Dogs of Berlin season 1 finale recap: Victory Ceremony

Schemes are revealed and counter-schemes plotted as Red Card closes in on Tarik-Amir on the Dogs of Berlin season finale.

Raif meets Hakim in his secret room in the elevator shaft in his home – a stash house for money, drugs, and guns. Hakim agreed to give him 10,000 euro for the information about where to find Erol, but because the tipoff didn’t result in Erol’s death he only gets 100.

Raif is understandably upset, not least of all because he lost his friendship with Maissa over the betrayal.

The raids are a bust. Nothing is found in any of the buildings searched by the police; someone tipped Tarik-Amir off in time for them to clear out their warehouses. Erol suspects a mole, perhaps his co-worker Aykut, and he confronts him after the unsuccessful raids.

Grimmer points out a guy watching them from a balcony, an informant for Tarik-Amir who constantly watches the area and would have known it was under police surveillance before the raid. No moles, just watch dogs.

Meanwhile, the police commissioner is upset with their lack of results. He warns Grimmer that if they don’t have results soon he’ll be taken off the case and Fuchts will be the team leader in his place.

Grimmer is slightly distracted by the text from Kareem with a copy of one of his betting slips. He blackmails Grimmer, tells him about the secret storeroom in their elevator shaft and tells him to bust Hakim before the wedding that evening. But that won’t end his collaboration with Tarik-Amir, because Kareem has Grimmer in his pocket.

Grimmer calls Erol and tells him about the storeroom, but nothing without a direct connection to Erdem will be approved. Grimmer plants evidence against Kareem in Erdem’s Lambo to force a raid on Tarik-Amir in the no-go area.

Erol doesn’t like it, but now its the only way. They get their warrant and move in on Tarik-Amir right before the wedding. Of course, things don’t go Kareem’s way because he’s been implicated in Erdem’s murder and Grimmer plants drugs in his apartment.

The residents fight back against the cops, protecting Tarik-Amir territory. The fight is what looked like the riot from the beginning of the season. Grimmer sets fire to Kareem’s documents, hoping that in the blaze he’s destroyed the gambling evidence against him.

Hakim puts up a good fight, but Grimmer and Erol apprehend him together. In the confusion, Raif is able to sneak into the secret room, steal the money he needed, and get away without being caught.

Raif renews his friendship with Murad now that he has the money for their label. Ulf is elected the new leader of the Brotherhood. Erol returns home to face his father, who criticizes everything about Erol’s life despite his effort to be welcoming to him.

When Erol notices that his father has turned down a photo of him and his boyfriend Guido, that’s the last straw. He tells his father that his wife doesn’t want to live with him, that his daughter is afraid of him, and that he hates him.

Guido comes home just in time to be introduced officially as Erol’s partner before Erol’s father leaves. Erol breaks down and Guido is there to comfort him.

Murathan comes to see Paula as his gang goes on their rounds, collecting protection money from the local business owners. He draws the blinds and they have sex on the floor. When they’re done, he takes some money from the register for protection money.

Paula tells Grimmer later in an attempt to get him to be honest with her. He sits there like a stupid lump not saying anything, but finally gets it together and seems ready to tell his story. The season closes with Grimmer turning to her and saying, “Listen, Paula…”

The end functions perfectly as a series-finale while leaving plenty of loose ends open for possible future seasons. I would love to see more of Erol and his life with Guido and his family. And as much as I kind of hate Grimmer, it would be fascinating to see how he conducts his life from here on out.

Stream Dogs of Berlin on Netflix.