Red Rose Season 1 Episode 5 Recap

Lockdown – The show begins with the Dickheads group being startled when Jaya Mahajan (Ashna Rabheru) knocks on the door. Jaya holds up a sign that tells everyone to switch off their cellphones. Tariz “Taz” Sadiq (Ali Khan) asks why. She tells him to disconnect the Wi-Fi router and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. After giving Taz and Wren Davis (Amelia Clarkson) Nokia cellphones, she says a message from Jacob Taylor (Charlie Hiscock) threatens to end Wren. Antony Longwell (Ellis Howard) informs her that a timer was counting down on their cellphones. Jaya asks when is the timer scheduled to stop. He says at midnight.

Jaya tells them of her plan to utilize Jacob’s boatloads of codes to find out how the Red Rose app works. Wren asks what’s her timeframe. She says it might take a few days or months. Wren abruptly leaves the table with Noah Royston (Harry Redding) in tow.

Rachel Davis (Natalie Gavin) visits Quite Simon (Rod Hallett) to apologize for his altercation with Rick Bennett (Adam Nagaitis). He assures her that he’s okay. She suggests Rick needs to back it right. Weepy, he tells her that he needs space.

Ashley Banister (Natalie Blair) asks Wren what’s her plan. Wren suggests they stay off the Internet as Jaya suggested. Taz and Antony agree to stick around till midnight.

The Dickheads group goes shopping. As they exit the mall, Wren takes note of the CCTV cameras when Simon approaches. When he asks about Rachel, she denies seeing her. He asks if she’s going home.

Jaya uploads Jacob’s rose sketch to her computer when she hears a noise outside her window.

The Dickheads group is in a taxi when the GPS is altered to lead the taxi driver (Dalu Thebe) in a different direction. Wren orders the driver to let them out. They walk back to Taz’s place. Jaya demands everyone stay inside and keep doors and windows locked. When Ashley complains about the heat, Jaya tells her to leave the window open only for a short time. Antony asks if the refrigerator should be disconnected. Taz assures them that cabs, TVs, and refrigerators won’t kill anyone. Noah scolds him. Wren cuts her finger while slicing cheese.

While Taz and Ashley prepare food, Noah pours everyone a shot. They toast Rochelle Mason (Isis Hainsworth) before downing their alcohol. Antony suggests Taz and Ashley are beginning a romance. After assessing Ashley’s hands, Taz describes them as “warm,” not suitable for making pastries. A coco clock strikes 8pm. Concerned, Taz warns it’s four hours till midnight. Antony suggests playing a game when the doorbell rings. Wren pleads with Taz to ignore it but he refuses to listen. Two men identify themselves as elder Jason (James Day) and Elder David (George Hannigan). Elder Jason asks if life after death ever crossed their minds. Elder David repeats the question. Taz slams the door in their faces.

The doorbell rings as they play a game. Taz suggests they not answer the door, but Noah assures them that Red Rose won’t knock on the door. Taz opens the door to find Becky Fox (Amara Okereke) and a mob of people staring at home. Becky tells him that he’s saved her weekend. Someone says it’s a party. Taz denies having a party as the mob rush into his home. Noah scolds him for letting them in. Taz asks what was he supposed to do with no kung-fu skills. After taking a swig of alcohol, Taz tells Ashley that it may not be too bad.

Noah and Antony chase everyone out of a bedroom. Wren warns that Red Rose is trying to drive her out. Jaya tells them that the codes in Jacob’s blueprint and Wren’s phone don’t match. Wren and Jaya lock themselves inside the room while the others are monitoring the party. Noah tells Antony that he needs to protect Wren. Antony agrees.

A concerned Antony voices concern about the people crashing Taz’s home. Becky questions why he’s saying “crash” before showing him a social media post that reads, “Taz invites you to a BYOB house party tonight. Share the love, invite the world.” Antony claims Taz posted the invitation but was trying to achieve a “masked ball.” Laughing, she refers to him as “funny.” When Taz orders everyone to get out, they repeatedly mock him.

Big Jenna (Hannah Griffiths) and Little Jenna (Silvie Furneaux) question the whereabouts of Wren. Ashley claims she went home. Little Jenna says Wren doesn’t need to attack innocent people again.

A guy in the crowd grabs Antony’s attention. They give each other a smile when Ashley questions where the people are coming from. A boy intentionally busts a glass bottle on the door. Other guests follow suit.

Taz quietly pleads for everyone to leave when Ashley holds up a photo of him and his father.

Rachel and Shelley Royston (Nia Roberts) discuss Wren. Shelley tells her that Noah refused to talk about his black eye. Rachel says Noah was accidentally hit when Wren and two girls were fighting. Rick approaches to ask for Wren’s whereabouts. Rachel tells him that she doesn’t want him around Wren. Rick voices his concern about Wren. Shelley says she’s at Taz’s house. Angry, Rachel questions why she told him. Shelley reminds her that Rick is Wren’s father.

Patrick Hume (Ruaridh Mollica) demands to see Wren. Noah tries to hold him back when Wren opens the bedroom door. Patrick tells her that he wants to discuss Rochelle. She reminds him of how he treated Rochelle badly. He admits to loving her. She accuses him of lying. He claims to have secretly met Rochelle before mentioning her social media post. She asks what post he is talking about. He reads, “Don’t think I can go on without my bestest girl. Wish I could see you. Maybe soon.” The crowd goes wild when the power goes out. Rochelle appears on the TV. When she screams, Big Jenna blames Wren. Wren runs out of the house to find Simon waiting in his vehicle. Simon says he will transport her to the tea room. Wren asks if her mum is there. She sends Jaya a message to say she’s going to Smithhills to meet her mum.

Noah searches for Wren among the partygoers. Jaya informs the others that the code has been changed when she finds Wren’s message.

Noah, Ashley, and Taz run out when Rick and Rachel pull up. They inform them that Simon took Wren to Smithhills. A frantic Rick and Rachel run to their vehicle.

Wren goes inside to find the place dark. Noah runs toward Smithhills. Simon gradually approaches the facility. Wren calls for her mum before grabbing a cake. After taking a seat, she checks her phone to find Jaya’s message that Simon is Red Rose. She takes off running, with Simon in tow. She gets away from Simon and calls the police as Simon approaches. She knocks over a stack of chairs before fleeing to the roof. Rich and Rachel arrive at Smithhills. Simon makes it to the roof. As Wren pleas for him to not do it, Noah approaches. Simon apologizes before falling off the roof. She runs into Noah’s arms.

A man watches the incident go down from his computer when a woman asks if he is coming to bed. He tells her that he’s finishing up a Simon Says game when the episode comes to an end.

 

Red Rose Review

Just a decent episode as the party scenes were uneventful. Initially, Jaya pinpointed Simon as Red Rose. Observing Simon’s behavior before he fell from the rooftop says otherwise. It seems as if he was being mind-controlled by the unknown man behind Simon Says.

Jaya is putting herself in grave danger delving into the Red Rose app. In reality, it would take years to go through all of Jacob’s codes. In the virtual world, it will take place over a few episodes as time is limited.

A relationship between Taz and Ashley is developing. The two seem like an odd match, but as the old saying goes, “opposites attract.” In the meantime, Noah and Wren’s relationship goes stronger.

I was disappointed with the poor visibility of night scenes. It was difficult to make out what was going on in nearly every night scene. Up until now, the lighting was decent. It’s a shame, the crew is willing to risk the integrity of the show by ignoring the poor lighting.

The episode deserves 5.5. Get more Red Rose recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.