It's several days after Assane's funeral, and Guédira isn't any less convinced that he's still out there somewhere. Unfortunately for him, Belkacem, who is attempting to track down the black pearl, doesn't want to hear about it at all. Feeling a need to find someone who will take him seriously, Guédira makes a deal with Fleur Bélanger to provide her with exclusive information about Assane.
Having left the black pearl for Mariama's kidnappers, Assane receives a new task from them via phone—steal Chez Tortoni, a painting by Edouard Manet, which is currently in the possession of a gang leader named Cisco. Assane manages to accomplish this feat under the assumed identity of "Sam Delangle," with the assistance of a whole litany of complex gadgets made for him by Benjamin. After double-crossing Cisco and his gang and making off with the painting, Assane hands it over to Ferdinand, one of his mother's captors, at a pre-arranged rendez-vous point. Having had Benjamin place a tracker on the painting, Assane follows Ferdinand, but when he arrives at their hideout, he fails to find Mariama.
In the midst of all of this, Assane finds time to moonlight as Raoul's new basketball coach, "Alex", wearing one of his relatively few disguises that isn't paper-thin: extensive facial prosthetics, a wig, and voice modification. While dropping Raoul off at one of his practices, Claire—who has become very worried by the fact that he, too, seems to be in a state of denial about Assane's death—encounters Alex and immediately gives him her phone number, entreating him to let her know if Raoul is having any difficulties. Unaware of his true identity, Claire grows increasingly fond of Alex as the two chat with one another over the next few days.
Episode credits:
Tropes that appear in this episode:
- Beneath the Mask: Raoul's new basketball coach, "Alex," is actually Assane in disguise, with Assane seemingly taking on the role in order to keep Raoul from being harassed by his teammates.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Cisco is a thug who seemingly has no issues offing those within his inner circle (assuming they don't draw an ace from his card deck), but he's absolutely devoted to his sickly mother, and pays good money to make sure she receives proper medical care.
- Eye Contact as Proof: At one point early in the episode Claire begs Benjamin to look her in the eyes and tell her that Assane isn't truly dead. He's unable to meet her gaze, although Claire seemingly interprets this as a sign of his sadness about the death rather than his genuine guilt at not telling her the truth.
- Friend in the Press: Fleur Bélanger becomes this for Guédira, who leaks his info on Assane's connection to Arsène Lupin to her after Belkacem once again fails to take his advice seriously.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Benjamin gets to show off his technical virtuosity in this episode, creating a box of cards that doubles as a smoke bomb when a certain card is pulled (not to mention that the smoke itself is some kind of chemical mixture that knocks people unconscious).
- Heel–Faith Turn: Assane tells Cisco and his cronies that he took on a new name after converting to Islam in prison, before reverting to his original name once he got out, with this being the reason why nobody in the prisons he claims to have spent time in remembers anyone named Sam Delangle.
- Hey, Wait!: Belkacem visits Benjamin's shop in order to question him about what he was doing on the night of Assane's "death." Right as she's about to leave, she hears sounds coming from the upper floor—where, unbeknownst to her, Assane is hiding—and much to Benjamin's horror she decides to check it out. Luckily, it turns out it's just J'accuse.
- The Infiltration: Assane ingratiates himself with Cisco and his gang in order to steal the painting from them.
- Only Sane Man: Cisco's right-hand-man Kad is seemingly the only one who correctly suspects that Assane is anything but loyal to the gang. To deal with this issue, Assane turns Cisco against him.
- Stupid Evil: Cisco isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and his method for dealing with people who have crossed him is downright nonsensical. His getting arrested at the end of the episode is very much Played for Laughs.
- Triang Relations: Guédira winds up in the middle of this when Belkacem catches him and Fleur going over evidence, at which point Fleur throws her off the trail by announcing that she's his girlfriend. Belkacem, on whom Guédira has a pre-existing crush, is shocked by the notion that he's actually in a romantic relationship.Belkacem: Well, at the office we'd often ask ourselves whether Youssef had a life outside of his work...and I guess now we have our answer.Fleur: Oh yeah, he has a life. Right, baby?Guédira: (awkwardly) Huh?
- Troubled Teen: Claire grows afraid that Raoul is this when he begins talking about his (correct but seemingly far-fetched) belief that Assane is still alive and escaped his coffin through a secret underground passage. Upon meeting "Alex" and determining that he'll make sure Raoul isn't bullied, she breathes a Visible Sigh of relief.
- White Gangbangers: Cisco is white, while his gang is an ethnically mixed group that includes members of Middle Eastern, North African, and Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: A lot of the episode takes place in the lower-class Parisian banlieue of Nanterre, where Cisco and his squad are based.
