Alison executes Daryl to end his crimes
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The scene culminates in a gunshot, signifying Alison's desperate act to protect her son Daryl by ending his life and preventing the exposure of his crimes to the authorities.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
A storm of grief, love, and desperation, masked by an eerie calm. She is resolute in her decision, but the weight of what she is about to do is palpable beneath her composed exterior.
Alison Garrs moves with cold precision, her maternal instincts twisted into a final act of mercy. She listens to Daryl’s confession with a steely resolve, her face betraying no emotion as she reassures him with a fabricated plan of escape. Her actions are methodical: she leaves the table, retrieves the old shotgun, and returns silently to press its barrel to the back of Daryl’s head. The act is swift and decisive, her grip steady despite the gravity of what she is about to do. Her voice remains calm and soothing, masking the horror of her intent until the very last moment.
- • To spare Daryl from the public exposure and legal punishment that would follow his crimes, believing it is the only way to protect what little remains of his humanity.
- • To end the cycle of violence and suffering that has consumed their lives, even if it means becoming a killer herself.
- • That Daryl is beyond saving by any conventional means, and that her love for him demands she act decisively to end his suffering.
- • That the world would never understand or forgive Daryl, and that she must be the one to deliver justice—or mercy—instead.
Abject terror and remorse, tinged with a fragile hope that his mother can somehow fix everything. His emotional state is raw and exposed, stripped of his usual evasive detachment.
Daryl Garrs sits at the kitchen table, his body wracked with sobs as he confesses to his mother the full extent of his crimes. His hands tremble, and his voice cracks with remorse and terror. He begs Alison for help, clinging to the desperate hope that she can save him from the consequences of his actions. His emotional state is one of utter vulnerability, his usual detachment shattered by the weight of his guilt and the fear of what comes next.
- • To be saved from the consequences of his crimes, either through escape or Alison’s intervention.
- • To cling to the last vestiges of his mother’s love and protection, even as he knows he doesn’t deserve it.
- • That Alison can and will protect him, no matter what he has done.
- • That he is beyond redemption but still deserves her love and mercy.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Alison’s old shotgun is the instrument of Daryl’s death, symbolizing the violent and irreversible nature of her choice. The weapon is retrieved from another room in the farmhouse, its cold steel contrasting sharply with the warmth of the kitchen and the remnants of their shared meal. Alison presses the barrel to the back of Daryl’s head, her grip steady despite the gravity of the act. The shotgun is not just a tool of destruction but a metaphor for the moral decay that has consumed the Garrs family, as well as the lengths to which Alison will go to protect her son—even from himself.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Within this episode
"Daryl confirms he is the reason for the harm, which then culminates in a gunshot."
Daryl Confesses to Alison in the NightAcross episodes
"Daryl's arrested vulnerability in Episode 4 evolves into his emotional breakdown during confession in Episode 5, which directly precipitates Alison's lethal maternal intervention."
Daryl’s arrest and Alison’s powerlessness"Alison’s cold execution of Daryl in the farmhouse kitchen (E5) is explicitly referenced by Alison herself in her overdose confession to Catherine (E6): 'I shot Daryl... in the back of the head.' The same fatal shot is re-narrated, bridging personal trauma and public investigation."
Catherine arrests Alison after overdose confession"Daryl’s dying words—'I didn’t mean to... I couldn’t stop'—echo in Jodie’s report that he confessed to killing 'those women' but insisted he didn’t do Vicky Fleming (E6). His plea for absolution ('I didn’t mean to') haunts both Alison’s act and the reopening of the case."
Jodie reveals mother’s murder confession"Alison's execution of Daryl (Ep5) directly results in the discovery of the crime scene at Far Sunderland Farm, including Daryl's body and Alison's suicide attempt, which Catherine and Shaf uncover (Ep6)."
Catherine confronts farmhouse carnage"Alison's lethal violence towards Daryl sets off a chain reaction in Catherine, who must arrest and process Alison's confession while preserving the crime scene and saving her life (Ep6). This reflects Catherine's conflict between professional duty and personal empathy."
Catherine arrests Alison after overdose confession"Alison's murder of Daryl after he confessed to crimes he did not commit (Vicky Fleming) (Ep5) parallels the institutional realization that Vicky's murder remains unsolved, despite Daryl being wrongly suspected (Ep6). Both events highlight misplaced blame and the cost of obsession."
Vicky Fleming Case ReopenedPart of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DARYL: "I didn’t mean to, Mum. I didn’t mean to do any of it. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.""
"ALISON: "Shh. We’ll fix this. We’ll get away. Just you and me, like we always talked about. America. A fresh start.""
"ALISON: "I love you, Daryl. I always have. And I always will.""