We know how parents often present themselves as perfect role models for their children, but deep down, they have their own flaws. They may try to pretend otherwise, but the truth eventually comes out. When children discover these flaws, it can be unsettling for both parties. I believe that if parents aren’t afraid to show their flaws to their children, then children will feel more comfortable doing the same. This way, they can be each other’s safe space, accepting each other’s imperfections rather than striving for an unattainable idea of perfection. So to me, it felt like rather than focusing solely on solving the mystery of who tried to drown Kelly, the last episode of The Gathering explores these themes more deeply. It suggests that acknowledging and accepting flaws is essential for healthy relationships within families. So, let’s dive into the tale of The Gathering Episode 6 streaming on Channel 4.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Jessica’s mother threaten Debbie?
Throughout the first five episodes of The Gathering, we’ve seen Jessica and Kelly become bitter rivals. It started when, at first, Jessica took Kelly’s place, and then Kelly unintentionally took Jessica’s place at their gymnastic trials for the world championship. Actually, Jessica OD’d at Adam’s party because someone spiked her drink, and Jesscia’s mother believed it was Kelly’s doing. She thought Kelly wanted revenge and to reclaim her spot as the top performer. Deep down, Jessica’s mother knew Kelly deserved the recognition and pressured Jessica to outshine her, even manipulating them against each other. Jessica’s mother was especially furious with their gym coach, Debbie, after seeing an interview where Debbie praised Kelly as one of her brightest students. She became very jealous, as she wanted Jessica to be in that position. She dug up dirt on Debbie and threatened her, claiming she could ruin Debbie’s career with her prestigious PR firm. She mentioned how Debbie’s previous students had left her classes due to her harsh comments and how she pushed them so hard that they could not take the pressure anymore. She warned Debbie to give Jessica another chance and reinstate her in Kelly’s position if she wanted to keep her job. So, you can imagine how overly ambitious and toxic Jessica’s mother was.
What did Julian find out from Charlie’s computer?
From the very first episode, another toxic character and parent we saw was Julian. We got to know about Julian when he wanted to complain to the police about Paul, Kelly’s father, when he got punched by Paul in retaliation for calling his children dogs. Julian’s actions came from his desire to prove that his son was “man enough.” He made harsh comments about Paul and his children, Kelly and her brother, implying that their dog ruined a game and caused Charlie to be bullied by his teammates. When Paul, being protective, punched Julian, he felt humiliated and reported Paul to the police. Paul, a single father raising two children on his own, had a strong case against Julian. Plus, Julian’s flaws were evident in how he pressured Charlie to excel in sports, hired escorts as gifts for his birthday, and drank with him to showcase his manhood. Being a “proper man” meant a lot to Julian. However, he didn’t know that Charlie was gay, nor did he know about the video Charlie had of Paul punching him. When Julian discovered the truth, he was devastated. His perfect image of his son shattered when he realized Charlie had had the video from the very first day and had been talking to multiple boys, even having relationships with some of them. Julian tried to convince Charlie that he had been influenced by the wrong crowd too much and that he actually liked girls. This revealed why Charlie felt frustrated by his father—he saw Julian as selfish and concerned only with “what will people say” rather than Charlie’s happiness. Despite Julian’s efforts to please Charlie by giving him expensive gifts and trips to Paris for his so-called girlfriend, Charlie wasn’t satisfied. I mean, which child would like to pretend to be someone else to impress their parents for so long while living under a false identity? Charlie eventually confessed the harsh truth: he didn’t tell Julian that he was there watching te scene because he wanted Paul to hit him, finding pleasure in seeing his father hurt because he believed Julian deserved it.
Why did Kelly get drowned?
Now that we know someone spiked Jessica’s drink at Adam’s party in the previous episode, she believed Kelly might have done it after talking to her mother. She thought Kelly did it as revenge as she wanted to take her position at the championship. So, at the illegal rave party, when everyone was high or drunk, Jessica came to confront Kelly. But before she could, Adam’s brother, Joshua, and his friends stopped her. They teased her about messages she sent to her boyfriend, Adam, and humiliated her, claiming to know about all their secret obscene messages and sharing pictures. Jessica felt upset, humiliated, and betrayed, thinking Adam had exposed everything to everyone. As she was about to confront them, thinking about how everyone had been betraying her, something clicked in her mind. She remembered that it was Joshua who spiked her drink at the party and tried to force himself on her. She realized she had wrongly accused Adam and Kelly until now, when the real culprit was Joshua. But when she tried to confront him, he silenced her by hitting her. When Kelly tried to stop him, he tried to stop her too. Actually, I think Joshua was too coddled by his parents. He never had the chance to explore things, and there were so many repressed emotions in him that he wanted to experience them in these mischievous ways, which obviously wasn’t right. You can see how, when Joshua actually came out with the truth to his brother Adam and wanted to confess to the police, his parents even tried to stop it from happening. They burned and smashed all of his electronic devices so that no evidence could be found against Joshua. But thankfully, the boy had a mind of his own and took the risk to go to the police station with his brother Adam and confess everything. Even though he was flawed, at least unlike his parents, he had the courage to come out with the truth by risking everything.
In The Gathering‘s ending, we see the innocent father that Paul pretended to be, stating false statements about Julian hitting him first and then hitting back, which Charlie’s video proved to be a lie. It showed that the perfect parent was not so perfect after all; he lied to his children. However, Kelly promised to take care of her brother when he was gone. On the other hand, we see that Adam and his stepbrother, Kyran, were thrown out of the house because Adam did the right thing by going against his parents and taking Joshua to the police station to turn him in for his crime. What made me happy was what Jessica did in the end. Even though Jessica attended her final trial at the tournament, she ultimately found the courage to walk away. She was tired of trying to impress her mother but finally realized gymnastics wasn’t her true calling. We can hope that Kelly will now have the opportunity to take her rightful place and shine as the bright star of gymnastics that she is. As for Charlie, he also showed the courage to come away from his toxic household and from his homophobic father and is ready to start a life on his own. As for Bazi, he finally got reunited with his sister. I don’t know if there will be a second season of this show. Personally, I doubt it will happen. But even if there is, we can expect to see glimpses of how each character has moved on with their life, where each child found the courage to be their own person rather than fitting into the mold that their parents set.