A Murder at the End of the World season 1, episode 5, titled “Chapter 5: Crypt,” follows Darby Hart (Emma Corin) as she confronts her suspect only to find the tables turned and an unexpected alliance formed – until someone else dies and her own life is threatened.
The episode picks up from the last episode as Darby opens the blinds, causing Zoomer (Kellan Tetlow) to sneeze. Due to this, Darby has a realization that Zoomer is Bill’s (Harris Dickinson) son and not Andy’s (Clive Owen). Zoomer leaves the room as Eva (Britain Seibert), the nurse/nanny, enters. Darby questions her about the amount of morphine and the device that stopped Rohan’s pacemaker. Eva reveals that both items came from the infirmary but that she doesn’t know much more, only revealing that only Andy and Lee have access to the infirmary.
Darby forces her way down to Andy’s stronghold, where Andy, Lee (Brit Marling), and Zoomer have dinner. Lee takes Zoomer upstairs to his room. Darby confronts Andy about Zoomer not being his kid and accuses him of the murders. Andy proves that it wasn’t him and reveals that he has always known that Zoomer isn’t his because he is sterile, a fact Lee didn’t know. Andy and Darby agree to join forces and begin to question guests.
Darby and Andy question David, Oliver, and Lui Mei. Oliver, unlike David, who didn’t want to admit to anything, admits that he and David had sex. Lui Mei admits she has some hacking knowledge and tried to reach her security team for an extraction, which didn’t work. After questioning them, Darby wants to ask Lee questions, but Andy rejects this. Ray reveals Bill called David an hour before he died.
Just then, Andy receives a phone call that the news outlet is on the phone and knows about the murders. Andy leaves the room, and Darby goes to Zoomer’s room, where Lee is with a sleeping Zoomer. Darby reveals to her that Zoomer isn’t her kid, and Andy reveals he is sterile. This causes Lee to become nauseous and go to the bathroom. Darby looks through her bag a finds and fake passport and credit card. Lee comes out and catches her looking through her stuff. Just then Andy enters, and Darby gets dizzy and asks to go to her room, which they allow her.
Darby calls David from her room, asking why Bill called him the night he died. David hangs up without responding. Darby snorts Adderall and is offered food by Tomas when she is attacked by a masked subject using a robotic voice telling her to stop investigating.
This throws Darby into a flashback, in which Darby and Bill ride in a car together and discuss when they first fell in love with each other. Bill replies, but Darby is distracted by someone responding to a detail about the case. This upsets Bill, who pulls over on the side of the road and sits on a rock far away. Darby eventually joins him, and Bill tells her he hates phones because they take you out of the moment. Darby tells Bill she fell in love with him over the phone.
Back in the present, Darby visits Sian (Alice Braga), who is struggling with an infection. She tells her about Zoomer being Bill’s son, surprising Sian. This confirms that Sian was innocent. Sian succumbs to her infection and passes away. Darby leaves the room as the doctors enter and meet outside with the other guests. They speculate what Andy could be building, and then they pay tribute to everyone who had died. When Darby gets to Bill, she is thrown into a flashback.
In the flashback, Darby wakes up a sleeping Bill to tell her she figured out who the killer is. Bill, worried about Darby, says they should go home, angering her. Bill’s worried because she took Adderall and drank alcohol all night and was worried about her mental health. They argue until a fire starts in the room. They put it out together, and Bill makes an honest remark: Darby will only say she loves him when he dies.
Darby is ripped back into the present; as she realizes this is true, she freaks out and rushes to her room, where a message is left for her to meet a mysterious person at the pool. The episode ends as Darby approaches the pool and takes a dip, only for the pool cover to activate, leaving her trapped under the water.
In episode 5 of A Murder at the End of the World, Brit Marling and Zal Batmahgjil finally delve more into the mystery aspect in the present while exploring Darby as a character in her budding relationship with Bill in the flashbacks. This episode serves as one of the stronger episodes since the pilot.
Rating: 8/10