‘Expats’ Episode 6 Recap & Ending Explained: Is Hillary’s Father Dead?

Expats episode 5 was the longest in the show and intricately covered the lives of the maids who worked with Hillary and Margaret. Mercy and Charly had a good time with each other. She revealed to Charly the incident regarding Gus. David revealed Mercy’s pregnancy to Hillary, and she was livid about it. Alan, the priest whom Clarke frequented, visited him to discuss his state of mind. Margaret, after having a tense standoff with her children, finally decided to move to America and asked Essie if she could join them as well. 

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did Hillary Travel To Los Angeles?

Hillary headed to Los Angeles to meet her ailing father, and her mother was happy to have her daughter back. Hillary was probably not sure how long he would be alive, and since her marital status was of least to her, making the trip back home was an easy choice. She was shocked to meet her step siblings, though her mother was okay and completely calm in their presence. Hillary was not comfortable in the presence of her father’s other family from Delhi. Her mother kept criticizing the other woman, but she was in denial about her father betraying them. Hillary was specifically asked not to mention her separation and subsequent divorce.

What Did Hillary Tell Her Father?

Hillary spoke to her father, and since he was very sick, there was a chance he might not survive long. Hilary’s father, just like her mother, was in denial about the incidents that had happened in the past and how they deeply affected her. She initially resorted to lying about being pregnant and having a good life with David. Hillary did not want to share her concerns with a man who would be inconsiderate about her life choices. Hillary figured lying would be the only way to keep her family at bay, in the hope there would not be any further questions from her father or mother. 

Hillary lies about being pregnant with a baby boy, which brings joy to her father, which she finds unsettling. Hillary snapped, and she let him know her plan to paint a real picture of him for the grandchild and inform them about him being an abusive husband to their grandmother, though she chose to remain calm and civil to his other family. Hillary wanted to let her father know she knew and witnessed the trauma her father put her mother through, which eventually affected her relationship with him as well. Her father neither tried to come clean nor apologized for his mistakes, and expected everyone around him to be okay with him having another family. This made Hillary come clean about her intention to raise a child by being honest about her childhood.

Was Hillary Feeling Guilty About Her Father’s Demise?

Hillary returned to Hong Kong soon after her father’s demise, and David was at the airport to receive her. They chose to remain friends to finish the divorce process smoothly. Hillary was in guilt, for she wondered if her harsh words were responsible for her father’s early demise. She spirals as David tries to calm her down on the drive back home from the airport. Hillary was upset about the fact that she did not think about her father’s deteriorating health before blurting out facts about the difficult life she and her mother had led. She tried to find reasons to justify her actions, but there were none. Hillary wanted to confront her father but never found the courage to do so when he was healthy. She feels speaking about her life on his deathbed was not right, but she also had no option but to be honest with her father for betraying her and her mother many times. Hillary was ridden with pain, and this emotion of utter confusion would stay with her for a long time.

Did Mercy Come Clean About Her Pregnancy?

Mercy was confronted by David at her apartment building while with Charly. David offered to help her with the checkup or an abortion if necessary. He was not sure if Mercy wanted to keep the baby or not, but he gave her the option of heading to an OBGYN. It was surprising that Charly did not notice the bodily changes Mercy was going through and never asked questions about them. Mercy had no choice but to come clean about her pregnancy. 

Charly was livid at her for constantly bickering and complaining about life not giving her a choice to live on her terms. Charly asked her to value the life of privilege she had led because of her American upbringing instead of constantly blaming her fate. Charly believed Mercy still had the option of moving back to the States and living off a high salary job because of the degree she held from an Ivy League university. She instead chose to live in Hong Kong, doing odd jobs and resenting it every single minute. Charly broke up with Mercy not because she was pregnant but she chose to keep her in the dark about it and tried to justify her mistake by blaming everything else but herself.

Why Did Margaret Meet Mercy?

