Fakes is a Canadian teen crime series based on Rebecca Li (Jennifer Tong) and Zoe Christensen (Emilija Baranac), two high school girls who end up building a fake ID empire. It is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
The whole season is a backstory and they tell the viewers right at the start that they have been arrested. According to Zoe, it was Rebecca’s idea and vice-versa. The story rewinds and starts from the beginning.
Zoe and Rebecca are close friends who remember the start of their illegal ID business very differently but both agree that Zoe does have a talent for creating them. They try their hand at it and almost get into trouble. Even after deciding not to pursue it any further, they get dragged back in because of Tryst, Rebecca’s acquaintance.
They had asked him about being the middlemen in selling fake IDs. He ends up making a deal for 200 copies for $150 each and threatens them to go through with it.
The sheer amount of copies needed makes them panic. To make everything worse, they get threats from a mysterious name. Apparently, they are competitors in selling IDs to schools.
Rebecca is able to figure out the identity when she finds her sister, Isabelle, gaming against that name. They turn out to be a bunch of school kids themselves. In a turn of events, Zoe and Rebecca are able to use them to create 200 IDs.
Riding on this success, the two decide to pitch it as a bonafide business to Tryst, who considers it. After a disaster presentation for an app, he gets desperate and ends up meeting a shady rich criminal called ‘Guy’.
Terrified by what he would do to him if he doesn’t manage to pique his interest, Tryst ends up pitching to him the fake ID business instead.
Impressed by it, Guy gives them a workspace to print. However, Tryst decides not to tell Rebecca and Zoe about the truth. The three become quite close while running the business together.
Rebecca hires Sophie as the dealer for IDs, while Zoe hires Sally. Sophie uses her attractiveness to sell much more compared to Sally, and it starts to become a bit of a competition.
Sally doesn’t help her case when she ends up losing a bag full of fake IDs. Rebecca and Zoe attempt to locate it and retrieve it from a police station, but the contents have been seized for investigation.
Fearing that Zoe had just given her ID to them, they give her a complete makeover. They then plan to throw Sally under the bus. The police arrest her and Zoe and Rebecca start to bicker as a result of all the stress.
Throughout the season, Zoe had clearly been infatuated by Rebecca’s boyfriend Clem, who felt Rebecca never gave him enough attention. She had also been involved with Ken, another guy, behind his back.
Zoe, along with her new look, had been undergoing a drastic personality shift. Realising that she isn’t the ‘good girl’ she used to be, she sleeps with Clem.
Sally arrives outside her window out of the blue. She was let go by the police after she acted as if she was just a victim with someone pulling the shadows in the dark.
Zoe and Rebecca decide to tell her that they have stopped the fake ID business but are concerned when Sally is actually recruited to be a cadet.
Rebecca has a heartfelt conversation about legacy with her father. He also reveals that he and her mother have been seeing other people and they both know about it.
Tryst confronts them at the penthouse where they print with a broken finger. He starts shouting at them and tells them to leave and that they’re done working together.
In reply, Zoe and Rebecca tell him they’re tired of his secrets and vagueness. They will now work without him and they have a plan to achieve this.
Fakes (2022) ending explained in detail:
What is Zoe and Rebecca’s plan for the Roland printer?
To make their work easier, the two had ordered an expensive Roland printer at the Penthouse that engraves directly onto objects instead of using ink.
They believe that it is theirs to own and start working on a plan to sneak it out of the penthouse. For this, they use the jocks at their school under the ruse of throwing a party at their penthouse.
Rebecca accompanies them as they all jump in the elevator and cause it to break down. Zoe distracts the staff from looking at the footage. They give her the key to the service elevator as the normal one has broken down.
Their entire plan was to use this bigger elevator to transport the large Roland Printer.
Does Clem come to know the truth about the fake ID business?
The whole incident in the elevator takes a toll on Rebecca and she starts feeling dizzy. Zoe suggests that she rest for a few minutes.
Clem approaches her and is tired of all the secrets. He threatens to tell Rebecca about them if she doesn’t come clean. Zoe tells him about the business but before he can properly react, the police come in.
Why do the police arrest Zoe and Rebecca? What was Tryst hiding?
As the police captures them, Rebecca calls Tryst, who urges her not to talk to them. He was the one who called the police.
All this time, Guy had been threatening Tryst. Impressed by the fakes, he wanted to use the printers for logos on knock-off products.
When he figured out that Sally had been arrested, he captured Tryst. Realising that he was never actually the one printing the IDs, he showed interest in Rebecca and Zoe.
Tryst didn’t want the two kids to be involved in something of this gravity, and this is why he shouted and told them to leave. He actually cares about them and is concerned about their safety.
Does Guy kill Tryst at the end?
Using his connections and resources, Guy manages to extract the two and get them to his car, along with Tryst.
He offers them a business deal. Three Roland printers and $100,000 but wants to cut out the middleman once and for all.
Throwing Tryst, who is tied up, out of the car, he takes out a gun. However, he wants the leader to pull the trigger.
The season ends on a cliffhanger with Zoe and Rebecca giving each other a terrified look as Guy waits for them to decide who will kill Tryst, who is at his mercy.
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