After the Tokyo Vice season 2 premiere wrapped up many of the questions we had about season 1, episode 2, "Be My Number One," picks up with the story a few months later, where all of our main characters are adapting to new roles.
Jake (Ansel Elgort) is diving into new, non-yakuza stories at the paper; Samantha's (Rachel Keller) club is up and running; Sato (Sho Kasamatsu) is dealing with a new boss; and Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) has been exiled to a less glamorous job in the police department. But as they say, old habits die hard.
Read on for a full breakdown of Tokyo Vice season 2 episode 2.
Jake's new beat
Someone steals a motorcycle off the street. The police spot them and give chase, but the thief gets the engine running and drives off. This is the latest in a string of motorcycle thefts and is one of two stories Eimi (Rinko Kikuchi) offers to Jake, the other being a murder with yakuza ties. Jake opts for the motorcycle story, continuing to heed Katagiri's advice to work on other stories outside the yakuza. Eimi does seem a bit disappointed by his decision though.
Jake stops by the police station to talk with Katagiri, who is now working the complaint desk at the police station. Jake tells him about his new story, but their talk quickly shifts to Tozawa, who has not been seen or heard from in three months; all Katagiri knows is Tozawa tried to go to the US. Katagiri wonders if Tozawa may be dead, but Jake asks if that were the case, why is Katagiri's family still living outside of Tokyo?
After Katagiri, Jake follows up with his other primary source, Samantha. He asks if she knows anyone who may have some insight into the motorcycle thefts and she points him in the direction of Otsuka, a mechanic. Talking with Otsuka, Jake learns the motorcycle thefts aren't about stealing the bikes, but their parts, as individual parts are worth more than a bike. Jake asks Otsuka if he knows anyone who offers the parts.
Boss Samantha
Samantha's club, Club Polina, has been open for two months and is doing well. A big reason for that is her hostess Claudine, who is very popular with their clientele. However, Claudine is stealing from Samantha. When Samantha confronts her about it, Claudine is defiant, saying she is taking what she sees as her fair share and if Samantha tries to stop her, she'll leave and take her clients, as well as tell the Chihara-kai that Samantha is incapable of running the club. Still, Samantha decides to fire her on the spot.
Later, we see Claudine's threats weren't empty. A high-rolling client, Ohno (Takayuki Suzuki), comes in and asks for Claudine, but when Samantha explains she no longer works at the club, he decides to leave.
The Chihara-kai are also concerned about Claudine leaving. Sato comes to see Samantha for the first time since his stabbing. While the two still have a bond and are happy to see each other, things are more complicated when it comes to business. Sato demands Samantha re-hire Claudine, but Samantha refuses, reminding Sato as long as she pays them their share, she can run the club her way. Besides, she has a plan to help make up for Claudine's exit.
New strategies
Speaking of Sato, he finds himself under a new boss with Chihara-kai.
Ishida (Shun Sugata) leads a ceremony welcoming back Hayama (Yosuke Kubozuka) after seven years in prison. The new power structure will have Hayama reporting directly to Ishida while Sato is now directly under Hayama. But the two have very different mentalities. During a meeting where they discuss Tozawa, Hayama suggests they attack his gang, believing they are weak without their leader. Sato is worried they'd retaliate and wonders if they should get guns, which draws a rebuff from Hayama and Ishida, who says using guns are not honorable. Ishida tells Hayama to retake a club they had lost to Tozawa, but he also gives Sato a special project.
The project requires someone who is good with computers, like Sato's brother Kaito (Atom Mizuishi). Needing money for tuition, Kaito says he is willing to work for Sato and earn the money. While hesitant, Sato does have Kaito help set up a website where people can buy sneakers. Kaito wonders if the sneakers are just a front, but Sato tells him it is legitimate; or is he lying to protect his younger brother?
Something that is definitely not legitimate is the tactics Hayama uses to take back the club. The older woman who runs the club is at first not intimidated by Hayama, but when he pulls out a knife and threatens to kill her, she agrees to Hayama's demands to stop paying Tozawa and start paying them double for their protection. When Sato again brings up the likelihood that Tozawa's men will retaliate, Hayama welcomes the fight.
On the other side of the law, a new strategy is being deployed to combat the yakuza. Katagiri is told to speak with Shoko Ngata (Miki Maya), who works for the National Police Agency. She's setting up a new task force, which she wants Katagiri to join. She tells him they can no longer accept "balance" with the yakuza gangs, they must wipe them out once and for all. Katagiri, however, says he cannot help her.
Part of the story
Jake eventually is able to find the motorcycle gang, which is led by Tats. Jake tries to get in their good graces by buying them dinner, but that does nothing to convince them to talk to him. Jake tries to leave but Tats picks a fight with him. He lands a punch but Jake is ultimately able to knock him to the ground. This gets the gang to respect Jake and for them to help him with the story as long as he doesn't use their real names.
The editors at the paper like the story and tell Jake to continue doing research. This sees him spending more time with Tats, learning he is stealing bikes to help pay for his sister's school. Jake also gets involved in an actual theft, distracting a couple while Tats steals their bike. Is this going to come back and hurt Jake?
Meanwhile, Samantha recruits the hostess who taught her everything, Erika (Hyunri Lee). Erika is hesitant, as she has a young son and hasn't done that work in a long time, but Samantha convinces her to do one night with a deal too good to turn down. Erika proves to be a hit with the clients, save for one, Ohno. He agrees to give Samantha's club another shot, but only if Samantha serves as his hostess. It works, as Ohno says talking with Samantha was the best night he had in a long time.
Pulled back in
Ultimately, despite attempts to change their lives, none of the characters can escape their past.
For Eimi, despite the fact her relationship with Shingo (Soja Arai) is going so well, he wants to take her away for a weekend, but she says she can't because of the paper and needs to take care of her brother.
Sato recognizes he is not going to be able to avoid violence, so despite Ishida's position on guns, he buys one from a dealer and hides it in a locker at Samantha's club.
As for Samantha, though she and Erika make an arrangement for her to work at the club, Samantha may have to juggle boss duties and be a hostess for certain clientele. Plus, the way Sato and her look at each other, their situation remains complicated.
Katagiri, meanwhile, tells his wife (Yuka Itaya) it's safe for them to come home, but she and the girls like living outside the city and think Katagiri should retire and join them. Either way, Katagiri has to make a decision: retire or get off the complaint desk and back to doing the work he believes in. He chooses the latter, officially joining Ngata's task force.
Finally, after Jake submits his story on the motorcycle gang he receives a call from Misaki (Ayumi Ito) asking him to come over. She tells him she hasn't heard from Tozawa in months and his men are no longer concerned with her. This gives her the confidence to move closer to Jake for a kiss. Despite them both agreeing it's a bad idea, they kiss and things eventually move to the bedroom. Like it or not, this choice will likely put Jake back in the world of the yakuza.
Tokyo Vice streams exclusively on Max in the US, with new episodes every Thursday.
