“Vessels” technically starts with a cold open in which we see what really happened between Officer and Devil in Paris, but don’t worry about that since you could have put the pieces together about that particular exchange yourself. Instead, focus on Episode 6’s proper opening, which is probably the best sequence of Culprits thus far. The rest of the episode is more revelatory than shocking, but it’s a necessary step on the short road to the Season 1 finale.
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Culprits Season 1 Episode 6 Recap
Let’s talk about that scene.
You’ll recall that Episode 5 ended with Jules leaving Joe a frustrated voicemail. When the gang arrives back in London, he finally listens to it, which conveniently coincides with the security app lighting up. The team sent by Devil’s employer is making their way into the house.
So, Joe calls Jules and has to guide him out of the house over the phone, using the app to steer him and the kids through various rooms, in and out of hiding spots, and eventually out to the car. This whole thing is grippingly tense, but it’s also rich in character, with both Joe and Jules showing the stress of the situation on their faces.
Jules is eventually able to escape, seemingly to safety, but for his own protection, he’s forced to throw his phone out of the window, both he and Joe in tears as they say goodbye, hopefully not for the last time.
Bait and Switch
In London, Joe goes to see his ex-boyfriend Colin and robs him of some cash and the keys to a club he owns where the gang can hide out. This is kind of a low move, and it’s weird how much the show has teased the backstory of this relationship only to avoid providing it. Maybe this was just a simple failed relationship.
Anyway, while the gang’s hiding out, we get a brief flashback of the heist going wrong from Officer’s perspective – she got shot after being unable to keep up the appearances of a London copper when the backup team arrived – and Specialist performs a bit of self-surgery. She remains in a very bad way, though.
Joe wants to bait Devil so that they can capture him and find out who he works for. Luckily, Specialist has a safehouse in London she uses for in-country work, and it’s full of guns, so Joe heads there to arm up. Azar is packing a nonlethal stun gun just for the occasion.
However, Azar is still desperate for revenge. During the sting, when a man sits next to her on a park bench she assumes it’s Devil and violently stabs him to death. However, it’s not him, so she and Joe have to hide the corpse. Devil watches from afar as they load it into the trunk of the car, and then follows them back to the club.
How does Specialist die?
When Devil arrives, he has the advantage. Officer is tied up. Joe and Azar are in the other room. And Specialist is badly wounded.
Nevertheless, Specialist tries to take Devil on herself. However she loses, and Devil slits her throat in a very long and uncomfortable-to-watch way. I was surprised by the frankness of this entire sequence, both how easily Devil outsmarted them and how easily Specialist was done away with. It almost would have made more sense to have her die on the train or something.
Nevertheless, Joe is able to get the jump on Devil, and while they’re tussling, Azar knocks him out.
Who shot Right Hand?
A brief flashback, inserted in rather an ungainly place, reveals another mystery raised by the previous episode. As it turns out, Fixer shot Right Hand with a rifle.
Why would he do such a thing? Well, since we see him receiving a call just prior, it’s easy to assume that he was told to. This is something that will surely be unpacked in subsequent episodes.
How does Culprits Season 1 Episode 6 end?
When Joe interrogates the captured Devil we finally get some answers about what the group stole and what whoever Devil is working for is really looking for.
Devil does point out the obvious, though – Joe and the others know embarrassingly little about what they did and who they did it to. They followed Dianne’s every whim on the promise of a big payday, and while they got that, what followed evidently wasn’t worth it. Devil finds this amusing, and it’s easy to see why.
Anyway, what Devil’s looking for is a key. We get no more explanation than that, though, since Devil calculatedly antagonizes Joe by threatening Jules and the kids. Joe loses it and shoots Devil dead, so he, Officer, and Azar need to find Dianne – who seems to be alive — and the key by themselves.
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