The last two episodes of Label hastily concluded the gory saga where Prabhakaran tried to save two educated men from Vaali Nagar despite their adamance about choosing the world of crime. Prabhakaran had tried everything to get Ayya out in the open, and it seemed that his colleague Ranga had finally found out who Ayya was. But Ranga was murdered, and Prabhakaran had to figure out a different tactic. He had filed 167 cases against Ayya, which was enough for the judge to put pressure on the police to find Ayya. The police just had a fingerprint to go by, and Prabhakaran knew what he had to do next amidst Bunk Suresh and Sengutttuvan’s ‘Label Wars’.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Kumar Miss His Shot At Killing Senguttuvan?
One may think that killing had had no effect on Veera and Kumar, but in the beginning of episode 9, we see that Kumar was deeply traumatized by what he felt while killing Pathaalam. He had lost his family due to the murder, and he didn’t seem to have a way back to a normal life. Veera wanted to kill Senguttuvan because his men had attacked Kiruba. But Kumar wanted to get his family back. He behaved as if he knew a secret, which Veera didn’t. The secret was that Prabhakaran knew that his father was part of Peter Label and had been quite a menacing killer in his heyday. To get Kumar on the right track, Prabhakaran found it feasible to get him to meet Murugesan. Murugesan asked him to conduct a simple experiment to know Bunk Suresh’s attitude towards both Veera and Kumar. Murugesan asked him to tell Bunk Suresh that he missed Senguttuvan deliberately and let the dominoes fall. Murugesan was certain that Bunk would ask Veera to kill Kumar, and that was the only lesson Kumar needed to see the reality of the Label’s internal politics. Nobody was unexpendable, and that was the harsh truth. Veera had been given a choice though: either to kill Kumar, who had missed his shot at killing Senguttuvan, or kill Prabhakaran, who had fed him the ‘lies’ against Ayya Label.
Why Did Veera Change His Mind?
Veera was on the wrong track, and he had been for quite some time. Drugs and newfound fame were making things difficult. When Kumar confronted Veera and told him that he had come to kill him, Veera was caught off guard. He wasn’t really thinking of killing his best friend, but then his only other option was to kill Prabhakaran. Prabhakaran had told Kumar that Ranga was killed because he had seen Ayya and that Bunk Suresh was making it look like Senguttuvan had killed him. The more shocking truth was that Bunk Suresh had sent men to attack Kiruba, just to fuel Veera’s anger. That way, he could become even more prepared, emotionally speaking, to slay Senguttuvan. When Kumar told Veera about all these secrets, he began to see how they had been such small, dispensable pawns in a meaningless game. It all seemed too late, as Veera had already sent a few guys to finish off Prabhakaran. He called his guys to call off the plan, but they didn’t pick up.
How Was Senguttuvan Killed?
Senguttuvan had seen Veera and Kumar attack his car. As Arul Kumar worked for Senguttuvan, he wanted him to use all the men available to first take care of Veera and Kumar. The idea was to have them killed, but it backfired. At the moment when Prabhakaran was fighting off Veera’s men, Veera and Kumar were fighting Arul Kumar and a score of Senguttuvan’s men. Veera and Kumar achieved the impossible, though they did have some help from the Ayya Label’s gang that happened to be nearby when Arul arrived. Everyone perished, except Veera and Kumar, but they were badly injured. Prabhakaran managed to save himself and didn’t give up on Veera and Kumar. He took the two badly injured men to his home, and they recuperated there until they were kidnapped by Ayya.
Meanwhile, Senguttuvan was furious at Aadhi, the other big shot in his label apart from Pathaalam. He had sent in the army of men with Arul, but perhaps they were not skilled or fierce enough to kill Veera and Kumar. Aadhi was getting riled up hearing the insults, and he took it out on Senguttuvan. Aadhi was feeling humiliated that nobody saw him as worthy of taking Pathaalam’s spot, and no attempts were made at his life! This only produced more shame and anger, as it implied that he wasn’t seen as a worthy ‘kill’. He too had all the right to rise in Senguttuvan’s gang and have more respect, which nobody was giving him. All this culminated in him killing Senguttuvan while Senguttuvan’s priest was away. The priest returned later and saw that both Aadhi and Senguttuvan were missing, but the trail of blood made him have a nervous breakdown.
Did Prabhakaran Become A Judge?
Prabhakaran’s issues were not only regarding the label. He had cleared the written examination and was just one step away from becoming a judge. But he knew that in the personal interview round, the juvenile case would be brought up, and he had no conclusive evidence supporting his innocence yet. The four men that Prabhakaran had gone after had ended up dead, including the two that Ranga had seen at Bunk Suresh’s birthday party. His interview ended on the condition that he must clear the case and prove his innocence to become a judge. He was so close to living his dream, yet so far. The fifth and only person in the juvenile case, a man named Pazhanivel, was nowhere to be found. There was no way to prove his innocence without him.
Prabhakaran’s facing a temporary setback in one area of his life was never enough to make him lose out in the other areas of his life. His dream of becoming a judge might seem too far-fetched, but instead of cribbing, he focused on getting Ayya caught. The 167 cases were fought in court, and the courts put extreme pressure on the police to nab Ayya. Paramasivan warned him again and again to stop the fight, but Prabhakaran did not budge.
Ayya Label was crumbling, and the most important strike came from Kiruba’s mother. She had seen Bunk Suresh with Veera and Kumar, and they were the bad elements that had ruined Kiruba’s career. Kiruba’s mother attacked Bunk Suresh when he least expected it and he died on the spot. It is highly unlikely that someone would pin the murder on Kiruba’s mother, a middle-aged woman.
Prabhakaran came home to find that Veera and Kumar were missing. Later, the mystery man from the factories, whom Bunk Suresh told everything to, came to meet Prabhakaran. He told them that Veera and Kumar had been kidnapped, along with Prabhakaran’s father. Prabhakaran was unfazed because he knew that his father, Murugesan, had a heart of steel and would deal with the situation in his own way. The mystery man had somehow gotten Aadhi tied up and proceeded to behead him right in front of Prabhakaran. Maybe he wanted to show him that he meant business and was a cold-blooded killer. He had no idea, though, that Prabhakaran wasn’t intimidated by these tactics. Prabhakaran had called the police but hadn’t told them he had caught Ayya. He simply wanted the mystery man to be impriosned for petty theft. The police already had Ayya’s fingerprints, and once the mystery man’s fingerprints were matched with Ayya’s, it was game over. The police took the mystery man away, who was most certainly Ayya, aka Thiyagarajan. The reason for that is that Ranga had seen the same man at Bunk Suresh’s party, and there was no reason to kill him if the mystery man wasn’t Ayya. One problem was solved for Prabhakaran, but his dream of becoming a judge seemed to have passed him by, until one day, Prabhakaran got a call from the station to be told that Pazhanivel had turned up. He was none other than Seguttuvan’s priest. Through him, Prabhakaran proved his innocence and got to become a judge.
During Label’s ending, Ayya is seen in a container and is asked to meet someone from the ‘capital’. He is shown to have grown a beard, but he is definitely alive. This implies that a second season might be on the cards. Veera and Kumar were still alive and serving their time in jail as they had surrendered. Ayya might join hands with this man from ‘capital’ and come back to haunt Vaali Nagar, which had been turned into a paradise by Judge Prabhakaran. Prabhakaran ended up marrying Mahita and had taken up the mantle to make Vaali Nagar known as the ‘Judge’s Place’. He was succeeding in it as well. How Ayya escaped or was taken out of jail is a mystery, but he might return in season 2 to challenge it all.
