‘The Snow Girl’ Episode 5: Recap And Ending, Explained: How Will Iris Make Sure Julia/Amaya Is Kept Away?

In the earlier episode of “The Snow Girl,” we saw Miren and Belen are slowly closing in on Amaya, and they can sense that the kidnapper is not very far from them. The fact said person is sharing that Amaya is still alive, shows they want Amaya’s parents to know she is healthy and happy. But the video has the opposite effect on them. They are distressed by the fact that the kidnapper is purposely torturing them by informing them that though she is alive, she is with them, and no one will ever know where they are located. This kidnapper turns out to be Iris Molina. Who is she, and why is she taking care of Amaya, who she calls Julia?

Spoilers Ahead


Iris And Santiago

Iris and Santiago are married patients of Ana, who is a gynecologist by profession and runs a fertility clinic. Ana reveals to them after several rounds of fertility treatment that Ana’s body is not responding to any of the treatments. Ana makes it clear that sometimes the treatments work, and a lot of other times, they don’t. Iris should not lose hope. Iris and Santiago should continue trying for a child. They are heartbroken upon hearing the news. Iris starts blaming herself and her body for not being able to conceive a child for both. Iris was visibly in pain when the news was broken to her. All she and Santiago ever wanted was a child so that they could start a family of their own away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Iris is in physical pain after knowing that her body is not responding to the treatments. Santiago and Iris had spent a chunk of their hard-earned money on fertility treatments, and this too started bothering Iris, and mentally, it starts taking a toll on her right after they leave the clinic.

Santiago is a supportive husband who pacifies her by saying he loves her no matter what. Iris is devastated beyond words and mentally spiraling. This is when she sees Ana with her husband and Amaya. She is intrigued to see her doctor having a healthy family life while Iris is struggling to conceive. Both Santiago and Iris are not rich; they are farmers living off the produce they grow around their homes. At the parade, once the rain starts pouring, Iris notices Amaya crying and lost. She recognizes the kid to be Ana’s daughter and approaches her, asking if she needs help finding her mother. Iris is overwhelmed by all the emotions she is carrying in her mind and body and makes a split-second decision to take the girl with her. Santiago has no time to explain to her it is wrong because Iris has already made a decision. Iris picks her up, removes her yellow jacket, and whisks her away before Alvaro or Ana can catch up to them. Iris is taken over by the love she has for kids and how desperate she is to have one. Santiago is the practical one of the two, but he falls for Iris’s idea because he loves her and will do anything to keep her happy.

As they reach their home, Iris has already made a foolproof plan on how to navigate their lives from here. Iris realizes she can’t let Amaya out of her sight, so she decides to raise her daughter at home and homeschool her so that no one recognizes her, as they would if she joined any public school. If Amaya ever goes to school, the authorities will reach Iris, which will lead to plenty of law and order-related issues for Iris and Santiago, who will be thrown in jail, and Amaya will be sent back to her parents. Iris is inundated by the thought of separating from Amaya, and she cobbles this plan rather quickly to save her, Santiago, and mostly save their daughter (Iris has now made it clear that Amaya is their daughter). Iris is hellbent on keeping Amaya with her, and she is not ready to part from her, even with plenty of insistent pleas from Santiago. He finally settles for keeping Amaya with them because he knows this will make Iris happy. But both of them have to be on their toes all the time and make sure people coming to their homes do not realize that there is a girl living with them. Iris and Santiago have planned a long life of tediousness by bringing Amaya into their lives. They rechristen her to Julia. Amaya initially cries and pleads for her mother, but slowly as the years go by, Amaya forgets her real name, and she only knows herself as Julia; her parents being Iris and Santiago. She has no memory of Ana and Alvaro, her real parents.


‘The Snow Girl’ Episode 5: Ending Explained – How Will Iris Make Sure Julia/ Amaya Is Kept Away From The Outside World?

