Something evil has come to London in Netflix and Tom Bidwell‘s crime drama The Irregulars. Based loosely on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, the series follows a band of misfits as they investigate supernatural crimes. Until now, we have watched Bea (Thaddea Graham) and her gang investigate and uncover the secrets of the chaos descending on London. In the season finale, “Chapter Eight: The Ecstasy of Life”, they head into the underground, where together they will face untold terror on a dangerous quest to locate the Rip.
It goes without saying that this recap will contain spoilers for The Irregulars. If you haven’t watched it, I highly suggest checking out the series here!
The Irregulars’ season finale opens as The Linen Man (Clarke Peters) and Sherlock (Henry Llyod-Hughes) set their eyes on the Rip. The Linen Man explains that if he doesn’t take control of the Rip, it will tear open and the world will cease to exist. Sherlock is worried that he won’t hold up his end of the bargain, but the Linen Man promises he will get what he came for.
At 221B Bea updates Jessie (Darci Shaw) on what happened while she was trapped in her nightmares. Jessie realizes that The Linen Man must have gone into Bea’s head as well. Bea shares how she sees Alice (Eileen O’Higgins) saying goodbye for the final time and that she wasn’t even old enough to remember it. But Jessie knows that The Linen Man can tap into any memory as long as it is in your mind. She suggests Bea stay behind; however, Bea doesn’t want to hear it.
In another room, Watson (Royce Pierreson) is preparing the boys for the battle to come. He tries to solve the riddle to unlock the weapon’s cabinet when Billy (Jojo Macari) takes a smalls statue and breaks the lock. Billy grabs his weapon of choice and then passes a rifle back to Spike (McKell David). Leopold (Harrison Osterfield) declines a weapon at first, but the rest of the group tells him he will need it and not let himself get caught short.
Once the group is armed and ready, they set out to the Rip. The city has fallen to mayhem and Watson warns them that the large the Rip gets, the worse the mayhem will become. He tells them that he was apprehensive when he first asked for their help because they were children. Bea reminds him that they still are. At the Rip, we see that The Linen Man has begun the ritual to grant him his god-like powers.
As Bea and the gang make their way through the streets, we can see London going up in flames. Off in the distance, we can also see the Rip’s power crackling through the sky like lightning. The gang arrives at Aldgate to find the door barricaded shut. Watson has another plan, though. He had checked the construction ordinance before leaving and knows that the old sewer line will run straight into the tunnels. Bea praises him for his smart thinking and he sarcastically replies that she didn’t bring him along for his charm.
Billy tries to send Spike down first, but he is too chicken to until something rather large starts heading their way. Once safely in the sewers, Watson warns the group to be as quiet as possible and they begin heading towards the Rip. As they get closer, Bea begins to lag behind. She begins to hear whispers again, but this time they aren’t her mother’s. In this new memory, she sees Watson speaking with Sister Anna (Lisa Dwyer Hogg). She isn’t sure what they are saying, but then Sister Anna turns to her and tells her that something has happened to her mom.
Bea breaks down and beings to scream as she relives the memory of finding out her mother was dead. Watson and the rest overhear her and he backtracks to try and help her calm down. Sherlock can hear her cries as well and tells The Linen Man that they have arrived. The Linen Man warns Sherlock that he isn’t done but pauses the ritual to deal with them. Watson helps Bea get back on her feet and the group continues to make their way through the tunnels.
The group begins to separate little by little and a white flash passes by Spike and touches his shoulder. In the next moment, we see Vic Collins (Alex Ferns) making his way towards him. We then see the same white flash pass and touch Leopold, who instantly gets a nosebleed. We then see the same thing happen to Spike, who instantly falls to the ground terrified. Jessie, Bea and Watson overhear Billy and Spike’s scream and Watson realizes that The Linen Man has come for them.