Margaret had decided to meet Mercy one last time before moving back to the United States of America. She figured both women wanted closure. Mercy apologized for what happened to Gus and felt she had only made mistakes in her life. She was willing to part with her child once she was born and give it away to Margaret. Margaret, being a mother, felt the immense pain of losing Gus and would not encourage Mercy to go through that. 

Mercy was confused about whether she wanted the child or not. Margaret encouraged her to take up the task and move forward instead of being stuck in the past. Mercy chose to keep the baby, and it was her responsibility to raise the child on her terms. Being a mother would probably bring out her maternal instincts, and she could learn to relate to what Margaret was going through.

Did Margaret Apologize To Hillary?

Margaret was meeting up with everyone she might have hurt in the process of finding any information on Gus. Margaret had been in a bad state of mind ever since she lost Gus and had made some questionable choices in haste. Margaret blamed David’s false statements, which might have derailed the police investigation. This caused irreparable damage to Hillary and David’s marriage, and they’ve been separated ever since. Their marriage was already in trouble; Margaret’s accusation only worked as a catalyst. Margaret had to apologize for judging Hillary and David and keeping them at bay. She never inquired about Hillary’s marriage ever since Gus’ disappearance. Margaret apologized for not being a friend to Hillary at a time of crisis in her life. Margaret felt she acted selfishly and ignored the marital problems Hillary was facing. The apology was heartfelt, as she wanted a fresh start in America.

Did Mercy And Her Mother Reconcile?

Mercy’s mother landed in Hong Kong only to be shocked to see her daughter pregnant and not reveal the father of the child. Mercy’s mother was a typical conservative parent who was only looking out for her daughter. She was planning to shift Mercy to New York so that having a child in America would be easy and without any judgment. Hong Kong may be a first-world city, but the mentality of the locals still has not developed. Mercy’s mother was not as bad as she had described her to be. 

The mother, just like any parent, was concerned about how Mercy would bring up a child. Mercy was not happy with her mother taking over her apartment and making decisions for her, but at a certain juncture she needed that, as she was not responsible for herself anymore. Mercy would have to feed another human being in six months, and a plan to financially sustain herself had to be put in motion. Mercy had met with Hillary and apologized for the affair with David. 

Hillary also apologized for her role in getting Mercy fired from her old job as a waitress. Mercy finally broke down in her mother’s arms, and these were tears of sadness and despair. Mercy probably needed her mother by her side during her pregnancy, as her body and mind were going through so many changes. She had kept David at bay because she did not want to get used to a man providing for her. For Mercy, probably having her mother around was a blessing in disguise. 

Why Did Margaret Choose To Stay Back In Hong Kong?

As Margaret and her family, along with Essie, were at the airport looking forward to starting their lives in America, the mother in her could not ignore the thought she was leaving Gus behind. Even though Clarke, Essie, and Philip could understand her predicament, it was Daisy who was resentful of her mother. She felt her mother was abandoning her to look for a child who in all likelihood was no longer alive. 

Margaret understood the pain she was putting Daisy through, but she could not abandon Gus and move back, only to pretend nothing happened in Hong Kong. Essie understood Margaret because, as a mother herself, she knew the pain of leaving her children and grandchildren behind and moving to a country that was on the other side of the world. Clarke, on the other hand, understood the pain Margaret went through, and it would have been selfish of him to expect his wife to abandon Gus. He agreed to it because he understood finding Gus was her calling, and she felt her home was incomplete without Gus as a part of it.

As the older child, Philip understood the dilemma his mother was in, and he had to let go of her. They knew Margaret would eventually join them, but meanwhile, she would rather spend time seeking Gus, whose whereabouts were still up in the air. The series ends with Mercy’s voiceover about pain and how it was required for everyone to move forward. The pain does not magically disappear for people to restart. It stays with them to remind them of the mistakes and tragic incidents of the past. The pain also causes people to be hopeful about the future being positive. The pain stays with the people for a prolonged period, and eventually it will cease to exist.