Better ending explained: What happened to Lou and Col?

Airing every Monday evening for the past five weeks, the new thriller follows DI Lou Slack (Leila Farzad) and Col McHugh (Andrew Buchan) as they navigate "the complex and powerful bonds of loyalty and family".

From the same producers as Chernobyl and This Is Going to Hurt, and written by Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent (Humans, Spooks), the five-parter has been a dark tale about redemption and human conscience.

The main question on our minds when watching has been whether or not Lou would succeed in tearing away from her life of corruption and actually bring down Col, the man she's come to love like a brother.

So, what happens when the pair become aware of one another's plans? Read on for everything you need to know about the finale of Better, which writers exclusively teased to RadioTimes.com was one of "high drama".

What was the ending of Better?

The final episode of Better opens up with Vernon (Anton Lesser) taking the blame for Bulgey's (Garry Cooper) murder. Of course, Bulgey broke into Vernon's home to enact a murderous revenge mission against Lou after being fired by Col. It didn't end well for him, with Vernon shooting him dead and wiping away any traces of Lou having been in the house.

To be on the safe side, he burns his house down and confesses to the police. He's questioned by Lou and her colleague, but later turns on her and orders her out of the room.

Elsewhere, Esther (Olivia Nakintu) takes an extended period of leave after finding out about Lou's corruption but Lou visits her home to tell her that the force needs more people like her. Back at home, Lou asks Ceri (Samuel Edward-Cook) how she's supposed to live with her guilt, and later, the pair formulate a plan to get rid of Col's money, which totals to around £80,000.

They start to make personal cuts, divvy out the money and Lou calls people anonymously to give them tips about crimes and perpetrators. She asks to be removed from Col's criminal case, which is good because Col previously told her that he "never wants to see" her again. Lou is on a mission to turn her life around.

As part of this, Lou visits Noel (Kaya Moore) in prison with a Yorkshire resettlement program officer but the young criminal doesn't seem to appreciate Lou's attempt at helping him live a "clean life", as she puts it. He proclaims that she's trying to be his mother and quickly leaves the prison visiting area.

Meanwhile, Col has retreated into himself and takes to gardening in the rain, rather than continuing to make growth plans for his drugs business. Because of this, his new right-hand man says he can "take care of things for a while", thereby getting the green light to order a hit on Vernon in prison.

We then see Noel go into Vernon's cell and stab him, with Noel whispering to him that he's sorry. This now means that Noel will now be serving a much longer sentence, but has remained loyal to Col.

Once Lou is informed of this, she breaks down and we later see her attend Vernon's funeral and be handed his personal belongings. She then visits her mother who she clearly has a tumultuous relationship with, but the two talk about redemption and whether a person can be "beyond saving".

Lou then tells Ceri and Owen (Zak Ford-Williams) of her plan to confront Col, telling them to move away indefinitely until she has things sorted out. It's an emotional goodbye but she then goes on to retrieve a gun she's hidden in someone's back garden. Armed and going to meet Col, she persuades him to meet her by telling him that she has a suicide letter from his daughter Aoife.

She's lying as she looks down at her empty hands with no letter in sight. But when they meet in the middle of a forest, Col is aware that Lou is lying to him. It's because, as he explains, he was the first one to find Aoife. In our first flashback of the series, we see Col run up the stairs to his home to find his daughter had overdosed on a supply of his own drugs.

She did leave a letter and it was one that told her mother and brother how much she loved him, but simply said "f**k you" to Col, which he said led to the fire going out in him. He's emotional recalling his past and talks about a different way of doing things, which is Lou's cue to urge him to go to the police station.

"Come in with me tonight, let's go together and tell them everything," she says. "Everything we've done, what have we got to show for it, Col? We both want it to end, we both know we have to pay, there is no way out. I know... this is exactly what we're looking for."

And then in a drastic change of heart, Col agrees. He seems uncertain but lo and behold, the pair walk up to the police station ready to confess. That is, until they see that nobody is at the front desk.

They wait and time passes but nobody appears, thus meaning that the reality of what they're about to do becomes increasingly obvious. But in the final second of the finale, just when we think they could get up from their seats and leave the waiting area, the door opens.

It's a classic cliffhanger because who is on the other side of the door? Could it be that Lou's colleague Phil (Gavin Spokes), who is heading up Col's case, could be there? Or could it just be another officer on their way out and none the wiser?

Either way, the finale and those final moments in particular prompt us to think of genuine morality and whether, if you're vastly well-meaning, will one always follow through? We'll just have to wait and see if there's a season 2 to answer our burning questions.

What happened to Lou and Col in the Better finale?

Although the writers of Better previously revealed to RadioTimes.com that the finale would "swiftly escalate to a place of high drama" and "not everybody makes it out alive this season", Col and Lou leave season 1 very much alive.

Their consciences are obviously weighing heavy on both of them but although it seemed as though one of them could die, it didn't unfold that way. Yes, Lou did bring a gun with her but realistically, would she have ever pulled a gun on the man she's come to know and love like a brother over the past 19 years? It was always unlikely.

We do know, though, that while they had every intention of coming clean, we just don't know what will become of them if there does happen to be a season 2. Will they quietly exit the station? Or will they actually come clean and perhaps help the police take down other criminals in Leeds?

Better continues tonight on Monday 13th March on BBC One, with the series also available to stream as a boxset in full on iPlayer.

If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide visit our dedicated Drama hub.

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