Just before the same white flash moves past them, Watson fires and stops The Linen Man from coming close. Jessie tells them to stay where they are and that she will handle him. Watson tries to stop her, but she runs after The Linen Man. He stays behind to try and help Bea break out of The Linen Man’s control. We then see Leopold bleeding profusely out of his nose, mouth and ears following by Spike screaming out for someone to “help her; she’s dying”. It then jumps to Billy being taunted by Vic.
Jessie finally catches up with The Linen Man and he reaches out to touch her. He claims she has such a beautiful mind and it would be a shame to destroy it, but she informs him that they aren’t in her memories – they are in his. “Chapter Eight: The Ecstasy of Life” continues to flip from Spike to Leopold to Billy before settling on Watson and Bea again. He tries to get her to calm down and pull through this, but Bea struggles as she sees another memory of being left at the workhouse.
We pop back into The Linen Man’s mind, where he tells Jessie there is nothing here she can use against him. But he’s wrong. Jessie knows that this memory they are watching was when he killed his best friend. That he tortured so many people and each time he took a piece of that with him. She reaches out and grabs his arm, forcing him to relive all of the times he tortured someone and to feel a bit of all of their fear at one time. Terrified, he stumbles back and falls off the small cliff. Everyone currently under his control are set free from their nightmares.
Everyone tries to regroup, but the tunnel collapses and separates Billy, Spike and Leopold from Bea, Jessie and Watson. Billy’s leg is broken in the collapse and Bea tells them to head back to the cellar and keep each other safe. Billy is reluctant to go at first but eventually agrees. Spike and Leopold help Billy out of the tunnels while Bea and Watson continue on to find Jessie, who had made her way down to The Linen Man. He is somehow still alive and warns Jessie that if she tries to close the Rip, she will die.
Jessie knows that this is possible but is ready to do the right thing, just like her mother. The Linen Man continues to taunt her by telling her that when he went into Arthur’s (Rory McCann) mind, he didn’t just see where the Rip was but who opened it. She demands to know who it was, but he just says that deep down, she already knows who it is and then dies. Bea asks Jessie who she thinks it is, but instead of answering, Jessie begins running towards the Rip.
Bea and Watson follow behind her and find Sherlock and the Rip. They all watch as Alice makes her way out of the Rip and breaks it open further. Bea believes this is all in her head, but Jessie tells her that this is real. Above ground, we can see that the streets have gotten far worse as Spike, Billy and Leopold navigate past a cannibal feasting on another man’s flesh. Down at the Rip, we get a sweet family reunion until the topic of the girl’s upbringing comes up. Sherlock apologizes for not being there for the girls and claims he tried, but Bea believes he is lying and that he abandoned her just last night.
Sherlock claims that they are just alike. He and Bea would do anything to be with Alice again, which is why he did it. Alice promises Bea that she is never going to leave her again and from here on out, she will take care of her. Jessie begins to realize that the Rip is only getting worse the longer Alice is outside of it. She asks Alice whys he is opening the Rip.
Back near the cellar, Spike, Billy and Leopold realize that things are getting far worse. Anytime someone even makes a small wish or prays, they are changing. It’s clear to them that Jessie hasn’t gotten a chance to close the Rip yet. They see a group of people with Sister Anna being chased down by a warped man and Spike runs up and “rifles” him. They suggest that Sister Anna and two parishioners come down into the cellar to keep safe.
“Chapter Eight: The Ecstasy of Life” flashes back to Alice, explaining that she opened the Rip to return to the world of the living. That once it is completely open, she will no longer be trapped there. Jessie understands her motives but is upset that her mother knew this would make monsters out of people. Alice explains that it is only temporary and when the barrier between both worlds collapses, the chaos will be gone. Watson realizes what she is trying to do and speaks up. He knows that when the barrier collapses, this world will cease to exist.
