You Don’t Know Me is a courtroom drama following the events that preceded Jamil Issa’s murder, as narrated by the defendant accused of committing the crime. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers.
Plot summary
The show begins with the prosecutor’s opening statement, accusing the defendant of murdering Jamil Issa. Listing ample evidence pointing towards the crime being his doing, the prosecutor points out that the defendant’s hair was found in the victim’s car and traces of the victim’s blood were found under the defendant’s fingernails.
The defendant was also allegedly seen threatening the victim and a gun, which is believed to be the weapon used, was found in his apartment.
Having fired his lawyer, the defendant takes to the counsel row, addressing the jury. He pleads innocent and asks them to hear his speech, narrating the events that led to the murder and explaining the evidence presented.
He begins by recalling the day he was spotted saying “You’re a wasteman, Jamil!” to the victim. Working at a car dealership, the defendant caters to Jamil’s queries when he walks into the store, looking to buy a car. The exchange is polite and friendly, that is until Jamil makes an inappropriate joke about the defendant’s girlfriend.
Enraged, the defendant asks him to leave with some help from his manager, Sam. The defendant is seen insulting Jamil, which is perceived as a threat by the prosecutor. In court, he justifies his words, explaining that his comment, which wasn’t a threat, was supposed to mean that Jamil, is a waste of space because of his profession and nature.
The defendant then reveals that his lawyer had asked him to hide some evidence that, if revealed, could be used against him. He says that to know the truth, the jury would have to be told about Kyra, his girlfriend.
He begins describing their relationship, right from their first meeting on a bus to being in a serious relationship. Their life together is dream-like until Kyra goes missing.
The day before she goes missing, the defendant catches her talking to someone at the door. Only able to catch a few words of the conversation, he dismisses it.
24 hours after her disappearance, the defendant decides to check the hospital records and inform the police, who he believes think that she chose to leave him. Unsure of whether or not it was her decision but still determined to look for Kyra, the defendant goes around putting up missing posters of her.
One day, he gets a tip from a caller telling him they saw someone resembling her in North London. He drives to the location to find Kyra getting into the back of a car, and working as a prostitute. Confused and hurt, he drives away, giving up on getting her back.
His little sister, Bless, convinces him to give her the benefit of the doubt and try to save her from whoever is making her do this. On finding out that he is dealing with a gang named Glockz, the defendant makes a deal with Jamil, doing his assignments in exchange for a gun to defend with.
Making his way to the bridge under which he had last seen Kyra, the defendant tries to purchase her from the pimp she’s with. Irritated by his nagging and reluctance to leave, the goon threatens him with a gun.
The defendant’s attempt to escape turns ugly and he ends up shooting the pimp. Somehow making it out alive with Kyra, he returns home. Despite Jamil’s advice, the defendant holds onto the gun in case the gang shows up at his door.
At this point in his speech, the prosecutor’s request for an argument in the absence of the jury was granted by the judge. He establishes that he might allow the prosecution counsel a right of reply and warns the defendant that the jury will be asked to disregard any new evidence unveiled in his closing statement.
Next, the defendant moves on to how his hair got into Jamil’s car.
When the gang finds out Kyra has been taken, they scour all of London, hunting for her. Jamil warns the defendant to get rid of the Glockz as he is afraid they might recognize him as a competitor, forcing him to cut off his supply to North London.
From Kyra, the defendant learns that she was linked to the Glockz through her brother, Spooks, who was imprisoned after he ratted out his gang. After which, Kyra was forced to take to the streets as payback.
To distract the gang, the defendant pointed them towards Jamil, claiming that he was the one who took her from their clutch. The thugs get into a shootout with Jamil’s men, who somehow survives the incident.
Blaming the defendant for what had just occurred, Jamil takes him to Face, the man he answers to, who threatens to kill the defendant and everyone he loves if he doesn’t return the money he indirectly owes him.
Left with no other option, the defendant makes his way to a trap house in Tottenham where Spooks has hidden his stash. He is disappointed to find only 700 quid instead of the 5000 that Kyra’s brother had spoken of.
Chased out of the dealership, the defendant evades Sam’s calls out of embarrassment. Meanwhile, Curt, the defendant’s old friend who is now a Glockz member, offers to help Kyra and her boyfriend hide.
