‘Goli Soda: Rising’ Episodes 1-3 Recap & Ending Explained: Who Was Thillai Related To?

Goli Soda: Rising, the new Tamil language comedy satire now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, must be one of the weirdest shows out there. The show is set up with multiple storylines, yet within three episodes, it has been able to establish what the nature and content of the show are. Set around the market of Koyembedu in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and involving several people who either work around the market or happen to be connected to people who want to take over the administration of the market. There are several characters in Goli Soda: Rising that become a major part of the narrative.

Spoilers Ahead

Who ran the Aachi Mess?

Aachi Mess is a small restaurant and catering business run by four young men and two women of the same age group to keep themselves afloat. Chitappa, Kuttymani, Settu, Pulli, ATM, and Yamini are the six co-owners of the restaurant, and the business has been running successfully for the past few years. Aachi Mess had established a name for itself as they also provide food to guests staying at small lodges.

Why were Ravi and Naidu in a tiff?

The Koyembedu market had an administration, while the new market established on the opposite side of the road had new rules regarding their separate administration. Naidu, who was a powerful local leader, was an influential figure in the old market, and wanted the same administration to run in the new market to establish his monopoly. Ravi, a rival who wanted a different administration in the new market, was giving Naidu a tough fight. This led to Naidu’s men beating up Ravi and his supporters to assert their dominance while Ravi refused to give up his crusade. Ravi was rowdy himself, which deems him unfit for the role in administration.

Did someone owe Benz money?

Benz was one of the patrons at Aachi Mess, and claimed he lost his wallet and phone in the bus on the way to the city. Out of guilt, he gave his bag away as payment for the food he ate. Benz turned out to be someone who was not afraid of Ravi, and there was a person named Sampath who owed Benz money. Sampath was caught by Ravi’s men, and Benz had been on the run ever since. There was no connection found between Benz, Sampath, and Ravi, but as the story progressed, these links would be established. The motive of the animosity had not been established yet, and the next few episodes would most likely expand on how all the subplots are possibly interconnected.

Who were Janaki and Maran?

Maran was a good Samaritan who helped save a young, hard working kid from being taken away by the police. He also happened to see a young woman slyly robbing a poor old lady in the bus. His attempt to save the woman backfired as Janaki assumed he was robbing her. This led to a friendship being established between Janaki and Maran. Maran revealed himself to be a thief, while Janaki said she was a police trainee. Both formed a rapport even though their jobs stood in stark contrast, but somehow they liked each other’s company. 

How did the Aachi mess boys meet Thillai?

Thillai was a middle-aged man who was recently out of prison. There was no subplot established about his life up until then and why he was in prison. He moved into a lodge near the Koyembedu market and spent his days drinking. Thillai decided to take his own life as he stood on the ledge of the terrace.  He was spotted by the boys who ran Aachi Mess and they made his step away from the ledge by mocking him and his moves. They pretended to go live on social media, which made Thillai realize his step was not smart, and he decided to restart his life. He joined the Mess and instantly became good friends with the boys. 

Did Aachi mess owners plan to run other businesses?

The men who ran the Aachi Mess had the space on rent. They’d named the establishment after a woman named Aachi, who was not just a mentor but the cook as well. She was a good influence on the work and their plan to expand their food business. They had a food truck in mind, but that required them to have enough capital to start everything from scratch for the new business. They requested ATM to get a loan approval from her father, which she hesitated for initially. ATM, however, was able to cross the bridge and get the loan approved for herself and her business partners eventually. 

How did Maran and Thillai meet?

Maran stole the money from Thilai’s bag, but the latter quickly figured out who robbed him. He politely confronted Maran and they became fast friends. Maran asked if he could be Thillai’s roommate, as he was willing to split the cost of the rent and other amenities. Thillai and Maran began to get along very well. 

Did Naidu agree to help?

The young men and women, along with Aachi, approached Naidu to seek help establishing the food truck in the market. Since he was the major decision-maker and he could disrupt their plan as well, the co-owners of Aachi decided to take his help. Naidu agreed to do so wholeheartedly because he was on good terms with Aachi. Him agreeing to back the business showed a good side of the man. This indicated he might be a good leader who wanted to take over the administration for the betterment of the community.

Why did Naidu not show up at the inauguration?

As Naidu was all set to inaugurate the food truck in the market, he got stuck in a fight between the two women in his life, which got out of hand. Naidu was the kind of person who had his professional life sorted out; it was his personal life that was chaotic. Naidu had two wives who were not keen on attending the inauguration, citing some personal problems. Three episodes into the show, there were many details that hadn’t yet been made clear about the characters and their relationships with others. It was not made clear why Naidu’s wives were not on good terms with the people who ran Aachi Mess. 

Aachi Mess co-owners had a huge event to commemorate their food truck, as they had invited Naidu’s rival Ravi as well. Naidu was chosen as a chief guest to inaugurate, but his not showing up made the co-owners of the food truck fidgety. They were aware Naidu could be problematic, but since the man had agreed, there was a sense of trust put on him for the event. Naidu did not show up on time for the event, which forced the food truck owners, including Aachi, to choose someone else to do the inauguration. They were acquainted with a small kid who used to make his living selling tea in the market. Inspired by his positivity and optimism, they chose him to inaugurate the food truck. Naidu arrived for the inaugural event only to find the event had taken place without his presence, which upset the man. Naidu will only create problems for them going forward, if they know anything about his nature. 

Who was Thillai related to?

There was a group of people working for Ravi who showed up at Maran and Thillai’s place. They were looking for Thillai, and Maran wondered if the man was problematic. Ravi was a feared gang leader, and the fact he had his men searching for him meant Thillai may have caused some serious trouble. There were many details as mentioned above that were not made clear in the screenplay. The plot holes only increased the confusion, as the makers of the show were trying to join the dots and establish the connection between several subplots and characters in it. 

Episode three of Goli Soda: Rising ended with Maran finally realizing that Thillai was the brother to Ravi’s fiancé. He wanted to get him back into their lives now that he was out of prison. Thillai speaks to his sister, who asks him to join Ravi. This indicates that Thillai was a criminal for a long time, and prison may have changed him. He might have been a powerful gangster himself, which was the reason Ravi was being respectful. The last shot had Benz being captured by Ravi’s rival Urundai, and things will only get worse for the gangsters as the power game is just about to begin.