He asks Alice what world she came from. She explains it’s a world where spirits who aren’t ready to move on remain – purgatory. Watson realizes that she wants to turn the world into purgatory and Alice tells him it will be the end of death. Jessie disagrees with her mother, knowing that this isn’t worth the cost they have to pay. Sherlock agrees with Alice, though Jessie realizes they have both been warped by their sadness. She knows she needs to close the Rip, but Alice warns her that it will force her back into the other world if she does. She tries to make her way up to it, but Bea stops her.
We get a quick glimpse back at the cellar; monsters are trying to break in. Billy and Spike are ready to give up when Leopold reminds them that they still need to fight. They have each other and ask long as they do, they have something to fight for. The three get ready to make their final stand against the monsters.
Bea continues to try and stop Jessie from closing the Rip. In an attempt to help her understand, Jessie enters Bea’s mind. Bea accuses her of bringing her worst memories to life, but Jessie wants to show her the good ones. Bea doesn’t believe they have any, but as we see flashbacks of the gang playing games together in the cellar, Bea and Leopold’s night together and their first night in the workhouse when Bea snuck into the nursery to sleep next to Jessie, Bea begins to realize just how happy her life has been.
We get another quick glimpse at the cellar; Leopold realizes that Sister Anna begins praying with the two parishioners. He tries to stop them from continuing the prayer, but they aren’t listening. As they finish off the prayer with an “amen,” we watch as Sister Anna becomes warped and her eyes blacken over.
We return to the Rip, where Bea explains that while she and Sherlock might hurt the same, they are different. Alice doesn’t want Jessie to close the Rip and be forced to leave, but Bea knows now that it must be done. She realizes it wasn’t the grieving that hurt them but the fact that they didn’t grieve at all that did. Bea hugs her mother and thanks her for giving her the chance to say goodbye. Alice turns to Sherlock, asking for help, but he understands now that it isn’t about them anymore but about the girls. He tells Alice she needs to go back as well. Watson warns Jessie that the Rip is collapsing and she needs to close it.
Jessie beings to close the Rip as the scene flashing back to the basement. A now corrupted Sister Anna kills the two parishioners and turns on the boys. They try to get away, but Sister Anna catches up with them. She throws Billy and Spike to the opposite side of the room, rendering them unconscious and goes after Leopold. Sister Anna tells him that he is unpure and she will baptize him before she kills him. She throws him into the sewer water and beings to try to drown him.
Jessie continues to close the Rip, with Bea anchoring her to this side. Alice says goodbye to them and tells them that she loves them before she gets sucked in. Sherlock then turns to Watson and tells him that he has been a better friend than he ever deserved. Confused, he watches Sherlock run-up to the Rip and put his hand in as well. Jessie cries out to him to stop and calls him dad for the first time. Watson tries to hold him back as Bea fights to keep Jessie on this side as well.
In the cellar, we watch Billy come to as he overhears Sister Anna trying to drown Leopold. However, he is struggling to stay awake and is not able to get up and help him.
Watson and Bear are still struggling to hold onto Bea and Sherlock. Jessie loses her footing and Bea struggles to keep her steady. She calls out to Watson to help her, but he refuses to let go of Sherlock. Bea continues to beg, telling him that he can let Sherlock go, that she needs his help to save her. He finally lets go of Sherlock, who is pulled into the Rip and grabs ahold of Jessie. The scene then flashes back and forth between Leopold and Sister Anna to Jessie, Bea and Watson until Jessie can finally close the Rip. With Watson’s help, Bea keeps her sister from being dragged in.
With the Rip closed, Sister Anna comes to and thankfully, before she was successful in drowning Leopold. Bea struggles to come to terms with what happened and Watson tells her that they’re gone. At the cellar, Billy finally comes to completely and he and Leopold realize that Jessie was successful. The two go to check on Spike and are worried he might be dead, but he slowly comes to as well. Spike asks if it is finally over and they share the good news with him.
The next morning, Billy, Spike, Jessie, Bea, Leopold and Watson meet at Alice’s grave and place flowers on her tombstone. Bea gives a beautiful eulogy for Alice and Sherlock. The group gets ready to take their leave and Bea and Watson are left at the grave. Bea asks Waston what he will do now. He isn’t sure what he will do, but he thinks he can find something. Bea invites him to come over for fish and chips, but he declines and says he has dinner plans.
