Mare of Easttown Episode 6 shocker: [SPOILER] confesses to Erin’s murder

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Mare of Easttown Episode 6.

The penultimate episode of Mare of Easttown Episode 6 delivered the shocks as the series careens toward an explosive ending. In the latest episode, a character finally confessed to killing Erin, but are they telling the truth?

In the final moments of the episode, Billy Ross confesses to killing Erin. The confession comes after his father admits to John that Billy came home in the middle of the night, covered in blood, the night of Erin’s death.

When John confronts his brother, Billy admits to murdering Erin. But why did he do it? We see another scene of John asking Lori to help him hide the truth from Mare, who is already getting dangerously close to the truth.

Elsewhere, Mare is connecting the dots. She has figured out that the golden heart pendant necklace was purchased for Erin by Billy from a local jeweler. It’s inscribed with the first date that they hooked up, which coincides with a Ross family reunion where it’s confirmed both Kenny and Erin were in attendance.

Confronted by her best friend, Lori confesses to everything. Yes, Billy killed Erin. He is DJ’s birth father, and apparently, Erin threatened to tell everyone the truth; that’s why he killed her.

Mare of Easttown Episode 6 recap: Did Billy kill Erin to protect John?

While the episode sets it up to make Billy take the fall, it’s clear that something else is happening. Jess returns to the police station with a photograph she found tucked inside one of Erin’s journals. We don’t get to see what’s on it, but whatever it is, it motivates the chief to immediately call Mare to warn her what she’s walking into.

In the episode’s final moments, Mare speeds toward the Ross family fishing cabin, where John and Billy have gone to get away for a few days. Mare thinks she will arrest Billy, but what if she has reason to arrest both Ross brothers?

The image Jess presents might show Erin and John together instead of Erin and Billy. We know that Ryan saw his dad with another woman, but he never confirms who. It’s Lori who assumes it’s Sandra, but what if Ryan saw John with Erin? If Billy also knew about it, he might have killed Erin to protect John.

It would also explain why Lori was quick to throw Billy under the bus. Earlier in the episode, she admits to Mare how difficult it is for her to be tough on John despite his cheating. She comments that he’s “the father of her children,” and she can’t just turn on a switch off to stop loving him. That tells me that Lori would be willing to do whatever it takes to keep her family together, even if it means lying to protect John.

Either way, next week’s finale is sure to be intense. Billy might have ulterior motives for joining John on the trip, as he still has his murder weapon hidden in his tackle box. Is Billy planning to kill his brother and pin everything on him?

The Mare of Easttown Season 1 finale airs next Sunday on HBO.