Derry Girls Season 3 Episode 5 recap: The Reunion

Netflix’s Derry Girls season 3 episode 5 “The Reunion” decides to change things up by taking a look at Ma Mary and Sarah when they were teenagers. While attending their high school reunion old memories return, including a dark one that none of the husbands were aware of.

Derry Girls Season 3 Episode 5 recap – The Reunion

Both Mary and Sarah are waiting until the day of their high school reunion to lose weight. They are both excited and terrified to attend, due to the likes of ex-friend Janette.

The evening of the reunion arrives as Mary and Sarah are reunited with their old friends who are oddly similar to Erin and Orla’s friends. The husbands of the friends all happen to wear the same suits.

Grandpa Joe even, somehow attends, much to Gerry’s surprise. As the group all hangs out together, it is obvious Mary is anxiously awaiting Janette’s arrival.

When she does arrive, she acts rather cold and mean, ignoring them entirely. It is not until Mary blatantly calls out to her that she and her silent husband come over.

Janette makes constant secondhand compliments to the group while bragging about her surgeon husband who legitimately doesn’t speak. The husbands find it very weird.

They try several times to get him to engage but only receive silent head nods or expressions. Mary reaches her breaking point, fed up with Janette acting better than everyone else when she was involved in something big.

None of the husbands are aware of this supposed big incident that has rattled the group of friends to their core. Therefore, Mary decides to reveal it, to everyone.

She makes a break for a special location on the school grounds as her friends, family and Janette follow.

Derry Girls Season 3 Episode 5 recap – The Secret

Throughout the episode we get to see Mary, Sarah and their friends as teenagers attending a school dance. Back then boys and girls were separated to opposite sides of the dance floor, making the dance a little dull.

The girls, including Janette, get along well enough but unfortunately live in a more dangerous Ireland than Erin and her friends currently do. Riots, violence, destruction, it is very unpredictable and terrifying times.

It is because of this that the students at the school dance wind up stuck there for the rest of the evening. Fed up, the group hides in the girl’s bathroom and have their moment of rebellion.

That night they decide to give each other the same tattoo in different places to signify coming together, sharing the same goals and dreams and being free from the system. They take photos of each other and the tattoos, place them in a tin box and bury it on the school grounds.

As Mary and the others arrive to the same spot in the present, they reveal the photos and the tattoos to their loved ones. The men are all shocked that they never noticed the tattoos before.

Heartbroken that Mary unveiled her secret, Janette begins to argue with her. They both accuse each other of doing something petty when it all comes down to Janette’s husband.

Mary had invited them to her party, but Janette’s husband thought they weren’t invited. He is the reason the girls had a falling out with Janette.

He finally admits that this is why he doesn’t talk. As the group reconciles and looks over the photos, they realize those are not the photos.

These were someone else’s photos, and they went to the wrong place to dig up their tin box.

Derry Girls Season 3 Episode 5 review

This was a nice change of pace as we never truly knew what Mary and Sarah were like as teenagers. We know them as mothers to Erin and Orla, but we never knew much outside of their distinct roles.

It was funny to see how Erin looks a lot like her mother did as a teen and that Erin’s group of friends resemble Mary’s. Not to mention the situation of the group getting tattoos is about the same kind of nuttiness, Erin and her friends find themselves in practically daily.

I also found it equally hilarious that this was some dark secret they never told anyone about. Not even their husbands.

While we might look at the event and figure nothing truly dramatic happened, it does make sense. This was their way of being themselves, standing up in secret and doing what they wanted.

They lived in a very dangerous time with strict rules. A tattoo is practically the original act of ultimate rebellion.

I’m glad this episode took the time to show us Mary and Sarah as teenagers revealing that the apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree.

What did you think of the Derry Girls season 3 episode 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below, we’d love to read them!

You can watch Derry Girls season 3 on Netflix.