Steal Ending Explained: Who Was Really Behind The £4 Billion Heist & Why Did They Do It?

Warning! This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Steal.

Steal's six-episode debut season leaves fans with a number of questions as they unravel the confusing web the thriller series sets up. Zara Dunne (Sophie Turner) seems to get the upper hand on everyone in the final moments of the show, but considering the lengthy process it took to get to that point, you'd be forgiven for being more than a little confused about how everything played out.

Zara and Luke start the final episode with Morgan threatening to murder them both, but thanks to her quick-thinking, Zara convinces him to seek out Milo's £20 million payout instead of her measly £5 million. Then, they need to get the passcodes from the Lochmill offices, which leads to a deadly shootout between the thieves, before MI5 arrives and the whole issue is resolved.

Why Don't The Thieves Attack Zara?

While hiding from Morgan, Zara bumps into the other thieves, and while they were only ever tenuous allies, they make no effort to harm or coerce her. In fact, the leader of the operation appears to be friendly and talkative with her as he hunts down her attacker.

As it turns out, the thieves were not in charge of the operation. They were following orders from someone else who pulled the strings all along. From recruiting Milo and Luke to bringing the thieves onboard.

Who Was Really Behind The Heist In Steal?

Darren Yoshida, played by Andrew Koji, was a financial investigator who was assigned to work with the police. Throughout the entire investigation, Darren worked closely with DCI Rhys Covac, while secretly calling the shots among his team of elite thieves.

While the public came to know Milo as the mastermind behind the heist, Darren kept his identity secret, even returning the £4 billion, as his plan was never about getting a huge payday.

Why Was The £4 Billion Returned?

Darren had already made a small fortune through his career in the finance sector. But he came to despise money and the unbalanced system that favored those with wealth. His purpose in stealing the money was to draw attention to corruption, imprison the rich who avoided paying tax through the use of tax havens, and initiate change.

Now, while these goals seem lofty and noble, Darren was also willing to let people get hurt and even killed in pursuit of his utopian ideals. While he professed to not want any violence, he ordered his thieves to Lochmill to kill Morgan when he stepped out of line, and the initial heist plan always involved pinning the blame on other innocents and killing people.

Was Luke Actually A Bad Guy In Steal?

Darren recruited Milo and Luke early in his plans to steal vast sums of money from Lochmill. However, he appears to have withheld information from everyone throughout the planning phase. While they all received some small bits of information, no one had a clear idea of how everything would play out.

Despite this, Luke and Milo planned together to recruit another low-level employee with the right access at Lochmill in order to get their plans passed. They also conspired that Zara would eventually end up dead as a scapegoat. For that reason, it does make Luke a pretty awful person, morally speaking.

However, when Zara tells Luke that she knows all about his plan with Milo, he apologizes and even saves her life when Morgan is about to kill them in Lochmill. All of this seems to be enough for Zara to remain friendly and even plan a getaway with Luke to escape their troubled lives and start fresh.

Does Zara Run Away With DCI Rhys Covac?

While Luke seems to believe Zara has forgiven him, she doesn't clue him in about her master plan. For that, she teams up with DCI Rhys Covac, and they pull off a masterful encounter with Darren where they confirm that they know he was behind everything, and reject his offer of £10 million to keep quiet.

Unbeknownst to Rhys, Zara is holding a box with the small statue where she stashed the £20 million that Darren paid Milo before the heist. Then, outside the building, she reveals the cold wallet with the cash, and the two prepare to make a new life away from everyone and everything else.

Was Myrtle Involved In Betraying Lochmill Capital In Steal?

Now, one loose thread remains, with Myrtle. The young new hire, who appears prominently in the first episode, is once again shown as a central figure in the final episode. Myrtle appears to be uninvolved in the heist, and despite her odd reaction to being held hostage in the early episodes and a secret relationship with Milo, she remains an employee at Lochmill after the dust settles.

The series set Myrtle up to potentially have a more central role in the story, which could be further built out in season 2, or if the show doesn't get renewed, she may remain a red herring. Either way, Myrtle is one of the most odd figures in Steal, and one who appears to know more than she lets on.

Ultimately, Steal wraps up the bulk of the story in the finale and tries to tie together any loose ends, but if the show is to continue, there is room to develop all the characters above and see how Darren's plans to redefine how money is distributed actually hold any sway in Steal.