Deliver Me is not a happy series, and, predictably, it doesn’t have a happy ending. It doesn’t have a happy beginning or middle, either, for what that’s worth since there’s little upside in the intricacies of violent, brutal gang life on otherwise innocent teenagers. Episode 5 lays out the frank consequences of what happened between Bilal and Dogge, and while justice is served, peace is not achieved.
Thanks to the nonlinear storytelling style of the Netflix series, we know that death is inevitable. But the finale takes stock of how death impacts the families and friends of those who look it in the eye, and pores over the justice system to find it wanting.
Why does Bilal want to leave the gang?
Bilal was always against the clock. He knew that gang life wasn’t for him, and a run of difficult incidents only reassures him of this fact. The threats of violence, of being taken away from his family, were reminders that he needed to get out.
But how? Bilal and Dogge are both prisoners, essentially. They’re manipulated through their fear, and whatever they do, however much money is offered for their freedom, is never enough. It takes Bilal a while to realize this. It takes his dad’s savings being pointlessly wiped out and being held by Mehdi at gunpoint for something that wasn’t his fault, for him to finally realize that there isn’t a way out of this life.
Why does Dogge kill Bilal?
So, he confides in Dogge about his desire to leave for Nigeria. But Dogge has lived a different life to Bilal, one devoid of the familial nurture that Dogge has had. He’s alone, truly, and the only real companion he has is Bilal. His escape would be Dogge’s abandonment.
But Bilal’s main mistake is making Dogge’s decision for him. When the two of them are given an assignment by Mehdi to kill a man, Bilal sabotages it. He doesn’t confer with Dogge first. And his actions leave his friend even more trapped than before, now with a target on his back for the failure.
Feeling betrayed and isolated and presumably terrified, Dogge shoots Bilal dead with the very gun that Bilal gave him for protection in his absence; the one that Bilal’s younger brother Tusane stole.
Mehdi Is Made the Scapegoat In Bilal’s Death
Everyone knows that Dogge killed Bilal, including Bilal’s family. But the justice system couldn’t be trusted to get rid of Mehdi on its own. So, he’s allowed to become a scapegoat. He’s arrested for Bilal’s murder, accused of pressuring Dogge into committing the act.
Mehdi was deeply terrible on just about every level, but he wasn’t guilty of this. He had almost come to terms with the idea of Bilal leaving the gang. But Tusane hammers the final nail into his coffin with a false testimony in court, claiming he had personally witnessed Mehdi instructing Dogge to kill Bilal, and even handing him the gun he would use to do so.
It’s a lie. Everyone knows it is. But it’s a worthwhile lie that gets Mehdi off the streets, and in a roundabout way honors two young lives that were snuffed out because of him. Neither Bilal nor Dogge are around to see it.
The Ending of Deliver Me Shows How The Cycle Continues
Before long, another two kids will replace Bilal and Dogge in the gang. Even in Medhi’s absence, someone else, equally as terrible, will step up to take his place. And the cycle will begin anew.
Bilal’s family – at least his mother, two sisters, and Tusane – know this is why they have to leave Stockholm. But his father stays behind.
It’s a twisted form of justice, but it’s served nonetheless in the ending of Deliver Me. Do the ends justify the means?
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