Label is turning out to be a riveting series, with its hard-hitting narrative about crime and the corruption rampant in the justice system. Its characters remind me of great gangster classics, but the filmmaking style doesn’t just depend on the grim reality of its premise; it brings a slick action thriller vibe to the series, which makes it even more entertaining. The previous three episodes set up the characters and the conflict pretty nicely, and now the fourth episode ups the ante, and we find our protagonist in real trouble this time around. The fourth episode delves deeper into the inter-gang politics and introduces yet another character, Arul Kumaran, who seems to be a fierce and corrupt cop working for Sengutuvvan.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Prabhakaran Fall In Love?
Prabhakaran, having gotten Veera and Kumar out of jail, was having a good time, both personally and professionally. The load was off his back, and he felt good about having cleared Vaali Nagar’s image. He was figuring out how to go about finding Pathaalam, given that he could testify as to his 20-year-old juvenile case. Prabhakaran didn’t yet know that Pathaalam had been murdered by Veera and Kumar when he was busy courting Mahita, the journalist. Mahita had been instrumental in getting the video footage that proved that Veera and Kumar had killed Tamil Selvan’s men in self-defense. Prabhakaran felt grateful, and the continued meetings with her cast a spell on him. For a second, he started seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses, forgetting to worry about where Veera and Kumar were. Prabhakaran was falling head over heels in love with Mahita, but his trance was broken by the news that his two neighbors had not reported to the police station as they were supposed to. Prabhakarna was given a call as a heads-up to figure out where they were and ask them to report to the station. His romance was cut short, and he began his search to locate Veera and Kumar.
How Did Arul Kumaran Get Involved?
Veera and Kumar were ecstatic that they had finished off one of the most feared men in all of North Chennai. Pathaalam, who had killed nine assassins and survived countless assassination attempts, was killed by the two ‘non-labeled’ guys. But Veera and Kumar had committed two mistakes. They had involved three other men in their plan, one of them being Veera’s younger brother. The other mistake was that they had not killed Pathaalam where they were supposed to. They had allowed his car to reach a bridge, an area whose jurisdiction fell in Arul Kumaran’s hands. Arul got the case, and immediately he rounded up the guys who could be involved in the murder. Pathaalam’s right-hand man was called in to identify Veera and Kumar’s collaborators, but it seemed he couldn’t. Later, Pathaalam’s henchmen arrived and killed the men who had colluded with the duo to kill Pathaalam. It wasn’t that they had forgotten the face, but they didn’t want the men in police custody, where they would be safe. Arul was closing in on catching Veera and Kumar when Prabhakaran found out about Pathaalam’s murder.
How Did Prabhakaran Find Out About Pathaalam’s Murder?
Prabhakaran thought that he had made a breakthrough after figuring out that Nagendran had changed his name and was now known as Pathaalam, the feared gangster. But he didn’t have any idea that he had been murdered. In a purely coincidental way, Veera’s mother heard his brother bragging about being instrumental in Pathaalam’s murder on the phone. After all, Veera’s brother had spooked Pathaalam by throwing a burning molotov at his house, after which Veera and Kumar finished Pathaalam off. Veera’s mother knew no other person than Prabhakaran to tell about the crime. Sobbing endlessly, she was willing to end her life as well as that of Veera’s brother after hearing that Veera had killed Pathaalam. Prabhakaran understood that perhaps this was why Veera and Kumar were nowhere to be found and hadn’t reported to the police station as they were supposed to. He had done so much for them, and yet they had betrayed him. But as Prabhakaran didn’t know why and under whose pressure they had committed the murder, the first thing that came to his mind was to guarantee their safety. The only way to do that was to make them surrender.
Why Did Veera And Kumar Surrender?
Veera and Kumar were totally on their own after Pathaalam’s murder. Paramasivan, the lawyer, and Bunk Suresh were both out of reach. They were chided over their silly mistakes and weren’t even rewarded for taking out one of the most powerful men on the Senguttuvan label. Dejected, they were ordered to hide like vermin on the outskirts. The only way forward for them was to come out in the open and confess that they were the ones who had killed Pathaalam. This way, they could get some of the notoriety they had always craved. Prabhakaran called Paramasivan, thinking that he was the man behind the idea of sending Veera and Kumar in for the kill, to order them to surrender. How Prabhakaran figured that out seems to be a mystery. Perhaps it was an intuitive hunch, or he may have had prior knowledge about Paramasivan’s grooming tactics. But he was right on target. Paramasivan, too, understood that Prabhakaran was right. Arul had no intention of arresting Veera and Kumar. He had not even included their names in the FIR on Pathaalam’s murder. The signs were there. Arul was going to kill Veera and Kumar extra-judicially. Hence, Paramasivan called Veera and Kuamr to surrender. They had no qualms, as this is how the whole of North Chennai would know that they had ‘achieved’ their label. Prabhakaran was the one who became their lawyer once again. There awaited the whole of Pathaalam’s gang, who wanted to murder Veera and Kumar, but Arul had to protect them now that the courts had taken cognizance of the matter. If something happened to Veera or Kumar, Arul could be seen in a bad light, which he didn’t want. The best he could do was divert attention to their lawyer, Prabhakaran, who seemed to be the one pulling the strings, when in fact it was Paramasivan.
What To Expect Next
Prabhakaran was in a spot of trouble. He was representing the men who had killed Pathaalam, and his men weren’t going to sit idly and watch the case unfold. It was guaranteed that Prabhakaran was going to be attacked as his ‘sketch’ was out in the open. Soon, his family and Mahita could also come into the line of fire. His other priority would be to contact the other four kids who were arrested in the juvenile case. Now that Pathaalam was dead, he needed the other accused to testify as to how Prabhakaran wasn’t involved in the ACP’s murder. That way, he could get a chance to clear the judge’s exam, which required him to have no criminal record. But the road ahead was full of challenges, and Prabhakaran, for the moment, seemed outnumbered.
