killed Bilal because Mehdi pressured him to and he had no other choice. But in reality, Mehdi didn’t know that Douglas had killed Bilal; he himself never wanted to kill him. He knew all along that Bilal wasn’t going to stay in the gang, and maybe he had made his peace with it. With Douglas’s statement and the video of Mehdi and his gang torturing Douglas and Bilal, they had solid evidence that Mehdi was responsible for Bilal’s death. We already knew that Tusane had hidden the gun from Bilal to protect him, so Bilal wouldn’t go around carrying the deadly weapon. But he eventually gave it back to him so that he could protect himself against the gang.
However, Tusane, standing in front of the court, told a complete lie. The judge knew from previous court sessions that Tusane sometimes tagged along with Bilal and Douglas when they delivered drugs or money. He said that, in one of those instances, he was with Douglas when Mehdi called him over, and in front of him, he heard Mehdi instructing Douglas to kill Bilal, handing him the gun—the murder weapon. Douglas carried out Mehdi’s task, but actually, Mehdi was the mastermind. No one else was guilty here. Ultimately, all the evidence pointed toward Mehdi, and now he had to go behind bars. The court would send an arrest warrant to the detention center, but until then, Mehdi would remain in jail. But do you know the dark truth behind it all? Officer Farid and Tusane’s mother knew that this was a fragmented story, a lie. But they said nothing. Their hatred for Mehdi and his gang was so strong that they believed this was the only way they could get justice for losing two innocent lives.
At the end of Deliver Me, we see that justice was served. As for Bilal’s family, they knew this action would have terrible consequences for them. So, they decided to leave Stockholm forever, changing their identities and cutting ties with all their family. Even though Bilal’s mother, his two sisters, and Tusane were ready for their new life, Bilal’s father chose not to go with them. Would this be the end of Mehdi and his gang? Who knows? But for now, the saddest part was that two best friends’ lives got lost being trapped in the dark gang world.
