* This After The Flood ending explained feature contains spoilers *
After a whitewater ride full of twists and turns, we’ve reached the finale of this gripping ITV crime thriller, but there are still plenty of questions to answer.
The story began with PC Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle) discovering the body of Daniel Eden (Arthur McBain) in a lift in Riverside Court. It was initially assumed he drowned in the recent flood, but forensic evidence showed he died several days before Waterside was engulfed by rising flood waters.
We now know Jo’s husband Pat (Matt Stokoe) was involved in his death and Daniel’s old friend Lee Ellison probably was as well, but what happened in that office at Riverside Court and how was the red car connected?
Meanwhile Jack Radcliffe (Philip Glenister) — who owns Riverside Court — has been cutting corners on his Eco Housing Development and there are suspicions he killed Chris the caretaker when he discovered something in that office.
But did he and councillor Sarah Mackie (Jacqueline Boatswain) have Chris killed and how much do they know about Daniel’s death?
Here’s how the final episode played out…
Who killed Daniel Eden?
As the episode opens, Pat confesses to Jo he was at Riverside Court and explains that Sgt Mackie was also there. He reveals that Mackie has been corrupt for years and knew about Jack Radcliffe’s construction gear being stolen.
He also confesses that he'd reluctantly been coerced into take kickbacks by Mackie as well.
It seems Jack's insurance scam involved Lee dismantling the plant, while Daniel arranged shipment with Keith, yet a delay in moving the stolen gear was causing problems for everyone involved in the conspiracy — which included Mackie’s councillor wife, Sarah.
We then flashback to 48 hours before the flood to see what happened in that office in Riverside court and find Lee, Daniel, Pat, Mackie, Sarah and Jack discussing how they should move forward...
Mackie’s solution was for Daniel and Lee to buy the previously-discussed brownfield site from Jack for £100,000, to keep him in the black and everyone connected with him in the black. Daniel refused, but Lee agreed, with Jack offering to buy back the brownfield site for £120,000 a month later and splitting the proceeds of the insurance scam 55:45 in their favour.
A fight ensued, in which Daniel goads Mackie about his wife’s infidelity, leading him to kill Daniel. Lee tried to help his friend and Jack tried to call an ambulance, but Mackie told them to leave him alone as they were now all in this together. Lee then discovered Daniel has already emptied the £100,000 from the account to flee with Emma, which explained why he refused Jack's offer.
Back in the present, Pat then reveals that Mackie and Sarah had previously been Lee’s foster parents and had turned a blind eye to his criminality, while he’d put the money he’d earned through all his illegal dealings into a savings account for both of them.
Jo calls him weak and corrupt, but Pat tells her the most bent copper he ever worked for was her late father. “He fitted people up, he planted evidence, he perjured himself in court,” he says, in a bombshell that leaves his wife devastated. He only did it to people who deserved it, he adds as she drives off, but it’s a bit late for that.
Did Lee kill Chris?
The flood waters are rising once again in Waterside, but Mackie is more interested in Lee Ellison who's now roaming town with a gun. Lee is furious with Mackie for not warning him about the raid, until Mackie tells him about Daniel’s girlfriend and how she might be able to get his money back. But after hearing Jo was the one who got him raided, he sets off after her.
At the levee, Mackie tells Jack the shipping containers have been discovered, which is very bad for his insurance scam and his finances. When Jack threatens to expose Mackie's crimes, the bent copper gives him a right clout.
When Amy (whose baby Jo helped rescue at the start of the series) messages her asking for help, she hurries to her house, but finds Lee waiting for. He’s furious when he hears Pat gave the police Tasha in a bid to protect himself, because she thinks he killed Daniel, and sets off in his car — with Jo!
Jo tells him she knows Lee moved Daniel’s body and got caught in the flood, which explains why he was in town and on hand to rescue that baby that day. He later went back to move the red car, with the help of PC Gibson, who we’ve already seen is in league with Mackie. She surmises that Chris helped them, which was probably why he was killed. But as Jo asks Lee if he killed Chris, their car flies off the road.
Does Mackie get away with murder?
Lee admits that he did kill Chris the caretaker, as he believed he was going to reveal everything, and called Mackie for help afterwards. Jo says Lee was coerced by his foster parent, but Lee protects Mackie, saying he and Sarah are the only people who ever showed him any love.
Jo survives, but goes into early labour, in a car wreck and with a flood approaching. It’s safe to say that probably wasn’t in her birth plan! Lee calls Tasha, who tells Pat and they set off to help. When they get there mother and baby are fine, but Lee is dead. How did Lee die? Did he kill himself or die of injuries sustained during the car crash? He was probably going down for murder, but we still felt a little bit sorry for him.
When they get to hospital, Mackie suggests they should pin all the blame on Lee. Jo refuses, saying he killed Daniel Eden and coerced Lee into murdering Chris Robinson, but Mackie threatens to end her career and put her in jail by exposing how she broke the law to find Tasha. He also claims Jo was responsible for Chris’ death as she didn’t follow police procedure. Oh mate.
Yet Jo scoffs at that and begins to wonder if it was Mackie who tried to kill her mum in the hit-and-run, to protect himself. It’s quite clear he did. Mackie then reigns down threats on all of Jo’s friends and family, in a bid to dissuade her from coming after him, but will she be deterred? Whatever she decides to do, it’s clear she has Pat’s backing, but it seems Mackie has got away with murder — for now.
