At the beginning of the episode, Leah (Katherine Kelly) is led through the police station while police investigate the scene of the crime. Leah sits down with DI Hammond (Jimmy Akingbola) and DI Bould (Justine Mitchell). She tells them that she arrived back home a quarter after midnight and found Adam (Tom Goodman-Hill) on the floor. Leah claims that she phoned authorities and then held Adam until the police arrived. She is asked about a phone call being placed from her home phone at 11:27 and she reminds the investigators that she wasn’t home at the time. When Leah asks who the phone call was made to, the police head to the university and speak with Ben (Burn Gorman).

He tells them about the calls coming in that night and claims one was made to Rose (Molly Windsor). Meanwhile, Rose looks at the bruises on her neck in the mirror. Angela (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Michael (Peter Firth) arrive at the police station to help Leah. Leah is not happy with her father and she doesn’t understand why her mother continues defending him. DI Bould interrupts and lets Leah know that she’ll need to formally identify Adam. DI Hammond speaks with Rose in her room. She tells him that she went for a walk down by the river that night because she likes it down there. She also says that she had an affair with Adam for about 6 months and tried to break it off but he wouldn’t let her.

She also confirms that they had sex last night. Bould speaks with Stephan (Parker Sawyers) about Leah pulling the ring off of Rose’s finger. He tries to sugarcoat it though. The investigators speak with Leah once more. They want to know about the affair between Rose and Adam but Leah says it was just texting and flirting. She tries to convince the investigators that Rose is lying about everything. She is asked to identify Adam a few moments later and Bould watches everything. When Leah returns to her parents’ house, Michael tells her that she should get a lawyer. Rose doesn’t want one since she claims she has done nothing wrong. Ben gets another visit from investigators who wish to search the university.

Michael finds out that Graham will represent Leah. Meanwhile, Rose goes for a walk with William (Adrian Edmondson) and his dog. She tells him she is going to leave for a while but she needs money. William doesn’t seem eager to help and he wants Rose to be more independent. Ben is asked about the phone call placed to Rose and says that there was no recording on the answering machine. Ben suggests it was deleted. During their search, investigators find a letter from Rose to Leah telling her about the affair. Then, they learn that the knife had Adam and Leah’s fingerprints but not Rose’s. Amy (Lara Rossi) calls Leah to let her know the investigators are in her office.

She also encourages Leah to tell her the truth. Leah says nothing and hangs up the phone. After that, she confronts Rose at the school and pleads with her to tell the truth. The police arrive and Leah believes they’re going to arrest Leah. They do not. Leah is led away in handcuffs. Leah’s lawyer asks her about the letter from Rose and she says she never saw it before. Their conversation turns to the knife. Bould isn’t convinced that Leah is responsible so she begins zoning in on Rose. The investigators return to Adam’s body and find out that two knives were likely used. Bould pleads with Hammond to give her time to dig deeper. She goes to Rose’s room and finds Leah’s ring there.

Graham Angela and Michael that he needs Leah to cooperate with him. Rose returns to her room and finds the rings missing. Nevertheless, Hammond tells Bould that they do not have enough evidence against Rose. Michael calls Rose and tells her he wants to meet up. They meet at the place where Rose’s mother left her. Michael explains he was going to meet with them there and leave but he couldn’t do it. He eventually convinces Rose to tell the truth. She tells Michael that she killed Adam in self-defense. Michael reveals that he is wearing a wire. Rose is arrested as soon as the conversation ends. Then, we see that Michael and Angela’s relationship has fallen apart.

We jump forward two years and Stephan talks about Leah’s book. Leah goes out with her mother and the baby. Leah tells her mother that Rose wants to meet. Angela doesn’t think it is a good idea but Leah feels she needs to. Leah visits Rose at the prison a short time later. Rose admits that Adam barely touched her that night but she killed him anyway. She thinks she did Leah a favor since she didn’t want to be with Adam anyway. Ben helped Rose cover up the crime. While Rose speaks with Leah, Ben drives down the road in a van. It looks like Ben is going to kill Michael. Leah tells Rose that she needs to find something to live for because they’ll never see her again before leaving.

Rose calls Ben and tells him not to kill Michael. Angela visits Michael along with Leah and the baby. Leah receives a letter from Rose about finding something to live for. At the end of the episode, it looks like Ben is going to kill William.

 

Cheat Finale

One bad episode can ruin a show. I would say that this rings true for Cheat. The finale was horrible. In terms of pacing and time, it didn’t sync up at all. What happened to Hammond saying that he was concerned they got the wrong one? I suppose that came before Rose was arrested? I was under the impression that Leah was locked up for the crime all along.

Also, the finale was way too easy on Leah. She got rid of Adam just like she wanted and her affair with Stephan was never exposed. What was the point of throwing the affair in the beginning of the series anyway? Finally, I am not sure why Ben was so willing to help Rose. The show never justified his actions. Was Rose sleeping with Ben or were they just friends? They should’ve expanded on that a lot more because Ben’s actions make little sense.

The finale was really bad. I’d give it a 4.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of Cheat can be found on Reel Mockery!

 

Update – So, I have only figured out that Leah never had an affair with Stephan. She was only fantasizing while masturbating in the university’s bathroom. Who does that? Granted, I should’ve caught this earlier but I didn’t. I watched it with another person and neither of us caught it. We probably weren’t the only ones. I don’t check other recaps so once it is posted here, it is posted here. Either way, I felt it would’ve been more logical to have Leah engage in an affair with Stephan. What was the purpose of the scene otherwise? We already knew Leah wasn’t happy with her relationship since the sex was bad and she was downing pills.

What was the point of Rose entering the bathroom and catching her professor? What led to the initial hostility between the two women? Color me stupid but this show makes little to no sense. Maybe the writers were playing out their fantasies right before out eyes? I still feel that the show started out okay but quickly got lost along the way. It was interesting because neither woman was particularly likable. Yet, both came out unpunished.

I couldn’t recommend it no matter how much I appreciate me some Burn Gorman. After this and Traces, I am not sure I’ll seek out anymore productions with Molly Windsor. I will say that the writers had an agenda here and they pushed it out there despite it hurting the overall quality of the show. Any who, thanks for coming.