Explanation of the Ending of ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’: Who Betrayed Whom?

The initial Den of Thieves movie ended with a clever twist where Donnie was revealed as the mastermind behind the heist, surprising both the audience and the determined cop, Big Nick. With no evidence of the heist’s occurrence or Donnie’s involvement, how can the sequel, Den of Thieves: Pantera, bring these two characters back into conflict? The solution lies in having them work together. However, a simple heist story with Donnie and Big Nick may not satisfy fans craving a twist, which is exactly what Den of Thieves: Pantera delivers. But things can get a bit complicated, so let’s dissect the movie’s conclusion, its implications, and what it implies for the characters’ future.

In the sequel, Donnie is in Europe, back to bartending and eyeing another lucrative score. He joins forces with the Panther Crew to steal a diamond in Antwerp, which he then uses to infiltrate a diamond reserve in France under a disguise as an executive. Amidst planning his next heist, Big Nick appears in France, causing clashes and inserting himself into the crew after his law enforcement career in the U.S. is tarnished. Things take a turn when they discover the diamond that Donnie took belongs to the mafia, who want it returned. Now, the Panthers must not only recover the diamond from the reserve but also pilfer any other valuables they can find.

Despite some complications with Big Nick resulting in the loss of crew members, the Panthers successfully execute the heist. However, they face interference from hired thugs of the ousted members, adding confusion as the array of unknown white European gangsters with guns becomes indistinguishable. Luckily, they are rescued by the Italians at the last moment, grateful for Donnie’s return of their diamond. The group celebrates in Italy, hinting at more heists to come for the newfound alliance of friends. But will their criminal escapades truly continue?

As the remaining Panthers celebrate with their mafia buddies, the French cops show up and arrest everyone… only not so much Nick, who, as it turns out, wasn’t in Europe to join a crew and experience a newfound camaraderie on the other side of the law. No, Nick tipped the French authorities off because he’s still a police officer at heart. He visits Donnie in prison and confesses that while the two of them are now “even,” he doesn’t feel as good about the whole thing as he would have hoped. His affection for Donnie and the crew wasn’t insincere, Nick explains, “but at the end of the day, a tiger can’t just change his stripes.” He doesn’t exactly apologize, but as he leaves, he tells Donnie to “sit back left.”

Shortly thereafter, Donnie is hauled into a prison transport van, which is then intercepted by a helicopter carrying men with guns, who repeat that advice — “back left!” — as they open up the van and retrieve Donnie. They’re referring to his position in the van, and they extract him from the French cops, flying him out of there. Turns out the Italians have saved his ass again, and want to employ him on a future job.

Now, Donnie becoming an internationally famous diamond thief with his picture in the paper, then being involved a high-profile prison-transport breakout seems like it would make his next move far less attractive to the mafia. But, nevermind: He’s out of jail and he asks what the next job is. Big Nick, meanwhile, irresponsibly looks at his texts while driving and gets a message that says “And the tiger changes stripes. All the cats out of the cage,” ending with a “c u soon.” The Best Friends Panther Club is back in action! It seems like Donnie is conveying the information that their other fellow criminals have been similarly liberated, and Big Nick will be brought back into the fold for the next job.

Emotionally, this ending makes sense. Big Nick and Donnie, who obviously bonded during this experience, will likely reunite for another job, which for now we will call Den of Threeves. Thematically and story-wise, it’s a little weird; the whole cop-criminal dynamic feels further muddled by this adventure, albeit enjoyably so. In the first movie, likable Donnie was breaking the law, but easy to root for, because he wasn’t really taking anyone else’s money (just bills earmarked for shredding), and he was outwitting that galoot Big Nick. Pantera wants us to consider Nick apprehending a career criminal a betrayal of trust that must be atoned for, and working for the mob a terrific career opportunity. It manages to both resolve an internal conflict in Big Nick that seems hard to believe, and raise further questions about why he wouldn’t feel conflicted about potentially working for a network of far worse criminals. But maybe that’s for Den of Threeves to deal with! Den of Thieves: Pantera is more about making sure the vibes stay cool.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn podcasting at www.sportsalcohol.com. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others.