Back at the cellar, the group digs into their dinner. Leopold asks Bea if she would take a step outside with him. Leopold tells Bea that he can’t stay for dinner and has to return to the palace. He promised his mother he would go to Europe and leaves the next day. He explains that because he is a royal, he has expectations of who he needs to marry. Leopold says that he likes Bea, but he has to marry who he is told even if he doesn’t like her.
Bea is confused with why Leopold is going along with this. He explains that he loves her, but he has to go along with this. Bea tells him that he can do whatever he wants, that after spending all this time, she thought he would have changed. But Leopold shares that he has to do it because this was the only way he could get them to agree to help Billy. He gave up his freedom for Billy’s. If he doesn’t go back, they will arrest Billy again. He doesn’t want Billy to know, though and asks Bea to keep it a secret. Bea finally understands why Leopold has no choice.
He explains that he didn’t try to trick her but was trying to be his real self around her and the rest of the group. That he was happy that she liked him when she didn’t even know he was a prince. She asks him if this was real and he reminds her that this was all real. Leopold heads off to the palace and Bea finds herself at 221B. She finds Watson home alone, having lied about having dinner plans. She offers to share her fish and chips with him.
Back at the cellar, Spike and Jessie are discussing her new powers. Jessie asks him what he saw when The Linen Man touched him in the sewers. He tells her that he saw her everywhere, but she was hurt and dying. Jessie realizes that Spike’s worst nightmare is losing her. She reaches out and holds his hand as they cuddle closer together.
Bea and Watson are sharing the fish and chips as they talk about his past. She asks him if he didn’t get an Irregulars tattoo because he felt guilty, but he says it is because they are vulgar. Bea thought it might have been because Watson is kind of a chicken. He tells her that if she gets a tattoo, he will and Bea shares with him that she already has one. Bea then asks him how to stop loving someone because it hurts too much. Watson responds that you don’t and Bea breaks down.
Watson gets up to leave but turns back and comforts her instead. Bea tells him that everyone leaves her, but Watson promises that he is here and won’t be going anywhere. And this is where the first season of The Irregulars comes to a close.
RELATED: Check out all of our recaps for The Irregulars!
We have finally reached the end of the first season of The Irregulars. The final episode, “Chapter Eight: the Ecstacy of Life”, tied up nearly all of the season’s loose ends. I’m excited that Jessie was the one to deal with The Linen Man in the end. I was a bit worried that they were going to leave him up to Sherlock or Watson. But I felt it was fitting to see Jessie really learn to use her powers. I will say that I was shocked to learn that Alice opened the Rip from the other side. This would explain how The Linen Man was able to convince Sherlock to go with him. At that time, nothing in the world meant more to him than Alice did.
Thankfully, Sherlock seems to have learned his lesson and sided with the girls in the end. I was in tears watching them say goodbye to their mom and then when Sherlock decided to follow her. He had just started to act like a dad! Thankfully, Jessie was saved because Watson realized that he had to let Sherlock go figuratively and physically. I really like how after everything that happened, he was able to fill this almost parent/older friend role for the gang. Preparing them for battle, guiding them through the tunnels and then being there for them in the end. His relationship with Bea has been rocky at best, but the season closed out with the two leaning on each other for comfort.
I hope that we get a season two so we can explore more of the show. What will life be like for Bea after Leopold leaves? I want to see Jessie learn more about her powers and watch her relationship with Spike grow. After everything that has happened, she has an excellent support system. I want to see what happens with Billy and Bea’s relationship and while I don’t want to see him be a rebound for her, I would like to see their friendship grow. The thing I want to see most, though, is another season where Watson, Bea and the gang work together to face off against London’s supernatural enemies. So here is to hoping that Netflix does the right thing and gives us a third season!
Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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