Tamal Kundu
A Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan (known together as the Kates) creation, ‘Deadloch‘ is an Australian crime comedy series streaming on Amazon Studios. Set in the fictional town of Deadloch, the plot revolves around senior sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and detective Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) as they investigate a series of murders. Initial evidence leads them to believe that the killer is a woman, which colors their investigation for a long time until they realize how wrong they are. In the Deadloch season 1 finale, Dulcie and Eddie race against time to find the missing bus carrying all the men in the town. Tammy and Miranda discover a long-hidden secret. Meanwhile, Hastings and his officers prove to be rather useless. Here is everything you might want to know about the ending of ‘Deadloch’ episode 8. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Deadloch Season 1 Episode 8 Recap
The season finale begins where the penultimate episode ends. Hastings has rounded up almost all the women of the town, including the mayor, and put them in a holding cell. Dulcie and Eddie have concluded that female killers don’t kill for notoriety, so it has to be a man. This turns their entire investigation upside down. A naked man is seen running and screaming at the start of the episode. He is later revealed to be Phil Mcgangus. Like the other victims of the serial killer, his tongue has been removed, though he is still alive.
As Abby found the shoe Victoria lost on the night of her husband’s death, Dulcie asks her (Victoria) whether she remembers who picked her up and drove her to the mayor’s home. They believe that the killer drove back after dropping Victoria off and killed her husband, Sam O’Dwyer. But Victoria is unwell, and her struggle with her memory is almost constant. As the killer was driving the car belonging to William Carruthers, Margaret’s brother, the officers think he is a possible suspect, but he has apparently been gone from Deadloch for the past six years. Suddenly, Victoria remembers that a song was playing in the killer’s car while she was in it,
As Skye is not among the women in the cell, Hastings deduces she is the killer. When Dulcie and Eddie insist that the killer is a man, he suspends the former from duties because of her close relationship with Skye. His suspicion only deepens when naked and injured Phil turns up, and the police discover that the bus carrying all the men hasn’t reached its destination. As panic spreads through the police station, Dulcie and Eddie begin to wonder whether they got it right this time and whether the killer is indeed a man.
Deadloch Episode 8 Ending: Who is the Killer?
Despite being suspended, Dulcie continues her investigation with the help of Eddie, Sven, and Abby. She finds out Skye’s car was near the bus at one point, which increases her doubts about their hypothesis. She discovers that buses are too big to leave Deadloch on a boat. So, either they were transferred to a smaller vehicle, or the 18 men are still somewhere in Deadloch. Dulcie justifiably rejects the idea of Skye putting all those men in her Subaru and leaving.
Even in his condition, Phil made it back to the town, which leads Dulcie to believe that the bus has to be nearby. She and Eddie go to speak to the owner of a servo or gas station, and like almost everyone else in this bizarre town, this woman is one of a kind. The detective manages to learn from her that the bus was driven back to Deadloch, which initially confuses them. They also learn that the killer had a gas mask on and realize he used some kind of gas to knock his victims out. The bus is ultimately found at the bottom of a cliff facing the ocean, though none of the bodies are there. Dulcie and Eddie realize the killer put the victims somewhere before driving the empty bus toward the cliff. He got out right on time before the bus fell and then went back to the victims. As the detectives try to ascertain where the killer has taken the victims, they call local wineries to see if someone has checked in with 18 people. But that doesn’t produce any result.
Sven finds out that the killer used an Airtasker to pick up Skye’s Subaru and the phones and drive them onto the ferry to misdirect the detectives. However, the name he used ends up being his undoing. Louise McEwan is the name of a prostitute in Sydney who became his first victim. Dulcie speaks to the detective she had an affair with in Sydney, Hannah, who reveals that the killer targeted another prostitute, but she managed to escape and provided a description of the attacker. Three things happen simultaneously. Victoria remembers the song; Hannah sends over the identikit image of the man; and Eddie spots the donkey she knows very well.
It is revealed that Ray McLintock (Duncan Fellows) is the killer. He started with prostitutes because they were viewed as undesirables, and he thought he was doing a service to society by going after them. After his second intended victim escaped, he heard about Deadloch from Skye, moved there, and reinvented himself as the world started to change around him. His new victims were the horrible men — the new undesirables.
The whole thing comes as an immense shock to Eddie as she has been dating the man. He told her the donkey was dead, but he clearly lied. He used the pentobarbital he got from Cath on his victims instead. Eddie and Dulcie find Ray and the men he was planning to kill at Geoff Haddick’s Farm, the one that Cath earlier purchased. Ray had already sliced off James’ tongue. As he escapes, he stabs Dulcie, but she survives. Eddie gives chase, and Ray nearly kills her, but Dulcie intervenes. Eventually, while escaping through a stream, Ray gets caught in a current and dies after being impaled on a tree branch.
What Happened to William Caruthers?
At the end of the previous episode, the viewers are led to believe that Margaret’s brother, William Caruthers, is the killer. But the more Abby looks into the man, the more she realizes he can’t be the one. Margaret claims he left Deadloch after a dispute with her over Caruthers Island about six years ago and is now in Ubud, Indonesia. But Sven finds out that William’s passport hasn’t been used for as long as he has been supposedly gone from Deadloch.
It is revealed that Margaret killed her own brother after he expressed his desire to give Caruthers Island back to Miranda and Tammy’s family. Margaret later lied that it was her brother who didn’t want to give back the island. After the police begin questioning her about her brother’s whereabouts, Margaret wonders whether he is actually dead and goes to check on his body buried on the island. There, while digging William’s grave, she gets bitten by a tiger snake. Miranda and Tammy, having arrived on the island thinking that the killer has taken victims there, discover her. When they figure out what happened to William, Margaret tries to shoot Miranda, but Tammy saves her. By the time the girls turn back, Margaret is already dead.
Do Dulcie and Cath stay together? Do they leave Deadloch?
Dulcie and Cath manage to work through their issues and remain together as the first season ends. However, Cath agrees to move from Deadloch, and they do. It turns out that they have made their new home in Darwin, at least for now. Earlier in the episode, as Dulcie started to lose hope, Eddie got a phone call from the wife of her former partner, telling her that he was shot and letting her know that she has been right all this time. Dulcie and Eddie visit the home of Eddie’s former partner and tell his widow that they are there to solve his murder.
