The fifth episode of The Gathering begins in Syria seven years prior. Bazhir cooks with his mother. She turns off the television and tells Bazi’s sister to help him. In the present, Bazi cooks and receives multiple messages. He goes out on his bike and gets a call from Charlie. Bazi pulls several tricks. When he gives the money to the men, he’s told he’s light. Bazi promises the other two grand will be coming. He’s told he better get his act together if he wants to see his sister again. One man asks Bazi if they push people off the top of tower blocks for that where he comes from. Bazi insists Kelly isn’t his girl. The guys ask for his number. Bazi refuses before leaving. Charlie comes down. Jules reminds his wife that they’re having dinner with Howie and his wife later.

Once Jules leaves, Charlie’s mom asks him not to go to the rave on the beach. She offers to speak to Jules (Richard Coyle) while they’re away since she knows something is going on between them. Natalie (Vinette Robinson) looks outside and sees Jessica (Sadie Soverall) putting up her equipment. Bazi meets Charlie (Ryan Quarmby) later. Charlie tells him no one is coming. He tells him he can leave if he doesn’t want to be there. They go for a swim. Charlie knows he changed his profile details. Last week, he claimed he was Asian. This week, he’s saying he’s Latino. Charlie asks if he always charges. Bazi reminds him that the meter is ticking. He begins kissing Charlie. Adam (Sonny Walker) visits Jessica at home. She tells him everyone knows she ended up in the hospital because she overdosed. Jess says it wasn’t just the steroids.

The hospital found ketamine in her blood so she was spiked. Jessica claims she was spiked by Kelly, but Adam doesn’t want to believe that. Jess claims he always picks sides. Adam argues that’s some heavy crap she’s getting into. They continue arguing as Adam says Jess messed up things for herself. Jess tells him he should just leave because this is all meaningless. After sex, Charlie offers Bazi something to eat. Bazi learns he sparred leading to a wound on his back. He says he’s working on getting his sister back because she’s stuck in Greece. Charlie says his dad might be able to help because he’s worked on refugee cases before. Bazi argues they’re not refugees because they have a home. He found some people who can bring her over safely although it’s expensive. That’s why he’s doing this.

Charlie offers to cook for him while his folks are away. Bazi refuses and says he doesn’t share food with clients. He wouldn’t be risking everything Charlie has for cheap thrills with him. Later, Bazi speaks to Nour. Jules and his wife find Natasha with their daughter who has cornrows. She’s told he can’t keep them for school tomorrow. Cari says it’s not appropriate. Charlie speaks to his dad in private. Jules says Natalie is lovely. He believes it’s finally happening for him. Charlie says Natasha turns 19 next week and he wants to do something special for her. Jules agrees to let him use the house in Abersoch for the weekend. Charlie was thinking about Paris. Jules promises to handle his mom. Kelly rushes to catch up with Paul after getting off at the wrong stop. Diane tells Kelly that this is really going to help her dad.

She says Jules Bullan has been working hard to improve his public image. Kelly notices that Bazi is in a picture with Charlie. Paul waits outside so Kelly can find out what she needs to do. Jules tells Charlie they’re heading to Abersoch. He’s asked Verity Travel to put together a nice Paris trip for him. Charlie admit he was looking forward to doing it himself. Jules offers to send the money over now, but Charlie says it can wait until Monday. Jules gives him his watch. Kelly goes through what happened with her dad, Rocky, and Jules. She explains that Jules called her a dog. Then, Paul approached Jules and asked him to apologize for what he said. Kelly saw them go off behind the cars. She couldn’t see what happened after that. When her dad came back, he had a bloody nose so she believed he had been hit. Kelly didn’t see Jules after that. Diane tells Kelly it’s the truth that matters.

Jules asks about Charlie who will say something different. Diane says he didn’t witness the alleged assault. Kelly says otherwise because Charlie followed them behind the cars. She goes on to say he might’ve filmed it since he had a phone in his hand. Kelly grabs a magazine before going outside to tell Paul she thinks she did okay. Charlie meets Bazi who reminds him he doesn’t do food with clients. Charlie says he can give him the money he needs for his sister. He insists there are no strings attached. Charlie just wants to make sure it doesn’t come back to him because his dad wouldn’t approach. Kelly goes to Adam’s place where she learns they just put Kyran down. She asks Adam what he meant he said he was looking out for her. Adam says he just doesn’t like him. Kelly claims Bazi has ghosted her. She shows Adam the picture of Bazi with Jules and Charlie.

Adam thinks he knows them. He heard something about Bazi, but he isn’t sure if it’s true. It is alleged that Bazi was camming online with some fella. Adam wonders if Bazi has been doing something like that with Charlie. Later, Bazi shows up at Charlie’s place to see if the offer for dinner still stands. Charlie tells him about the time he was kissing a guy and his dad texted him. Bazi tells him about a girl named Alzena and her cousin Hanif. He lost his parents a few weeks later. Bazi always believed what he did with Hanif was a curse from God. Kelly sneaks onto Jules’s property. She sees Bazi and Charlie together. When the light turns on, she flees. Charlie blames foxes. Bazi thanks him before leaving. Bazi meets the men and tells them he’ll have the money next Friday. They warn him not to mess around. Bazi calls Nour and tells her to pack her stuff because they’ll be together next week.

Jules speaks to his wife about Charlie. She thinks it’s time Charlie started making his own decisions. Jules thinks Charlie is doing good for himself now. Brian calls so Jules thinks the lab results are back. Brian says the results on the shirt came back inconsistent. Charlie decides he has to go back to speak to Howie. Paul checks on Kelly and reminds her she’s going to be late for training. They talk about Kelly’s mom. Paul admits he always thought Kelly and Adam would be together. Kelly says he’s like a brother. Paul is going to take Tate to a party. He asks about the lad only to learn that he lied to Kelly. Once Kelly is alone, she gets a message from Adam who provides a link to Bazi’s profile. Adam urges her to forget about Bazi. He tells her he’ll see her at the gathering. Jessica watches videos from the party.

Charlie sees the group from his balcony. He receives a picture of himself with Bazi before getting a call. Kelly tells him to get his dad to drop the case against her dad. Otherwise, she’ll tell everyone he’s been paying for sex with the people he’s supposed to be helping.

 

The Gathering Review

The fifth episode of The Gathering added more baggage to the story with a visit to Syria for whatever reason and a human trafficking operation. The performances remain strong and that adds some sense of legitimacy to the situation. The story is just too bloated for my liking with a hodgepodge of ideas just thrown together.

Focusing on one or two of these would’ve worked far better than attempting to tackle so many topics simultaneously. After all, Natalie’s behavior seems like a moot point now and the same can be said for Rocky, gymnastics, and so many other things. Not to mention, it’s incredibly unrealistic that this group would be so unlucky to encounter so many horrific things.

Then again, there’s not one decent character in the whole bunch. When someone isn’t selling drugs, selling themselves, taking steroids, or belittling their offspring, the story is rather dull. After episode five, I can legitimately say I no longer care about the characters, Paul’s case, or the assault on Kelly. I’ll finish it obviously, but I have low expectations that this will somehow turn around.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Gathering can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others with friends at the Reel Mockery Forum.