Shantaram season 1 episode 5 recap & review: The Sin in the Crime

The fifth episode of Shantaram sees Lin finally sharing his dark past with someone while a journalist looks to get an inside scoop on his story. The episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

Lin returns to Reynaldo’s to reunite with Didier, who is surprised to see him again. Even Lisa notices Lin and comes down to greet him and thank him for helping her on her first drug-free day.

Apart from that, Lin once again crosses paths with Maurizio, who isn’t exactly pleased to see him. Karla and Didier warn him to watch his back as Maurizio won’t forget the way Lin insults him time and again.

Moving on from that, Lin shares his adventures at Sagar Wada, and Kavita, a journalist sitting at the table with them, takes note of it.

Kavita believes Lin’s story of helping the people at Sagar Wada for free could be something worth covering and convinces her friend Nishant to pitch this to his editor.

The next day, Lin receives gifts from the people of Sagar Wada for his help. Qasim tells Lin that they have certain rights, including the right to vote, the right to rations, and the right to pay taxes.

Khader Khan, on the other hand, continues to pursue Minister Pandey but is confronted by Walid Shah, who clarifies that Pandey is bought and sold.

Walid Shah further wonders what Khader Khan is up to with Lin by his side. He questions if Khader Khan is trying to rally the people of Sagar Wada behind him using Lin.

A similar question is proposed to him by Karla later on, who tells Khader Khan how Lin has suffered because of them. Khader Khan counters by asking her about her relationship with Lin.

Nevertheless, they both agree that they don’t want to interfere in Lin’s path anymore.

He takes Karla to a school of orphans to explain his ways of investing in the right places and the right people for the betterment of Bombay. Khader Khan’s money might come from his shady activities, but he pays for his sins by investing it here.

He assures her that if she wants to leave the shady business he is into, she can, and their relationship won’t suffer because of that.

Meanwhile, Abdullah gifts Lin a Royal Enfield on behalf of Khader Khan for saving his life. Though Lin is hesitant a bit to accept the gift, he eventually does while the entire Sagar Wada stares at him.

Lin, along with Ravi, tags along with Abdullah to spend some time at Reynaldo’s, where they come across Rafiq. Lin tries to mend things with Rafiq, but he lets him know that Lin has already chosen a side, and the wrong one.

Back at Sagar Wada, Qasim pays Lin for the supplies he brought. He has no problem with where Lin brings his medicines from. He just believes that people need to pay him in their own way.

He further advises Lin that he shouldn’t have a brother like Abdullah.

Later in the evening, Kavita visits Lin to get insight into his story. Lin, who has been keeping his head down ever since breaking out of Pentridge Prison, fears the story will bring him under the radar of cops.

A terrified Lin avoided telling her anything and threw away her camera’s roll when she tried to take a picture of him. Seconds later, he regrets doing it and Kavita walks away wondering why he doesn’t want that story to come out.

Lin tells Prabhu about his business with Khader Khan, and Prabhu, in turn, advises Lin to keep this information away from the people of Sagar Wada, who might not be happy to hear this.

Lin later visits Khader Khan to pay for the supplies with the money Qasim gave him.

He then arrives at Karla’s house, and they both share their individual stories. Lin tells her about his escape from Pentridge Prison, while Karla shares the trauma she went through as a kid when her father committed suicide.

The couple gets along and makes out, but Karla clarifies that she wants to stay rigid and doesn’t want to love or be dependable on anyone.

Amidst all of this, Kavita doesn’t let the story of Lin go that easily and discovers that he is using a dead man’s passport.

Review

• A mild episode filled with romance in the air allows the characters to be vulnerable with each other.
• Even characters like Khader Khan get a chance to show their more generous side though there is always a chance that it is all part of his manipulation tactics.
• The attempt to make Lin’s life difficult continues with him having to choose between the people of Sagar Wada and his business with Khader Khan.
• The show is making use of some characters like Kavita that were introduced in the premiere by having them go at Lin’s identity. The show introduces this plot point a bit late, but at the right time after having Lin build a life in Bombay.
• Lastly, the show finally sheds some light on Karla’s past and the reason she doesn’t like forming a bond with anyone.

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Also Read: Abdullah’s back story in Shantaram explained