Yahoo News Red Rose on Netflix ending explained
Red Rose spoilers ahead.
Being a teenager is a killer. In the case of Red Rose, we're talking literally.
When Red Rose first aired on BBC Three in August 2022, we knew it was going to be a wild ride. Compared to a mix between Derry Girls and Black Mirror, the series was filled with angst, drama, and above all else, spooks. Now it's going worldwide, dropping on Netflix for everyone to see.
But after eight episodes, and a few unexpected twists, what does it all mean? What exactly is Red Rose?
The opening episode, 'It's Grim Up North', used misdirection to create the illusion of the supernatural. From the app plaguing Alyssa (our first tragedy-stricken heroine, played by Robyn Cara) to her untimely death, to Red Rose mysteriously finding Rochelle and promising her wealth, protection, and her dead mum, it reeked of the paranormal.
Centred around a "place" in the UK known as The Garden, led by an unknown entity called The Gardener (played by Harrie Hayes), viewers knew it was screaming "red flag" from the minute they're introduced to the world.
Supernatural tech in films like Unfriended, One Missed Call and Pulse – technology allowing spirits an unlimited playground to terrorise the living – means we were well-versed in things going wrong. The only question in this case was: Why? Was it a hacked code? A demon trapped in an app? So many questions we needed answers to.
But in the latter half of the series, particularly its penultimate and final episodes, the disguise of digital spectres fell away. Red Rose wasn't a case of vengeful demons at all, it was one of flesh and blood – nameless faces behind computer screens.
Red Rose was nothing more than a façade for users of the dark web. A means for them to enact every perverted, sinister fantasy they wanted, limitlessly. What had started as an app to obsessively invade the privacy of Alyssa (yes, that Alyssa), escalated into an all-access pass to anyone's tech. It became a digital pathway of hunting other humans, torturing and killing them for sport.
Yet, the questions we'd all had from before, although different now, still remain. Arguably, they've increased. Here's everything we found out as the series came to its nail-biting end.
What is the purpose of Red Rose?
This is the main question that dogs the show, especially after its big twist and reveal.
Unfortunately, and a little annoyingly, we don't really get any solid answers.
Although we're aware these sinister online elements are taking pleasure in killing others, we're not told of their motivations beyond that. The ending leaves us with the sense that they do it because they can – just another means of online entertainment, like a game but with real-life control and consequence.
Perhaps ultimately, that is what Red Rose is about: being entitled to everyone's life, while also being able to command it. You become a god through the power of the internet.
Who is The Gardener, and what do they want?
In a similar vein to the overall purpose of the app, The Gardener's motivations are also left ambiguous. We are allowed to meet them in the last episode, another twist that sees our expectations turned on their head, when it's revealed The Gardener is a woman. Nevertheless, while we meet her, we know little about her.
She's the orchestrator, the wizard behind the curtain, and yet The Gardener actually helps the teens in the end, seemingly because she's grown attached to them.
But really, it feels like her help is simply another means of altering the game to keep it interesting. After all, all this is a game to her.
This is evident in the way she not only spares Noah's life, but also tells him where Wren is headed. But her reasoning is far from innocent. When Jaya meets her at the end, The Gardener explains she wanted to see how far Wren would go, and whether she could be pushed to kill.
What really happened to Rochelle?
Roch's (played by Isis Hainsworth) death was an expected but sad fate for one of the series' best characters. Feisty, stubborn, and sensitive at heart, she was able to steal the show despite dying in the second episode. However, what plagued her demise was the question of what really happened. Was it suicide like it appeared, or had the app got to her?
Most viewers suspected foul play, but it wasn't until the final episode that we learned it wasn't death by ghosts, but cold-hearted murder. Wren (played by Amelia Clarkson) watched the footage of someone breaking into Roch's house and attacking her, the final image of Roch screaming was a haunting moment that made her tale into something all the more tragic.
Will Rick be blamed for Red Rose?
The sombre ending of this show takes on a deeper meaning when we see Wren's dad, Rick (played by Adam Nagaitis), arrested. Although we know he had nothing to do with Red Rose, his criminal past and the fact he was found next to a dead body with the murder weapon sealed his fate. Another victim of the app.
Whether he will actually take the blame for what's happened is anyone's guess, not just because a second series (as of February 2023) is yet to be announced, but because all evidence of Red Rose was deleted.
Faced with few ways to save Wren, Jaya and Noah saw no other means of helping her than taking away The Gardener's main tool: the app. By deleting Red Rose, her audience was lost. But, given the fact The Gardener seems unaffected by this when Jaya finally meets her, it seems that deleting the app was in vain, and there may be more tricks up her sleeve.
Red Rose lives on
After all the death, pain, and heartbreak, the ending left us with little peace of mind as we travelled from the rainy streets of Bolton, England to Tokyo, Japan.
There, we happened upon another group of friends whose worlds were about to change forever. The familiar notification sound of Red Rose sounded, as a member of the group was targeted by the app. Now decorated in white and gold, the app appeared on-screen asking "Do you want to really live?"
It was a chilling ending. One that reminds us that the app is never over, even if the series is. Red Rose is an idea, a concept that thrives on thje connectivity and influence, both good and bad, of social media.
Even if we never get a second series, which in all honesty, isn't necessary, the legacy of Red Rose lives on.
Red Rose is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and on Netflix now.
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