This article contains spoilers for Deliver Me episode 1, "What Have You Done?" Deliver Me is a Swedish Netflix limited series about two teenage best friends, Bilal (Yasi Hassan) and Douglas (Olle Strand), better known as Billy and Dogge.
It's a gut-wrenching tale that opens with one of them being gunned down in front of the other and follows Detective Farid (Ardalan Esmaili) as he tries to track down the criminal who he believes is responsible for recruiting both boys.
Deliver Me episode 1 sets the stakes for this gang drama. We see how Billy and Dogge used to be friends and were part of the same gang after being recruited by small-time criminal, Mehdi Bah, who's known to recruit minors to do his work for him.
Whilst medics scramble to save Billy's life, Farid begins his investigation, trying to coax Dogge into revealing why he shot his former friend. Here's a full recap of Deliver Me episode 1.
A fateful evening
The episode opens with the two youngsters behind the wheel of a car before cutting to a tragic scene. We hear a boy (Dogge) placing a call to the emergency services and see him fleeing the scene of the shooting. He heads home and throws his clothes in the washing machine. Meanwhile, Detective Farid arrives at the scene of the crime, identifying the victim as Farid.
Dogge tries to go to sleep but is awoken by Farid and other officers pounding on the door. Farid tries to talk Dogge into revealing why he did what he did, but the boy passes out on his sofa.
Elsewhere, officers Sebastian and Lana arrive at Billy's family home. Billy's younger brother Tusse is sitting in the dark, wide awake. When the doorbell rings, he wakes their mother, Leila up, and she answers the door. Leila is shocked by the revelation that something's happened to Billy; as far as she was concerned, he is still asleep in the apartment like the rest of her children. Sebastian stays with the family, and Leila is taken to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Farid chats with Dogge's mother, Jill. She says Dogge didn't tell her anything about where he'd gone that evening; he says he'll be taken to hospital for an examination, and then he'll be taken in for questioning. At the police station, Farid meets with Svante from the Major Crimes division, who will be leading the investigation.
Farid gives the background on Billy and Dogge's relationship (best friends since they were seven, both belonging to Mehdi's faction). Svante posits that the motive for Billy's shooting could well be punishment for Billy trying to leave the group. Farid agrees though he's surprised as Mehdi's not been known to order killings before.
After this, we see a brief flashback of Farid working with Billy after he decided to leave the gang. Farid was also the contact for Billy's family and feels guilty for not keeping the boy out of harm's way. Lana arrives at the station, updates Farid on Billy's condition, and reveals she saw packed bags in the hallway of the home.
Billy was planning to leave home and visit some family (Farid wasn't aware of this), and she implies the boy might not have been staying out of trouble after all, though Farid can't seem to believe that to be true.
After this, we see Leila being shown Billy in a hospital bed. At her home, Sebastian tells the other kids that their house needs to be searched and asks them to pack some things as they can't stay there. Then, we see a brief flashback revealing that Tusse had woken up as Billy was leaving on the night of the shooting. Billy insisted that Tusse stay home, promising he only had some business to deal with and that he'd be back within 30 minutes. Secretly, Tusse threw on his coat and followed his brother out the door.
Searching for Mehdi
It's time for Dogge's interview. Farid starts to explain that he'll be given a public defender, but Dogge interrupts. He says he doesn't need a lawyer as he can't be arrested or put in prison. Farid asks if Mehdi told him this, and then a social worker informs Dogge he will instead be placed in foster care, which confuses him; Dogge expected to be allowed to return home.
Farid insists that Dogge be honest about why he went to Rönnvik Bath. Dogge insists he has never been there. Growing tired of Dogge's attitude, the detective brings up Dogge's father, who apparently really liked Billy. At that, Dogge tries to leave the room; when Farid calms things down again, Dogge clams up, saying they can't do anything to him since he's a child.
Bilal's father is summoned to the hospital to see his son, where the rest of the family has gathered already. The medics explain that they'll be switching off Billy's ventilator. The father tries to argue against it, and this leads to a disagreement with Leila. We learn that she threw him out of the house, and he says Billy would have been safe if he'd still been around.
Back at the station, Farid learns that Billy has died at the hospital and returns to the interview room to tell Dogge. The teen does not take this news well and has an anxiety attack. Farid tries to coach him through it before telling him to talk them through the evening of the attack. He's still unwilling to talk, and Farid, growing tired of Dogge, says there's mounting evidence (the 911 call, the blood on his shoes, the fact he was washing his clothes at midnight) against him. As he tries to wrap the interview up, Dogge finally says something. He blames Mehdi, who apparently wanted Billy dealt with, and Dogge says he just did what he was told.
After that, Farid debriefs Svante. Svante wants to know why he's never heard of Mehdi before now; he's apparently been regarded as a "nobody", but with things escalating, Svante orders patrols be sent out to search for him (Mehdi is still registered at his mother's address, but the police have a list of potential locations to search).
Mehdi is seen leaving his current location and being driven elsewhere, shortly before police round up a group of young kids (some of whom are seen working for Mehdi) and an armed squad searches his mother's apartment. Mehdi's mother says he doesn't tell her anything and she doesn't know where he might be.
The episode then ends with Dogge signing the transcript of his interview. He asks if he can finally go home, but Farid and the social services representative inform him that he is not allowed to do so. For his safety, they'll be placing him in juvenile detention, in an entirely different district. After some brief glimpses of Dogge and Billy working a gig for Mehdi, we see the boy being dropped off at his new home.
Deliver Me is now streaming exclusively on Netflix. Looking for your next bingewatch? Check out our guide to the best Netflix shows for all our recommendations.
