We've officially reached the end of the road in the Danny, Becka, Pete, and Evie story as The Couple Next Door finale is now out and available to watch. Episode 6, "Crimes of Passion," surprisingly didn't end with any major deaths in the psychological thriller. Here's our review of the episode on Starz. SPOILERS BELOW.
So Evie has officially spiraled all the way down, and I don't know if she'll ever be able to come back up after this. The previous episode, episode 5, last week had a lot of revelations where I thought it set up this week's finale nicely. And we do see that continue with Evie's pregnancy and obsession with Danny. She tells her family that the baby is not Pete's, and of course her dad is very judgy and not happy about it.
I did feel a little bad for Evie, I'm not going to lie. She grew up with a complicated father who had strict beliefs, including telling her contraception and IVF are a sin, making her feel like he cursed her and that's why she and Pete couldn't have kids. It's a big emotional toll to carry in terms of Pete and Evie's struggle to parenthood, and her dad didn't make it any easier.
But still, she is responsible for her actions and she really goes for it when she calls Danny and pretends that her father has gone crazy, and she needs his help. He comes to her "rescue," but with Becka along. A side note for a moment - Becka is such a sweetheart and arranges a play date for the two boys - Ollie and Danny's son with Lena - to meet and that's how he discovers that she knows the truth about his his other son. Good going Becka. And we knew she had a soft side, and this really proves it. What a way to show Danny, too!
Danny also comes clean about the fact that Evie is pregnant and that he slept with her again. He really does love his wife in his sort of way I guess. He vows to Becka that he'll take control of the mess he made to be a man worthy of her. She then tells him he always has been. Has he though, Becka? But right now honestly I really don't think he is. Danny has made way too many mistakes and kept digging himself in a deeper and deeper hole.
Alright, back to the woods. Everything comes to a head at the cabin. Danny and Becka come in to find Evie in the bathtub, clearly not in danger. Girl is ready to seduce. Pete finds them and aims the gun at Danny, they all go for a dramatic run after each other in the woods, then Pete turns on Evie. She's able to talk him down, but it's clear she herself is unstable as well. In a bit of a surprise twist, Evie shoots Pete. But, he doesn't die.
Is this mean of me to say, but I kind of wanted someone to die by the end. I don't know. This is a psychological thriller and the title of the episode is literally "Crimes of Passion." I feel like there needed to be that one more devastating step I guess. I'm also not a fan of the ending of the season. There's still quite a few loose ends. But the gist is, Pete is put in an ambulance, Evie is arrested - and so is her dad for killing that hitman Robby Spencer hired - and Danny and Becka have come out physically unscathed. Now emotionally, that may be a different story.
Evie also still has that subtly unhinged smile on her face indicating she doesn't feel guilty for what she did, still in her ways. Dang girl. As for Alan, it turns out he and his wife had more money than he was letting on and he'd been lying to her for years. She's done and leaving him, with half the money too. Which is actually generous of her after all that he put her through. And now, he has carers to take care of him instead. Good for you, Jean.
Now we do know that there's The Couple Next Door season 2. If the story was going to continue with the main cast, then I wouldn't be so disappointed by the ending of season 1 here. But, the second season is going to see a new group of four to focus on in the neighborhood, with just Alan returning for whatever reason. I mean, it might not be strictly an anthology and we could potentially get even some small updates about Danny, Becka, Pete, and Evie. But I don't know how likely that is.
Honestly as a psychological thriller, The Couple Next Door episode 6, aka the finale, was a let down. Evie shooting Pete was a little surprising but not that shocking, especially with her mental state at the moment. And the fact that no one died after all of this is sort of meh to me as well. The show's story overall had it's moments, but it's been pretty predictable. I was still hoping for something in the finale to shock me or for a more of a dramatic ending or surprise, but that's not what we got. Episode and season grade level: C.
The Couple Next Door season 1 is now available on Starz.