On this week’s installment of the Apple TV+ restricted collection Shantaram, Lin should take inventory of the place he’s, what success means and whether or not it’s his to actually rejoice.

The individuals of Bombay are getting used to the impostor physician, however at each flip, Lin faces potential threats to his freedom and his place amongst his newfound neighborhood of outsiders. It’s a usually participating outing of the Charlie Hunnam drama.

Shantaram recap: ‘The Sin within the Crime’

Season 1, episode 5: On this week’s episode, titled “The Sin within the Crime,” the restoration of Lisa Carter (performed by Elektra Kilbey) continues very slowly. Modena (Elham Ehsas) retains needing to make a scene to get individuals to deal with her with extra respect after so a few years as a really public intercourse employee and drug addict/vendor.

When she runs into Lin (Charlie Hunnam) and thanks him for his rescue operation a couple of episodes again, he nearly doesn’t acknowledge her. She’s simply that rather more vigorous.

Neither Modena, nor his fellow pusher Maurizio (Luke Pasqualino), are all that comfortable to see Lin return, nonetheless. They’d favor he maintain to the slums, as a result of all people represents competitors within the metropolis. Maurizio doesn’t like Lin’s altruism; he is aware of it does make him a greater particular person than a criminal like himself. Modena doesn’t like that Lin spent an evening with a drugged-up Lisa earlier than she received clear. If Lin pushes both of them too far, they could push again.

An impostor physician finds his place locally

After an evening of partying within the metropolis, Lin wakes up again within the slum with a hangover to a crowd of his neighbors, led by Prabhu (Shubham Saraf), giving him his share of the neighborhood rations. It’s their means of lastly welcoming him. Much more benevolent is when Abdullah (Fayssal Bazzi) exhibits as much as thank Lin for saving his life with the reward of a brand-new bike.

Lin doesn’t wish to take it, however he notices Ravi (Matthew Joseph) it and accepts it to impress the child, whose forgiveness Lin nonetheless craves. There’s bother a-brewing although. Naturally, proper as he’s discovering himself, native would-be journalist Kavita (Sujaya Dasgupta) decides now’s the right time to do a narrative on the outsider physician who works for meals within the slums.

It might be a disgrace if an image of the fugitive wound up on the entrance web page of some newspaper. Lin finds her taking photos and steals the movie out of her digicam, which naturally pisses her off. He doesn’t inform her why he did it.

A rising net of connections

Even worse, phrase is getting out that Lin is Khader Khan’s (Alexander Siddig) pet physician. Looks as if all people’s attempting to make use of Lin now. Karla Saaranen (Antonia Desplat) and Khader Khan make a go to to Walid Shah (Mel Odedra) and Minister Pandey (Alvin Maharaj) at a celebration to warn him towards his monopoly — to say principally “keep out of our means or struggle is coming.”

Khan sees that Karla’s worrying about Lin getting caught within the crossfire of what occurs subsequent. As Lin confides in Abdullah, they appear to be shut however far-off always. Shortly after their heart-to-heart, Abdullah and Lin run into Rafiq (Rahel Romahn), the person who tried to kill them final week. Lin tries to make good however Rafiq rebuffs him. He leaves in a rush and Abdullah stays, leaving open the potential for a rematch. Lin doesn’t like that in any respect.

The individuals within the slum have began to note Lin’s ties to Khan, and warn him towards doing an excessive amount of on their behalf whereas in mattress with the mob. He goes to Khan and pays him again for the medication and assist he’s given him, hoping to get out from underneath the boss with no fuss.

Khan says he’s comfortable to let Lin reside nonetheless he needs to, however everyone knows we haven’t seen the tip of this little association. Lin goes to Karla’s place afterward to rejoice his new freedom (and eventually speak in confidence to her that he’s a wished prison). They begin kissing however she places a cease to it, giving a imprecise cause for not having the ability to, although clearly eager to take issues additional.

A less-than-satisfying romantic subplot

I don’t know why, precisely, however the romantic subplot is the least fascinating stuff in Shantaram. Possibly it’s as a result of Antonia Desplat isn’t essentially the most thrilling performer of this kind of materials. Or possibly it’s as a result of collectively, she and Hunnam appear so intentionally low-energy. (This week once they meet up, they actually get excessive and lounge round on couches like cats.)

I simply don’t actually care if Karla and Lin find yourself collectively, particularly as a result of I don’t discover Karla all that fascinating as a personality. She’s conflicted about stuff (Khan hints at a darkish previous and she or he confesses a few of that to Lin after he says he’s on the lam) but it surely simply doesn’t actually matter. Our solely connection to her is that she needs to be with Lin however can’t for … causes. And that she is aware of Khan. However neither of these characters’ precise roles within the drama are impacted by their data of the model-pretty lady performing as a go-between for them and different native political pursuits.

The romantic stuff can also’t assist however pale when the showrunners arrange that Lin’s job is actually saving the lives of poor individuals in his adopted house. A moist romance sort of can’t get a head of steam going after we’d moderately watch Lin saving lives or navigating the underworld. And the low-energy execution of the previous doesn’t assist issues.

… however Charlie Hunnam’s goofy grin saves the day

However past that, Shantaram does are likely to work, due to (and generally regardless of) the goofy vitality Hunnam brings to the lead function. He’s simply watchable right here — I can’t clarify it.

Possibly it’s as a result of the function of Lin lacks the self-seriousness and swagger of Hunnam’s best-known roles. Or possibly it’s as a result of there’s one thing sort of humorous about watching a man who’s alleged to be a hardened prison flip right into a dwelling saint simply by smiling his means via tense conditions.

It helps that everybody else within the Shantaram solid is nice, too. However with out a good anchor, the present would have foundered. And whereas it’s possibly not one of the best factor on Apple TV+, it hasn’t completed that.

★★★☆☆

Watch Shantaram on Apple TV+

New episodes of Shantaram arrive on Apple TV+ each Friday.

Rated: TV-MA

Watch on: Apple TV+

Scout Tafoya is a movie and TV critic, director and creator of the long-running video essay collection The Unloved for RogerEbert.com. He has written for The Village Voice, Movie Remark, The Los Angeles Evaluation of Books and Nylon Journal. He’s the creator of Cinemaphagy: On the Psychedelic Classical Type of Tobe Hooper, the director of 25 characteristic movies, and the director and editor of greater than 300 video essays, which might be discovered at Patreon.com/honorszombie.