Sweetpea ending explained: What happened to Rhiannon?

Over the course of six episodes, Rhiannon (Ella Purnell) has murdered two men, accidentally caused the death of workmate Jeff (Dustin Demri-Burns) and kidnapped high-school bully Julia Blenkinsopp (Nicole Lecky), keeping her tied up in her dead father’s basement.

As she now thrives at work as a junior reporter, Rhiannon’s even got two men vying for her affections, with her Golden Retriever-vibes co-worker AJ (Calam Lynch) adoring her, and her longtime crush/current f**k buddy Craig (Jon Pointing) viewing her as his girlfriend.

Finally, people are seeing her… perhaps a bit too much, with junior detective Marina (Leah Harvey) well and truly on to her crimes, even if her co-workers are refusing to see it and wanting to go in a different direction.

But hey, at least Rhiannon’s hair – once so frail and fine after pulling it out at the roots that she needed a wig – looks fabulous.

Though what comes up must come down, and as the show reaches its dramatic conclusion, with Marina closing in, it’s got to be either Rhiannon or her.

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Can Rhiannon get away with murder? Here’s how the finale plays out.

Sweetpea ending explained

What happened to Julia?

Once seen as the ultimate evil in Rhiannon’s life after years of horrific bullying, Julia Blenkinsopp has turned into, dare we say it, Rhiannon’s new best friend?

Turns out all it takes was her being kidnapped to find a common ground, with Rhiannon discovering that Julia’s "perfect" boyfriend Marcus was controlling, manipulative and abusive.

After deciding not to kill Julia after all, Rhiannon plans to set her loose, with Julia agreeing to pretend to have been locked up in a house renovation the entire time.

Only, things don’t quite go to plan, and on "rescuing" her, Marcus’s abusive brain launches into overdrive, choking Julia against a wall, and forcing Rhiannon to step in.

As Julia ends her relationship, Marcus threatens to kill himself by jumping off a bannister – and Rhiannon, seeing Julia was beginning to fall for it, decides to give him a helping hand by shoving him off the landing, hitting his head on a pile of marble below.

When the duo are hauled into the police station for questioning, they pin Julia's kidnap and both of Rhiannon’s murders on Marcus, claiming self-defence – which everyone, except Marina, is satisfied with.

The pair spend the night celebrating their freedom and new friendship at a nightclub, but the next day, when Rhiannon agrees to be interviewed by the Gazette about her safe return, Julia begins to realise she may be trading one toxic relationship for another.

Opting to break her cycle, she buys plane tickets on Rhiannon’s credit card, ghosts her, and does a runner, seemingly having a fresh start somewhere new.

What happened to Marina?

The entire police station may have fallen for Rhiannon’s lies, but Marina doesn't, and just can’t let the idea of her being a killer go.

Desperate for the truth to come out, Marina grills Rhiannon so fiercely that her boss, DI Diana, kicks her out of the interview and sends her home.

But she won’t give up, and that evening she heads to Rhiannon’s to confront her. When she’s not home, Marina breaks into the house in order to find evidence that pins her for the other two murders.

After finding the CCTV footage that proves she kidnapped Julia, Marina decides to wait for her all night so they can talk face-to-face.

Startling Rhiannon when she gets home from the club, Marina tells her she’s prepared to wait for her to kill again, because she won’t be able to resist doing it.

What happens to Craig?

Once a snarky hump-’em-then-dump-’em type, builder Craig has turned into a mushy mess when it comes to Rhiannon, even picking her up from prison.

Joining her for a night out at the club, he seems to be totally falling in love. But unfortunately for him, Rhiannon has developed feelings for AJ, and decides to cut him loose.

Heading to his workplace, she tries to break it off with him, telling him they should just be friends.

His confusion quickly turns to anger, especially considering she asked him to lie to the police about her whereabouts when it came to Julia’s disappearance. He promises to keep his mouth shut on one condition.

After weeks of trying to win her around with his business plan, Craig tells her he'll keep her secrets if she finally agrees to sell him her father's business. He even has a contract to hand for her to sign.

Backed into a corner and trying not to kill him, she reluctantly signs.

What happens to Rhiannon?

Home free and ready to put her murdering days behind her, Rhiannon thinks she’s in the clear – Julia isn’t selling her home, her job’s secure, her alibis are confirmed, and it’s time to move on.

That evening, she’s visited by AJ, who’s delighted to hear that she has split up from Craig, and the two finally sleep together.

The next morning, as they lay loved up in bed, AJ receives pictures of evidence from a police source, including the knife used to commit the murders.

Quickly recognising the knife as the same one Rhiannon would use to open the post at work, he asks her to show it to him.

Rhiannon protests, knowing he’s figured out what happened, and the pair get into an argument. She eventually tells him the truth, saying she was grieving the loss of her father and was standing up for herself.

As Rhiannon tries to rationalise her actions, AJ doesn’t want to hear it, and tries to leave.

In a panic to get him to stay, Rhiannon picks up a knife and stabs AJ in his side, before bursting into tears and holding him as he bleeds out on her kitchen floor.

Just at that moment, her sister Seren – who has been living abroad and barely sees her – walks through the front door, leaving everyone’s stories hanging in the balance.

Sweetpea is available to watch from Thursday 10th October on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

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