Pratik Handore
Created by Michael and Paul Clarkson, ‘Red Rose’ is a horror drama series released on Netflix. It follows the story of Wren and her friends as the mysterious Red Rose app completely takes over their lives. As the British series explores the teenagers’ relationship with social media and the internet, the group is forced to survive a series of deadly tasks. Meanwhile, Wren and her friends try to uncover the truth about their friend Rochelle’s murder and find a way to stop the app from destroying their lives. If you are wondering whether the group succeeds in getting rid of the sinister app, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Red Rose.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Red Rose Recap
‘Red Rose’ opens with Alyssa, a teenager being tormented in her house by a mysterious presence. After Alyssa’s mother arrives home, Alyssa jumps from the roof and dies by suicide. The scene then shifts to Bolton, Greater Manchester, and we are introduced to teenagers Rochelle “Roch” Mason and Wren Davies. The girls and their friends Ashley Banister, Anthony Longwell, and Noah Royston are celebrating the end of the semester and high school life. Collectively, the group is known as the “Dickheads.” Roch invites an outcast, Tariq “Taz” Sadiq, to join their group.
After seeing Wren and Noah kiss during the party, Roch becomes depressed and makes an excuse to return home. Later, we learn that Roch is struggling emotionally since her mother, Gloria Mason, died from suicide. As a result, Roch has to look after her younger town sisters and father, Vinny. She receives the link to an app called “Red Rose” from one of her classmates. However, the app causes Roch to believe she is interacting with her deceased mother. Simultaneously, Roch’s relationship with her friends, especially Wren, deteriorates.
After an altercation with Wren is posted on social media, Roch is devastated and seemingly dies from suicide. However, Wren and the rest of the gang soon realize they received texts Roch didn’t send. Similarly, her texts did not reach them, and the Red Rose app caused the entire misunderstanding between them and Roch. As a result, the friends decide to investigate the app. Taz discovers that Alyssa, a teenager from Manchester, died under the circumstances similar to Roch’s death.
Wreen downloads the Red Rose app and starts taunting her for Roch’s death. Moreover, the app causes a fight between Wren, Big Jenna, and Little Jenna. Simultaneously, Wren’s relationship with her mother is affected by her interactions with her father, Rick, who was sentenced to prison. To get further information about the mysterious app, the group needs the help of Jaya Mahajan, a computer wizard who Roch disliked. Jaya reveals that a teenager at her coding club, Jacob, was also killed in a fashion similar to Alyssa and Roch.
Jaya tries to uncover Jacob’s connection with Red Rose while the Dickheads are forced to band together and survive tasks assigned to them by the app. Red Rose tries to taunt Wren into believing she caused her best friend’s death. Ultimately, Jaya, Wren, and the others come close to uncovering the truth but are forced to fight for survival after Ashley and Jaya are attacked by mysterious entities. How the group discovers the truth about Roch’s death and finds the mastermind behind the app forms the rest of the plot.
Red Rose Ending: Who Killed Rochelle? Who Created Red Rose?
In the eighth and final episode, viewers learn the truth about the incident that kick-started the events leading to Roch’s death through a series of flashbacks focusing on Jacob. Jacob was a teenager who had a crush on Alyssa, his classmate. However, Jacob was shy and nervous about confessing his feelings to Alyssa. He was a brilliant coder and developed an app named Red Ross to get close to Alyssa. However, he started using the app to spy on Alyssa with the help of his online friends on the dark net, including The Gardener.
Eventually, the group forces Jacob to confess his feelings, and it leads to Alyssa rejecting him. The Gardener consoles Jacob and gains access to the app’s master control. The mysterious person makes several changes to the app and uses it to harass Alyssa, leading to her death. Later, Jacob learns the truth and is killed by The Gardener after he tries to take back control. The events highlight that The Gardener and his friends are a group of sadists who enjoy tormenting other people and get pleasure from their suffering. Their sadistic tendencies lead to them tormenting Roch leading to her death.
In the present, Jaya figures out the truth about Red Rose using Jacob’s video tapes and laptop. Jaya deduces that The Gardener is the mastermind behind the app and is threatening to destroy Wren and her friends. After surviving the attack on her life, she relays the information to her friend over the phone. Jaya also suspects The Gardener’s real name is Rick. However, Wren is already drawn into The Gardener’s twisted game as she desperately tries to save her father, Rick.
Who Is The Gardener? Does Wren Save Rick?
In the episode’s final moments, Wren comes face-to-face with The Gardener. The sinister mastermind kidnapped Wren’s father and likely left clues over the dark net suggesting Rick was behind Roch’s death. Rick was previously imprisoned for manslaughter. Therefore, the app taunts Wren by pushing her to be exactly like her father and embrace the darkness inside her. The internal and external conflicts Wren faces make up for exciting content that the other app users are watching.
When Wren arrives at the given address to confront The Gardener, he exclaims that his name and identity do not matter. He triggers Wren by stabbing Rick, and she fights with the man. Wren gains the upper hand and defeats the man. However, when he tries to attack her again, Wren brutally murders the man with a wrench. Wren saves Rick, and he takes the blame for the man’s murder. The police arrest Rick, and Wren reunites with her friends. The Dickheads believe that the man is The Gardener, and they have finally defeated the nefarious mastermind.
Jaya attests to the same by deleting the Red Rose website from the dark net. However, the mysterious woman who kidnapped Noah in the previous episode appears before Jaya. She proclaims that Red Rose is an idea and cannot be deleted. Therefore, Jaya suspects the woman is the actual Gardener. However, the woman leaves without confirming or denying the claims. Ultimately, the true identity of the mysterious Gardener lies within the woman and the man’s response. The Gardener is likely not a singular person but a group who is involved in sadistic activities using the Red Rose.
Is Red Rose Deleted?
In the aftermath of Wren defeating Red Rose, the group of friends unites to pay their respects at Roch’s grave. They successfully determine the truth about her death and look forward to a brighter future. However, the final scene shifts the scene to Tokyo, Japan, and focuses on a new group of teenagers who seem to have recently finished a semester at school. One of the teenagers receives a message that leads him to a new version of the Red Rose app with a white and golden color scheme.
The ending proves the woman’s statement as Red Rose hasn’t been destroyed despite Jaya’s best efforts. Moreover, the change of color denotes that app is new and improved, promising far more sinister challenges and threats in the future. However, we cut to credits before seeing the impact of the infamous app’s return. Nonetheless, more carnage will certainly follow as the app targets teenagers in a new setting.
Read More: Is Netflix’s Red Rose Based on a True Story?
