The Beginning – As the finale of The Flatshare begins, Tiffany (Jessica Brown Findlay) lets Leon (Anthony Welsh) in when he knocks on the door of their flat. He admits he is terrified. As they start getting ready, Tiffany wishes she could be there for Richie today. Leon asks if she’d like to go out some time once the awards ceremony and hearing are over. Tiffany is shocked to be the first person he has ever asked out. She agrees before Leon has to leave to make the hearing. Leon meets with his mother Pauline (Jo Martin) who has Richie’s favorite cake for when he gets out. When she learns about their date, Pauline warns him dating a flatmate isn’t always a good idea. Leon thinks Tiffany is the reason they’re here, but his mother tells him he is the reason. Tiffany meets with Rachel (Gina Bramhill) and the others to celebrate when Phil (Dustin Demri-Burns) reveals they’ve been bought by a corporation.
Phil says they’re all going on the homepage. Tiffany learns that isn’t a big deal and Si (Bill Milner) even admits most readers access their articles via social media posts. She calls it all BS before going outside. Rachel follows her to ask how long she is going to keep this up since everything worked out well in the end. Tiffany says she is going to keep it up until she apologizes for being such a wanker. Leon and his mom go to the courthouse while Maia (Shaniqua Okwok) asks Richie (Shaq Grant) to walk her through what happened on his way home from the club. Richie is embarrassed about his mom hearing about him being sick and throwing up on someone’s driveway. Maia urges him to get it together because this type of appeal is very rare. Tiffany keeps checking her messages to see if Maia has said anything about the hearing.
Mo (Jonah Hauer-King) gives Maia encouragement before the hearing begins. Rachel tells Tiffany that she apologized in her message, but Tiffany didn’t even bother replying. They continue arguing about the article. Maia speaks for Richie in court and argues there was no real evidence against him. She goes on to say they now have new evidence that categorically proves his innocence. Maia shows the court security footage of Richie throwing up outside someone’s house while wearing white shoes. Then, she shows them the footage of the robber who is wearing black shoes. Maia explains that Richie couldn’t have been the robber unless he ran to the story at the speed of Usain Bolt when he broke the world record and have time to change his shoes. Tiffany tries to leave until she learns that she has won the Breakthrough Digital Talent of the Year award. After Phil speaks briefly, Tiffany tells the audience about clickbait.
She is interrupted when Si begins playing the piano and Justin (Bart Edwards) starts singing. Justin walks up to her and asks her to marry him. Even though she says no, Justin puts the ring on her finger and pretends she said yes. Richie’s conviction is thrown out and he is immediately released. They go to the pub where Richie thanks Maia for smashing it today. He thanks his mother and Leon who never gave up on him. Mo agrees with Maia that she was great. Leon tells Richie about asking Tiffany on a date. Rachel tries to comfort Tiffany as she has a panic attack. She asks Si about doing this. He explains he was just trying to do a good thing because he is trying to be a good person, but she always makes him feel like he is messing things up. Rachel reminds Tiffany that Justin cheated on her and threw her out. Then, she learns that Justin reported the flatshare.
When Justin claims Rachel didn’t even apologize, she proves otherwise by comparing her phone with Tiffany’s. She confirms Justin has been deleting the messages. Si gets the security guard to escort Justin out of the building. A message from Maia tells Tiffany that they won the hearing. She goes outside and learns Justin’s singing and proposal have become a viral video. Maia shows the video to Leon and the others. Tiffany finds a video from Ariella who says she left Justin because there were too many red flags. Rachel believes he is a psycho. A sad Leon goes to the hospice where he tells Al (Colin Hoult) about Richie. Maia gets upset with Tiffany for saying yes to Justin, but Tiffany insists she didn’t. Tiffany and Rachel leave in a hurry. Mo makes it clear to Maia that it was obvious Tiffany didn’t say yes. Al takes Leon to Mr. Prior (David Hargreaves) and Johnny White (Martin Bishop).
They share a drink to Holly. Richie learns from Maia that Leon is gone. He tells her about Leon asking Tiffany out on a date this morning. Maia realizes she messed up by showing Leon the video. Leon tells Prior and Johnny about Tiffany. He isn’t surprised she said yes to Justin even if he is controlling. As he keeps talking, he soon realizes this wasn’t for the best after all. He rushes out. Richie believes they need to find them before they find each other because his brother is terrible at this stuff. Justin manages to back into the venue only to find that Tiffany is already gone. Each group heads to the flat. Leon stops for flowers while Justin rides his back through the streets. Leon manages to get inside the apartment building before Justin can sneak inside. Leon goes inside where he tells Tiffany that he can’t say yes to Justin. They hear Justin yelling for Tiffany outside.
Rachel prevents Tiffany from throwing her ring away because it can help pay for her rent. Leon gets upset and throws the coffee machine at Justin who threatens to call the police on him. Richie and Mo try to talk some sense into Justin who eventually leaves. Back inside, Richie asks Maia out on a date only for her to say she is with Mo. Tiffany pulls her to the side to apologize for being self-centered. Maia says she is sorry for jumping to conclusions about the video. Leon gets a message from Tiffany asking him to meet her on the balcony. Once he does, they make out. Later, they learn that Richie thought he’d stay with them on the sofa. Leon helps Tiffany get out of her dress as they talk about sleeping arrangements. In the morning, they grab breakfast and learn that Richie fixed the tap for them. They sit around and jokingly talk about moving in together.
The Flatshare Review
The finale of The Flatshare didn’t bring anything new to the table since the story ended in the most predictable way possible. Many viewers won’t have a problem with this because the show has been building up to these conclusions since the beginning. Still, it was slightly underwhelming that nothing from the finale stood out from the rest of the season. Instead, the prior episode was probably more emotionally effective than the last episode.
Another issue is the fact that many of the side stories were barely covered, especially Holly’s death and the return of Johnny White. These things could’ve been removed and the series could’ve been slimmed down to four episodes without missing the point. There never seemed to be any authentic chemistry between Tiffany and Leon so that aspect of the series wasn’t always effective. The Flatshare also felt like it had an agenda that viewers may feel beaten over the head with before the series is over.
There are some eye-rolling moments that don’t work such as the sneaks because someone else would’ve noticed them, but it is hard to deny that The Flatshare is a decent, short binge. It isn’t groundbreaking in the least but The Flatshare has a few unique aspects that made it stand out with the post-it notes being notable. Most viewers will enjoy it if they’re willing to overlook some of the obvious flaws. The finale scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Flatshare can be found on Reel Mockery here. If our site has been helpful to you, consider supporting our work. Find out how to do so here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
