The guilty party is finally unmasked in the show’s sixth episode. *WARNING – CONTAINS FULL SPOILERS FOR ALL SIX EPISODES OF THE GATHERING*
Channel 4 thriller The Gathering is available to stream in full on Channel 4 now, with the six-part series following a web of characters in Liverpool, whose lives intersect.
The series centres around Kelly, an elite teenage gymnast who is attacked at an illegal beach rave, with the culprit remaining uncertain throughout the run.
However, the finale reveals all, with Kelly’s attacker finally being unmasked, and the fates of the rest of the central characters made clear. But just how did it all come to the end, and who was responsible for Kelly’s assault?
Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Channel 4 thriller The Gathering.
*WARNING – CONTAINS FULL SPOILERS FOR ALL SIX EPISODES OF THE GATHERING*
Who attacked Kelly?
It turns out Kelly was attacked by Adam’s half-brother, Josh. In a reflection of the incel subculture, he had struggled to get a girlfriend and therefore had turned against women, particularly Jessica, who he had seen explicit footage of, after she sent it to Adam.
He was the one who spiked Jessica’s drink. It was unclear whether he sexually assaulted her – he denied this was the case, but this certainly seemed to be his intention and Jessica’s hazy memory suggested as much.
Jessica realised this when at the illegal rave, after he accosted her and called her a “w***e”, while also bragging about roofie-ing girls with his friends.
He hit her and knocked her to the floor, but Kelly saw and shouted at him to stop. When he realised this, he rushed over and pushed her into the water, where he held her down for a substantial amount of time.
She survived, but had to have her spleen removed, meaning she couldn’t compete in the gymnastics team for the foreseeable future while she recovered.
When he visited her in the hospital, Adam told Kelly that it was Josh. He confronted Josh, who tearfully explained his reasoning and lashed out. His parents knew the truth, but told Adam that if he went to the police, he and his other half-brother Kyran would be thrown out of the house.
Regardless, he went to the police and made a statement, meaning Josh would likely be going down for his crimes.
What happened to Paul?
While it had seemed as though Josh may get away with assaulting Jules, Jules found footage of the attack on Charlie’s phone. Charlie told Jules he had kept it secret because he deserved to be attacked, after verbally abusing Paul and Kelly.
Jules gave this footage over to the police as evidence, meaning Paul would be going to prison for the assault. He admitted to a heartbroken Kelly that he lied to her, and that he did actually throw the first punch.
Paul was sent to prison, although Adam told Kelly that the time would go quickly, perhaps suggesting he hadn’t got a long sentence.
What happened to Kelly, Jessica, Adam, Bazi and Charlie?
In the end, each of Jessica, Adam and Charlie threw off their parents expectations of them. Jessica got chosen for the gymnastics team, but during a crucial performance she stopped in her tracks and defiantly stormed off, blindsiding Natalie who was in the audience.
Meanwhile, Charlie left home with a backpack, uncertain as to where his future lay, but knowing that it wasn’t with his father Jules.
Bazi managed to get his sister back from the criminals who were holding her, and the two rode off through the night. Finally, Adam, who had been kicked out of his home by Louis and Dawn, moved in with Kelly, Tate and their dog, who had been returned to them after being taken away by the police earlier in the series.
The Gathering starts on 14 May at 9pm on Channel 4, with the box set available to stream now.
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