In 2024 Netflix series named Crooks, the plot centers around an old Russian gold coin worth three million euros. While everyone is running around driven wild by its value, we know deep down it’s not merely about money. Family ties, greed, revenge, war, and betrayal come into play when the coin is stolen by the notorious gang, the Al-Walids. Now, there’s this guy named Joseph. He’s just a regular driver, but he’s got a big reason to get that coin back. See, it was his father’s last wish to have it before he died. So, Joseph’s on a mission to make his dad’s wish come true. But let me tell you, it’s not going to be easy. Getting that coin will mean Joseph will have to face a lot of danger and unexpected challenges. Can Joseph survive all this and get the coin back? Get ready for an exciting adventure to learn how he does it all.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Joseph Get Betrayed?
After the Al-Walid gang stole the coin from the Berlin museum, everything went haywire. Lots of other gangs were also after the single coin worth millions. Among them was this guy, known as the Big Guy. It was his last wish to have that coin, but he’s on his deathbed now. He has a brother named Red and a son named Rio. Red is all about signing the inheritance papers to get his hands on all of Big Guy’s wealth. Do you know why? Because Big Guy promised him that if he stuck by his side, he’d get everything. But here’s the twist: this was far from the truth. Actually, there’s a man named Joseph. He’s overweight and always gets verbally abused by his gang members. He’s just a driver, you see. But little does he know—he’s the Big Guy’s illegitimate son. Big Guy has actually left all the money to Joseph. Even Red thinks there’s a chance Joseph will inherit everything, despite being a bastard son. So he humiliates Joseph more about his weight and his job, as if he is a nobody and has no purpose in life.
Getting all this constant humiliation all his life, Joseph has also become somewhat thick-skinned, but what actually triggers him is the fact that he believes his father never truly loved him or wanted to acknowledge him as his son because of his respected status in the gang world of Berlin. Being introduced as Big Guy’s son would demand a lot respect, and Joseph thinks his father couldn’t stop that. So, to cope with it all, Joseph turns to alcohol. He becomes an addict but slowly starts to break free from that habit. But we see how, as the journey to steal the coin from the Al-Walid gang begins, things get even messier, and the truth about his family comes to light for Joseph. He starts to see how people can turn their backs on their own, even if it’s about blood relations. People can forget everything for money. When a locksmith named Charly gets the coin out of the Al-Walids’ safe and flees, Joseph meets him. Together with another man named Zwanziger, they’re on the run to safely deliver the coin to Red, who can sell it to the Russian gang. But Joseph sees how his Uncle Red starts manipulating him. How? Even though Big Guy is dead, Red falsely tells Joseph that he’s still alive, to get him to bring the coin to Red, knowing Joseph would do anything for his father. When Red finds out Big Guy left all the money to Joseph, he tries to murder him with Zwanziger’s help. But thankfully, Charly saves him by killing Zwanziger.
What Was Joseph’s And Charly’s Friendship Like?
Knowing Joseph this far, you can imagine that, being a “fatso,” he’s never truly had any real friends or family. Always considered a deadbeat. But from the moment Charly saved his life, Joseph knew he owed him in some way. Their friendship didn’t start under normal circumstances. Charly put his family’s life at risk when he got the coin out of the safe. Now that his family is in Marseille, he knows he has to go to them. But Joseph knows it won’t be an easy journey. He also knows his friend needs some money—the whole two million euros—in exchange for the coin. And he knows exactly where to get the money from: Red’s Bar. In a hidden safe, the money is intact. But this time, both of them know they have to get back at Red. When they met there with Red, he was pretty disappointed to see Joseph alive. But he was there for the coin, and Joseph has it. But when Charly took all the money, Joseph played them well by not leaving the real coin behind, only a fake one. You see, Joseph actually had no greed at all. He wasn’t in this game for the money; he was all about taking revenge for all the humiliation they had put him through all his life.
When Charly wanted to go to Marseille alone, Joseph didn’t want to burden him with his unwanted friendship. However, when Charly wanted to take Joseph with him to meet and save his family, Joseph knew he was going to do everything to save them. After racing to Marseille, you can see in one scene how unbothered Joseph is about the million-dollar coin. He actually puts the coin in a telescope and walks away, which further proves that, for him, it all had nothing to do with the money. All he wants in his life is safety and peace. So he knew he had no other option but to partner up with Nina, the police officer who also came to Marseille following their trail to retrieve the coin. As Charly’s family was under the surveillance of Griselda Delacroix, and Charley went there to save them, Joseph took Nina’s help. He told her that he would give her the coin, which he later took back, only after she helped Joseph save Charly and his family. When Samira and Jason were held captive in Griselda’s house, Joseph took it upon himself to rescue them, despite the danger involved. During a confrontation while fleeing the house with Charly’s family, Joseph was shot, but he managed to survive. Fortunately, his bravery paid off, and he has now found his chosen family in Charly, Samira and Jason.
At the end of the series, as Charly and his family return home safe and sound, Joseph’s real journey begins. He starts helping Nina track down someone, Arkadij Zakeyev. Why? Because this man has another two coins, and if Joseph gives him the third one, which is in his possession, by following his trail, there’s a chance he could get a lot of money, and Nina could arrest this man for collecting valuable coins and selling them on the black market. It’s a win-win situation! But you and I both know it won’t be an easy ride. There will be lots of challenges along the way. How Joseph deals with it all, we’ll find out in the upcoming season of Crooks.
