Legends, Netflix’s thriller about a group of undercover Customs officers, builds to a nail-biting finale – so here’s what happens in the ending, and whether season 2 is likely.
The stakes are high going into the Legends finale. Episode 5 ends with Guy (Tom Burke) on a boat carrying 200kg of heroin from Karachi, with Don (Steve Coogan) and Bailey (Aml Ameen) watching helplessly as they “lose control”.
Meanwhile, Liverpool crime boss Carter (Tom Hughes) is growing suspicious of Eddie (Johnny Harris), while Kate (Hayley Squires) and Erin (Jasmine Blackborow) close in on his crooked police contact.
So, do they stop the drugs, arrest the dealers, and make it back to ordinary life? Let’s break it down.
How does Legends end?
Legends ends with the police seizing all 200kg of heroin and arresting the dealers – but it gets very messy before they pull it off.
First, Hakan (Numan Acar) and Aziz (Kem Hassan) take control of the drugs when Guy stops in Turkey, before sending him home. By this point, we know they plan to betray him, even though they promise he’ll still get paid.
Back home, Guy struggles to let go of his Legend. Sophie (Charlotte Ritchie) can see it immediately, and eventually tells him to go back to work and not come home until he’s finished.
After reuniting with Mylonas (Gerald Kyd), who reveals Customs director Blake (Douglas Hodge) saved his life, Guy and the team form a last-ditch plan to stop the shipment.
How do they stop the drugs in Legends?
With Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister running out, the Home Secretary orders Blake to shut down the Customs investigations initiative.
However, Blake allows the team to “tie up loose ends” – in other words, finish the job, as long as they don’t recruit anyone new.
The plan begins with Guy barging into a meeting between Hakan and Carter, demanding his money. Since Carter’s transport route in Germany has fallen through thanks to Erin, Guy makes them a new offer: triple his payment, and he’ll guarantee safe passage for the drugs.
They agree. Guy, Don, Bailey, and Kate then get a fishing boat and load up the heroin.
Bad weather nearly ruins everything, forcing them into a life raft. Thankfully, they manage to save the drugs.
Back in the UK, they arrange a carefully protected meeting with Hakan, Aziz, and Carter. Mylonas quietly warns Guy they’re going to kill them, so Don sends in armed police before it’s too late.
Aziz and Carter are arrested. Hakan escapes, but not for long.
Legends ends with the perfect twist for Hakan
Hakan runs from the police and ends up hiding in a flat in Green Lanes.
A woman lets him inside after he tells her: “I need shelter.”
Then things turn ominous. “You do not remember me, Hakan,” she tells him. “Do not worry. I know who you are.”
The meaning becomes clear when she says he’s “entrusted to God”.
Those are the same words Hakan said to Zeki (Joshua Samuels) before later having him executed. The woman is Zeki’s mum, so while we don’t see what happens next, it’s safe to assume Hakan’s escape doesn’t last long.
What happens to Eddie?
Eddie is one of the most interesting figures in Legends. He’s Carter’s underboss, and a major part of the heroin trade in Liverpool.
But everything changes after the death of his son, who dies because of his heroin addiction.
Eddie turns on Carter, blaming his greed for bringing heroin into their world in the first place. Secretly, he contacts Bailey and gives him the locations of several drug stashes.
Carter works out what he’s done and tries to have him killed, but Eddie survives.
In his final meeting with Bailey, Eddie says he’s moving his family far away from Liverpool. He also warns that if they don’t catch Carter, he’ll come back and kill him himself.
After Carter’s arrest, Bailey phones Eddie with the news.
“Looks like I’m not coming back, then,” Eddie says, before going to play with his daughter by the pool.
What happens to Guy and the rest of the team?
Legends is based on an untold true story, so the team don’t get a big heroic send-off.
Instead, they return to their ordinary civil service jobs.
“You won’t be in the shadows forever,” Blake tells them, as they watch the Home Secretary posing for photos with the seized drugs.
“An achievement like this, a story like this, it’ll work its way out one day. But, for now, I thank you. Britain thanks you, and I hope we meet again.”
Don then gives a formal speech about expenses, holidays, and everyone being back at work on Monday.
Bailey, Erin, and Kate head off for a drink. Guy goes home to Sophie and his daughter.
He’s relieved to be back, but that night, he hears something outside and rushes to the window. A car pulls away.
It suggests Don was right: Guy may be home, but he’ll never fully escape his Legend. He’ll always be looking over his shoulder.
Will there be a Legends season 2?
Netflix hasn’t confirmed Legends season 2, and it seems unlikely.
The main reason is simple: Neil Forsyth tells the complete story in one season.
There is one possible route forward. Netflix could turn Legends into an anthology, with season 2 focusing on a different undercover operation.
For now, though, that’s just speculation.
“I’ve written shows in the past that are about well-known events. You then tell the story behind it that isn’t so well known,” Forsyth told Netflix.
“This is unique, in that the work of the Legends is barely known at all. There was this core team of people that did all of this, and they did it almost without any public recognition.”
In short: don’t get your hopes up just yet.
Read more: The best Netflix series you should watch this month
Legends is available to stream on Netflix now.
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