The penultimate episode of "Sugar" Season 2, "What Else Can You Do?" concluded with a visceral and violent confrontation between the titular character, John Sugar (Colin Farrell), and Ray Vega (Tony Dalton).
The episode flashes back two days to reveal the events leading up to a desert scene featuring an overturned car, scattered debris, and the sounds of a struggle. Sugar, with Danny Moon (Jin Ha) in jail, seeks to eliminate Vega, an enforcer for the "Fire Sale" business. Sugar initially attempts to enlist Sergey Ojeda, the head of the Los Universales cartel, to free Danny and force Vega to stand down. However, Ojeda's plane crashes that night, a result of his son, Diego, secretly running the Fire Sale alongside Vega.
As a new plan, Sugar offers Vega and his family safe passage to Panama. Vega refuses this offer, demanding instead that Sugar hand over Ji (Raymond Lee). Ji then intervenes, offering his own life in exchange for his brother Danny's freedom. Vega agrees and places Danny in his car, a bag over his head, before driving to the meeting point.
Upon arriving and not finding Ji, Vega returns to his car to discover Sugar has replaced Danny. Sugar then strangles Vega from behind as he drives away. The ensuing loss of control causes the vehicle to flip. Both men survive the crash and engage in a brutal fistfight amidst the wreckage.
During the fight, Vega strikes Sugar with a hammer, but Sugar ultimately strangles Vega with his own tie, whispering, "I told you." After Vega's death, Sugar is depicted as distraught, signifying a deep emotional impact.
Farrell described the scene as a "work in progress" during filming, with uncertainties about the exact execution and Sugar's intentions. He contrasted Sugar's earlier rule-breaking in pursuit of romance with the current act driven by anger and violence. "It’s really, really tricky," Farrell stated.
Dalton shared that the stunt sequences were arduous. "I got my ass kicked last year, man, between that Daredevil. I literally got off the set of Daredevil and then came to LA to do Sugar, and Colin beat the hell out of me on that. It was rough. I’m not going to lie to you," Dalton said. "It was really rough. I ended up with a couple of bruises off of that. My wife looked at me, and I had all my back bruised. It wasn’t so much from the hitting as it was because the car flipped over, and you have gravel on the floor and the side of the car."
Dalton noted that the fight scene was inspired by the Argentine film "Wild Tales," aiming for an "animals going at it in a really small space" dynamic. He added that the continuous nature of the shot required precise coordination, and acknowledged accidentally hitting Farrell a few times during filming, with Farrell encouraging them to continue.
The intense performances by both actors sold the characters' internal and external conflicts. The death of Vega is expected to have lasting repercussions for Sugar as the season heads into its final episode.