At the end of episode 4 of “Rain Dogs,” Costello decides to stay back at Florian’s house despite the urge to run away. She knows that no matter how much she hates Florian, she cannot take Iris back to the trashheap of a life they used to live before Florian offered for them to come to Burton with him. Episode 5 shows Costello visiting her mother because she has some unfinished business with her, or so it seems. How will this turn out? Let’s see.
Spoilers Ahead
Surprise From Life
Costello arrives at her home and meets her father and brother. Her dad, Bernard, is glad to see her, but her brother John isn’t. It’s been 15 years since she left home, and John thinks that she isn’t his sister at all but an imposter. It’s only when she correctly points to the spot where she used to take a piss whenever she got upset as a kid that he realizes that it is indeed his sister Lisa. [She must have changed her name to Costello after she left home.] She finally meets her mother, Donna, who is also glad that she is back. Costello tells them that she will be staying there [we do not know for how long she meant].
Later that night, she is in her room when she goes through the diary she used to maintain as a kid. Her friends used to call her “Lisa the liar” after what she told them about her mother, i.e., Donna, who used to beat Costello, and God knows what else she did to her. Donna is in the room with her and tells her that she did what she had to do to make Costello strong. So, she accepts her actions. Costello snaps at her, calling her a “nonce,” and makes up her mind to leave, which is also what Donna wants. Before leaving, however, she takes a piss at the same spot, just as a reminder of her disgust for Donna. No goodbyes for dad or brother, by the way.
Florian’s new elderly “date” brings him face to face with a harsh truth. By the time we realize that it’s love we want, we have already pushed away the people who we wanted to love and whose love we needed. Florian breaks down in tears; the words remind him of what he did to Costello. Gloria has Iris with her at work. She hands Iris her test kit and asks her if it is showing one line or two. Iris says two. Gloria starts screaming and throwing her hands in the air in a fit of frustration. She is pregnant.
Unsettled
Florian is lying by the pool. Allegra came after getting a call from Costello, showing concern for him. She brings him the urn, inside of which are his father’s ashes, to cheer him up. Weird family, the Selbys. Florian takes the urn, takes off the lid, and throws the urn into the pool. He then gets into the pool, takes the urn, which is now filled with ash and water, and pours it on his face. Florian Selby then begins to float, just like always.
Costello has come to Gloria’s workplace and told her that she is proud of facing her mother and isn’t afraid of anything now. She has even decided to leave Florian for real and shift to a refuge she has found in North London. Gloria is very happy with her decision and gives her the news of her pregnancy. It is Paul’s, and it seems that she intends to keep it.
The Snap
Florian is in his room when Allegra tells him that she has asked Costello to take her belongings and leave. She has also asked the asylum authorities to take him back. Florian is very upset with her, but it doesn’t look like there is anything he can do about it. Costello arrives and hands Allegra a crayon sketch made by Iris for Florian. Maybe now that Costello and Iris are leaving, Allegra will have the opportunity to love her son the way he needs to be loved. Costello comes upstairs to collect her things, but Florian keeps taking her clothes out of the bags. He doesn’t want her and Iris to leave him at all. In rage and pain, he even breaks her laptop. It was what she was using to write her new book. She breaks down helplessly. It is a weird, complicated relationship that Costello and Florian share.
Florian doesn’t want her to leave yet does things that would only make her leave him as soon as possible. However, Costello confides in him in a way that tells us that he is the only person who matters to her. As the two lies in bed and kiss, Costello tells Florian that she went to see her mom and asks him if she is like her. Florian tells her that she isn’t. Allegra arrives with two men who have come to take Florian away. He asks if he can meet his daughter for one last time, at least temporarily. [For the first time, we get the proof that Iris is Florian’s daughter and Costello is his wife.] But Iris can’t see him in the state that he is in—about to be taken away to a mental facility, no less. Florian thus leaves. Costello is left alone, crying.
‘Rain Dogs’ Episode 5: Ending Explained – Do Costello & Iris Arrive At Their New Home?
Costello and Iris are standing and waiting for the ride that will take them to their new shelter in North London. A woman named Serena picks them up in her van and brings them to their new home. No visitors; no contact with men; no alcohol; no work, among other things. All these are necessary to claim the housing benefit. So for Costello to work, she will have to claim an allowance as a job seeker. She and Iris are then shown to their room. It’s a small one with a bunk bed. Iris is clearly sad that she had to leave Florian, her father [although we can’t be sure if she knows that he is her father], and the beautiful house they had. But she is mature enough to understand what’s going on and thus quietly follows her mom, whom she loves with all her heart.
At the mental facility, Allegra gives Florian Iris’s crayon sketch and leaves. Florian will be released once he is declared “un-insane.” That night, Costello calls up the facility to check on Florian and finds out that her name isn’t on the family member list. Is this a sign for her to finally move on? Did Florian decide to keep her name off the list [which could be a result of him finally realizing that the only way for Costello and Iris to have a better life is if he stays away from them]? Or was it Allegra’s decision? Will Costello go back home again? Or was it her last time there too? We do not know, and neither does Costello herself. But for now, she is safe with her daughter, and that’ll do.
