As Sweetpea nears its explosive finale, episode 5, "Someone Has Been a Naughty Girl," delivers one of the season’s most intense episodes yet. Rhiannon's third victim brings tension, suspense, and a sense of impending doom as Marina inches closer to uncovering her secrets. This gets her onto the victim's radar, and the next victim appears to be her coworker, Marina.
The penultimate episode reveals much about Rhiannon's world and explores the chaotic consequences of her decisions. As the town rallies to search for missing Julia, Marina's suspicions around Rhiannon grow, while an unexpected alliance between Rhiannon and Julia pushes the story toward its climax.
Sweetpea Episode 5 recap
The episode opens with a town-wide search party dedicated to finding Julia, the real estate agent who has been missing since episode 4. As posters, announcements, and bus stop notices spread throughout the community, it becomes evident that Julia is among Carnsham's residents—a fact that makes Rhiannon’s life more difficult as she struggles to keep her former bully tied up and hidden.
Despite Rhiannon’s obvious frustration over Julia’s popularity, her efforts to keep Julia hidden continue, as does her involvement in the search efforts. Rhiannon attends a community meeting, attempting to appear supportive and avoid suspicion. However, Julia's high-profile disappearance and the relentless publicity it’s garnered increase Rhiannon’s desperation, adding another layer of complexity to her situation. Her inner turmoil builds as she grapples with how to escape the web of her own making.
With Julia’s disappearance putting Rhiannon on edge, the police shift their focus onto her abusive partner, Marcus. Marina, however, remains skeptical and continues to suspect Rhiannon despite pressure from her superiors to focus on Marcus. The DI’s boss, Diana, dismisses her doubts about Rhiannon, believing that Marcus, as Julia’s partner, fits the profile of the “usual suspect.”
Rhiannon is fortunate that the police view Marcus with suspicion, giving her temporary relief. The town’s focus on Marcus shifts any immediate blame from Rhiannon, even as her bond with Julia unexpectedly strengthens. Rhiannon’s relationship with Marcus, too, turns darker when he confronts her outside the community center, threatening her as rumors of her past actions circulate. For Rhiannon, Marcus becomes a convenient scapegoat and an increasingly dangerous foe.
Rhiannon’s desperation leads to Jeff’s gruesome demise
Rhiannon's desperate efforts to keep a lid on everything dissolve further in episode 5. Having contemplated framing Marcus for Julia's disappearance, Rhiannon catches a glimpse of her colleague Jeff when he is watching one of her close calls. Jeff sees Rhiannon using the knife to harm Marcus and starts to understand her deadly secret. Desperate to escape her clutches, Jeff pedals away in his bicycle only to meet a tragic end as a truck hits him.
The accident occurs too fast for Jeff to identify Rhiannon as the murderer, but this undesired behavior unintentionally saves her from being exposed, though his bloody exit marks a horrifying heightening of intensity.
The irony is deep: Rhiannon's rash decision to go after Jeff has served to mute him, effectively preserving the truth about herself. The close call, however, leaves her vulnerable to Marina's sensing of her growing recklessness, which only draws more attention to herself, putting more pressure on her as she prepares for what seems like an ineluctable fall.
Episode 5 of Sweetpea leaves Rhiannon’s secrets hanging by a thread. With Marina closer than ever to discovering the truth, the tension is at an all-time high. Rhiannon finds herself forced into a fragile alliance with Julia to frame Marcus, hoping it will divert suspicion long enough to give her an escape.
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The episode teases a final clash between Rhiannon and Marina, setting up an intense season finale that promises to reveal whether Rhiannon can outsmart the police or if her trail of chaos will finally catch up with her. As the series builds toward its thrilling conclusion, Rhiannon’s double life is more unstable than ever, and the cost of her choices continues to mount.
Sweetpea is streaming on STARZ.
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