Curt comes up with a plan to get Jamil off of their backs, starting with Curt pretending to be a drug dealer, setting up a sale with him and robbing him when he comes to collect his goods. If Jamil loses more money on top of the debt he already owes Face, he would try to run, drawing Face’s attention away from the defendant.
To make the sale believable, Bless and Kyra stand nearby, pretending to grind the drugs. The defendant improvises and hides in the backroom when Jamil shows up early.
Things go south when the dealer tries to steal Curt’s customers’ details from him. At the end of the chaos, Kyra shoots Jamil, whose body they dump into a garbage disposal, believing him to be dead.
However, the defendant’s conscience makes him call Jamil’s mother, informing her of her son’s whereabouts.
Having killed Jamil, the fugitives make their way to the airport to board a plane to France. But their plans are thwarted when the defendant gets a call from Jamil threatening to come after them.
If you still have doubts about the ending, here’s a full breakdown.
You Don’t Know Me ending explained in detail:
The arrest
Back in the present, Bless asks her brother to tell the jury the truth but he refuses, wanting to protect someone he loves.
Finally, the defendant moves to the final pieces of evidence, the CCTV footage of his car driving towards the crime scene and his cell location placing him at the same spot Jamil was murdered.
He begs the jury to question why he would drive so fast in a manner that might get him pulled over if he is aware of a gun being in his car, and why he would use his own phone and car if he planned to kill Jamil.
The group decide to kill Jamil and Face, ridding them of their fear once and for all. As he hasn’t seen her before, Bless visits Jamil as a volunteer at the hospital to collect information. Furious that Bless got involved in the plan, the defendant decides to hide and let the police take care of the matter.
In the middle of the night, the defendant wakes up to find Kyra missing. He realises she must’ve gone to take care of Jamil on her own. Calling her, he hurriedly drives to the hospital where he runs into Jamil, asking him where Kyra is. While he is being questioned by Jamil, Kyra shoots him dead.
She asks the defendant to meet her at their flat after dropping off the car. She plans on disposing of the gun in the meantime and takes it with her.
When the defendant returns to the apartment, Kyra has vanished. He waits for her until armed police break in, arresting the defendant on sight. They find the gun, without prints on it, in a box with the defendant’s passport and some cash.
The defendant now tells the jury that Kyra had framed him, and left him behind. He says he hadn’t disclosed this to the police earlier as he was hoping she would come back for him someday.
The truth
The day after his arrest, the defendant discloses the true proceedings of the night Jamil was murdered to his lawyer in confidentiality. He tells her that the day his sister visited Jamil at the hospital, she was taken hostage by him.
When they went to retrieve her, they got into a fight in which Curt got shot and Jamil was killed by Bless in an attempt to save her brother.
The defendant took Curt to the hospital where Bless waited for him to wake up. Meanwhile, the defendant returned to the apartment with Kyra. There, he concocted a plan to keep Bless out of prison. He set up evidence pointing to himself to divert the police’s attention away from any other suspect.
Kyra called the police, leaving an anonymous tip on the defendant’s whereabouts after making him promise to blame it all on her if he felt that there was no other way out, threatening to come clean to the police if he didn’t.
The defendant’s lawyer informs him that if Bless were to claim that it was an act of self-defence, she would only get around 10 years in prison. When he admits to creating evidence against himself, she informs him that he will either get a life sentence or be deemed innocent.
The verdict
The judge gives the Crown a chance to respond to the new evidence disclosed in the defendant’s closing statement. The prosecutor’s counsel reminds the jury that the defendant has not a single witness who can attest to the information he presented in his speech.
She asks the jury to focus on the hard evidence provided against the defendant and not get swayed by his fictional account of the incidents.
As it is customary for the defendant to have the last word, he is given the opportunity to reply briefly. He expresses his wish for Kyra’s happiness and safety even though he hasn’t forgiven her for betraying him.
In the end, the judge asks the jury to declare their unanimous verdict out of which two possibilities are shown – guilty and not guilty.
If the defendant was found guilty, the prosecutors would rejoice while the defendant’s family cries out in disbelief and the defendant is sentenced to a lifetime in prison.
On the other hand, if found not guilty, the defendant returns to Curt’s house where he reunites with Kyra.
The judge then asks the jury to declare their unanimous verdict and the defendant looks into the camera, asking the audience to pass their judgement based on the statements and pick the verdict that they deem appropriate.
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