Years have gone by, Amaya, aka Julia to Iris, and Santiago, has grown used to her life with her new parents. She has no memory of Ana and Alvaro, and Iris makes sure Julia forgets most of the memories she has of her life as a kid growing up in the city. Julia is now a farm kid, growing up far away from society and friends. Her life now is surrounded by Iris, Santiago, and their pet dog. Julia believes all the lies Iris has told her about the outside world, where men and women are evil. They will not think twice before they take Julia away from her parents. To keep Julia away from the outside world, she has been conditioned to run away to her room upstairs and not make a noise. Iris also indulges in homeschooling her kid, which is part of the bigger plan both have for Julia, which involves staying away from the town and townspeople. Iris has become a control maniac at this point, which passes off as the love she has for her kid. She denies the kid the life she deserves by gaslighting Julia into believing that the world outside is not meant for her. In the hope of not letting Julia go, Iris has broken plenty of human rights laws by forcing her kid to live a life of isolation without her realizing what is being done to her is wrong and illegal. Santiago, on the other hand, goes along with Iris’s plan. Santiago, though, is sympathetic to what he’s put Julia through; Iris, on the other hand, is not moved by Ana’s pain. The whole idea of recording Julia after six years of captivity was to let Ana and Alvaro know that their kid was alive.


Crisis Ridden Iris and Santiago

Santiago and Iris are plagued by a massive shortage of money, and the bank employee keeps visiting their home to know the status of their debt repayment. At one point, the employee notices a girl running away as he pulls into the front yard of Santiago’s home. Disturbed by what he saw, he has a quick word with Santiago and decides to leave the premises as soon as possible. Iris shoots him to death for fear of him revealing to the police his suspicions, which could lead to Julia being sent away. Iris, at this point, has become paranoid and scared of the thought of letting Julia go. She has also gotten used to living the life of a vigilante away from society, law, and order. Julia, on the other hand, does not know all of this is not normal and that she needs to be rescued. Soon Santiago receives the notice to vacate their home, for he and Iris were unable to pay the mortgage back. Iris is again distressed over the thought of moving to another place with their daughter without anyone finding anything suspicious about their relationship. Santiago has no way to raise money to pay the loan back, and he is deeply disturbed by how Iris has become over the years. On his way to confess to the police about kidnapping Amaya, Santiago sadly is run over by a speeding car, killing him instantly. Iris and Julia are devastated but are also saved by the life insurance payout took care of their loan, and Iris must only worry about Julia’s life from here on. They plan to move to France, the place where Iris and Santiago met. It would be good for Iris and Julia to restart so they can lead a normal life. Julia can mix with the public over there without Iris having to worry about her getting caught. Iris keeps following Miren’s coverage of Amaya’s disappearance and the number of interviews and stories she has done with people close to Amaya. A lot of coverage had Ana talking about missing her kid even though it’s been almost three years since she last saw her daughter alive. As a last attempt to let Ana and Alvaro know the status of Amaya, she sends a video of Amaya she had made when Santiago was alive, drops it in a dustbin, and informs Miren about the same anonymously.


What To Expect From Episode 6 Of ‘The Snow Girl’?

“The Snow Girl” Episode 6 will be all about Miren trying to find out more about Iris Molina and what her connection to Amaya is. Miren is warned by Eduardo not to take this path, but she is determined to save Amaya. There will also be a spotlight on Miren for her possible involvement in killing James Foster and David Luque. If she is involved, why did she kill them? This will be the question that will be answered.


Final Thoughts

“The Snow Girl” Episode 5 so far has been a gripping tale of a woman who is fulfilling her dream of having a kid but does everything wrong to pursue it and make it come true. Iris is a character that needs to be studied. In one episode, a lot of emotions of her and her husband were showcased. The pain, the happiness, the fear, and the paranoia are all in one character, well written and performed. Iris is a complex character who is written with multiple layers and shades of gray. She knows she has committed a crime, but there is a strong emotional reason behind what she did. Iris’s character said so much in the 49 minutes long episode, which did not seem slow at all. The episode was fast-paced, and the viewers could understand the intent Iris carried. There was sympathy but no empathy. Kudos to writers Jesús Mesas and Javier Andrés Roig. A solid episode.


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Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.

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