Rebus season 1 ending explained: Does Michael kill Cafferty?

Rebus season 1 is now out, and the ending makes it clear that we need more. The cliffhanger itself has left a lot of questions, but also, this younger and darker Rebus has been a joy to watch.

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for the Rebus season 1 finale

Up to the final episode, we saw how the different story threads were joining together. It all came to a head in the finale, with Rebus managing to get most of the gang out of the shed. It left just himself and Michael together, with Michael curious about why his brother would want to kill the chained up Cafferty.

As Rebus explains what happened to George, Michael points out that George was a bent copper. To be honest, are there any in this precinct who aren’t? Siobhan tries not to be, but she has done some questionable things. This episode sees her even willing to cover a few things up that she knows is going on.

Michael doesn’t kill Cafferty in the Rebus season 1 finale

Rebus manages to convince Michael to walk away. It’s not like Cafferty is going to talk, but it could mean that Michael is on Cafferty’s hit list. Well, Rebus says that he will handle the situation.

When there is a shot fired, Cafferty collapses. However, he wasn’t hit with the bullet. He’s having a heart attack. Rebus has his chance to allow Cafferty to die, but he doesn’t take it. Siobhan and Gill walk in to find Rebus trying to save the man’s life.

Wait, how did they know where Rebus and Cafferty were? Siobhan had figured that out based on things Rebus had told her. And they knew Cafferty was in trouble because Rhona called Gill to tell her something was happening.

Of course, Gill doesn’t believe the story that Rebus is telling her. This isn’t over, but there are more pressing issues at the moment.

Cafferty isn’t the one Michael should be worried about

At the hospital, Rebus finds out that George’s wife is now involved with Cafferty. She has zero morals or care about her husband at all. I’m glad that Rebus realized that he didn’t actually want her.

While at the hospital, Cafferty warns Rebus that it isn’t him who Michael will need to worry about. The man Michael killed earlier in the season was one of the UDA. Cafferty offers to help for a price, but Rebus decides to walk away and warn his brother.

We already know that Michael is on the run, though. He made a call to Chrissie and the boys to tell them he loves them. Chrissie had managed to convince Michael not to turn himself into the police, and this is probably a good thing at this point. Michael has a chance of survival if he’s on the run, but can Rebus find out where his brother is to get the message to him that the UDA is on his back?

Lockie transfers the money into a trust

As promised, Lockie sets Sammy up with money for the future. It’s clear that this is some sort of money laundering tactic, but Rhona doesn’t realize that. While Lockie clearly knows who Cafferty is, he doesn’t tell Rhona anything about what’s going on with his work.

However, Lockie’s involvement catches up to him. He’s shot at his own front door. This came just off the back of Lockie threatening Christie, so it’s likely something to do with that. However, it was a masked gunman.

The episode ends with Rebus saying that Rhona and Sammy can stay with him. He wanted his family back, but he admits that he didn’t want it to go down like this. He doesn’t even realize that Lockie is a bad guy at this point. This is where the season ends, and it makes it very clear that we need a second season to continue this story.

Most TV shows will wrap up the story within the first season. They then set up the stones to put us into the second season. That’s not the case here. The only answers we really have are to do with Rebus’s personal life. Everything else is still in the air, with questions about who killed Lockie, where Michael is, and whether Rebus will face a disciplinary for his involvement in the Cafferty situation.

Rebus is available to stream on Viaplay.

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