As the finale begins, Ruby Bowen (Liv Hill) is shown around the courtroom. She doesn’t seem to fully comprehend the enormity of the situation. She returns home and tells her mother and sister about the courtroom. Amber (Ria Zmitrowicz) rushes out of the room and insists she doesn’t want to hear about it. She tells Lorna (Lisa Riley) that she simply doesn’t care anymore. DC Nina Prentiss (Kerrie Hayes) walks the Winshaw family through the proceedings. Nina tells them that the barrister, Rachel (Amanda Hale), will outline the case to the jury on the first day. Holly (Molly Windsor) will be the first witness. Holly explains that she’ll need to call Suzanne. She has been attending AA meetings, so she can try to get Ella back. Then, she is told that she will not see any of the men.

Nina instructs Holly to do what she has been doing for years, telling the truth. The following day, protestors gather outside of the courthouse. Nazir Afzal (Ace Bhatti) is harassed on his way inside. Jim (Paul Kaye) tells Julie (Jill Halfpenny) that the news is on BBC’s website. Julie plans to keep her daughter busy, but Holly has other plans. She heads to her room and isolates herself. Rachel tells the jury about the three girls. Meanwhile, Amber plays with her daughter. In the morning, Nina visits the Winshaw house again. Holly has refused to leave her bed. Nina manages to coax her out of bed for breakfast. They arrive at the courthouse with plenty of time. First, Holly’s police interview is played for the court. Then, Daddy’s barrister takes a stab at Holly. He brings up Holly’s falling out with her parents and her free-loading.

He also claims Holly mocked the Paki men and caused disturbances at their shop. The barrister suggests Daddy never gave the girls alcohol. Holly quickly refutes the claim. Holly admits she told Daddy to stop in a giggly way, because she was afraid of upsetting him and making matters worse. The barrister wonders why she never screamed for help. He also implies that Holly was angry and shouting about money. Another attorney asks Holly, if she could’ve mistaken the men since she slept with so many. Another one tries playing the race card. The questioning finally ends for the day. That night, Holly returns home and relives the events. The following day, another defense attorney tries to turn Amber into the bad guy.

He suggests Amber was worse than the men accused. Holly doesn’t take up for her former friend. However, she makes it clear that Tariq was also receiving money for the sex. Then, the conversation turns to Holly’s feelings. She admits she felt ashamed, but not guilty. She remains adamant that she did nothing wrong. She also explains she would’ve done more to stop the abuse had she been a few years older. Holly’s testimony ends. Ruby is up next. At home, Ruby prepares, while Amber insists she doesn’t care. She admits she is dedicating her energy to her daughter. Ruby is forced to watch her police interview. Finally, she begins to realize the enormity of the situation. Then, she is questioned about her relationship with Billy. She admits she thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend. She also confesses to making comments about the great sex.

Her testimony ends shortly thereafter. Billy takes the stand the next day. The jury is shown pictures of Ruby at the start of Billy and Ruby’s relationship. Billy claims he thought Ruby was 20 or 25 at the time. Then, Daddy takes to the stand. Daddy plays the race card and claims the British prepare their kids for sex and alcohol abuse. He also claims Holly fabricated the evidence against him. Meanwhile, Holly gets to see her daughter. She expresses her desire to move from Rochdale and go to college. She is told that Ella will be coming home with her. The police give a press conference and take questions from the media. They’re quickly asked why they didn’t take action sooner. Nazir steps in and admits the CPS didn’t initially believe the jury would believe their witness. He takes credit for reversing that decision.

Next, Ella returns home to Holly. Then, the jury returns. The men are found guilty on all counts. Daddy lashes out at the jury and accuses them of being racist. Holly receives the good news and a visit from Sara (Maxine Peake). Sara credit Holly for helping bring the men to justice. When Holly returns home, he father tells her that Shabir received 19 years in prison. He also tells her that he has never been prouder of her. Meanwhile, Amber sees the news in the local paper. Margaret Oliver (Lesley Sharp) watches it on television. A community meeting is held at the Rochdale Town Hall. It is clear the town is split and more divided than ever. As Sara heads to work, she heads a report on the radio. In the report, the police and others blame her department for failing to properly report the sexual abuse cases.

She tells the other women immediately upon arriving. The women head to a union meeting in hopes of telling their side of the story. Maggie heads to work and speaks with her boss. She makes it clear the police were aware of the grooming in 2005. She also complains about the mistreatment of the victims. Maggie learns that Amber’s name was put in the indictment, so the prosecutor could introduce her evidence in court. Amber Bowen learns that the authorities are going to try and take her daughter away. Maggie visits Amber and tells her about the indictment. She apologizes and offers to her, because she wants to be on the right side of history. We see an update about Maggie. She resigned from the police and continues speaking out about the failure of authorities to protect grooming victims. She also remains a friend of the Bowen family.

Sara speaks to the Home Affair Select Committee. She tells them that the young victims were discriminated against and disrespected. While Sara returned to work, her position eventually became redundant. Her original evidence has continued to help prosecute more sex offenders. Jim has worked to raise awareness about child grooming.

 

Three Girls Review

Three Girls was powerful, eye-opening and very emotional. The finale really pulled on the old heartstrings. It would be nearly impossible to watch all three episodes and not feel some type of emotion. The authentic nature of the series and the wonderful acting definitely helped to make Three Girls something special. The media turned out to be no better than the police by continually referring to the men as “Asian”. Clearly, the men were Middle Eastern. From Daddy’s courtroom behavior, he had no remorse and very little, if any, respect for the white people of Britain.

The series itself was fantastic. I enjoyed every episode equally. The finale scores a 9 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Three Girls right now!