Red Rose – Season 1 Episode 7 “I Heart BLTN” Recap & Review

I Heart BLTN

From the first scenes of episode 7 of Red Rose, it seems like it is a platform where viewers are invited to watch the misery of the victim. We hear them discuss the fire (outside Jaya’s room) and Ashley landing up in the hospital.

Wren and the others are brought in for questioning by the police. Wren tries to explain about Red Rose and the Gardener but the officer seems more interested in Rick. We get a shocker when Wren runs into Mena, Jaya’s mother, who says Jaya is dead. She was not able to make it out of the room alive due to the fire.

Ashley might get better. She is recovering in the hospital. Antony reveals about the tablet when Wren tells the group about Jaya. A nurse brings in a courier of roses as they are talking. Five roses for each of the kids. Wren takes them out and puts everyone’s phones in the vase filled with water.  Taz stays with Ashley and talks to her about Paris as the other kids are picked up by their mums. Antony’s brother, Liam, and Andrea seem to realize the stress he is going through and rally behind him.

So do Rachel and Diana. Shelley catches Noah stuffing a claw hammer in his bag. She confronts him about the recent events and concedes she does not know how to protect him. Noah calms her down and says he is going to the hospital. Rick warns Rachel and Wren against leaving the house. But Wren senses something fishy is going on and Rick might be in danger himself. Antony confronts Andrea about her drinking habit. He admonishes her for not being there for him when he needed Andrea the most. Antony hopes things would get better but he does not believe they will and dejectedly leaves.

Noah catches a black car chasing him through the woods. He makes a run to escape but is caught up by the pursuer, who tranquillizes him with a dart and Noah falls unconscious to the round. Taz is sent home by Ashley’s parents but he refuses to leave. Rachel discovers that Wren has locked her room and escaped through the window.

We catch a glimpse of Wren walking on the dark street and a camera picking it up on the RR website and the viewers singing a song. Noah finds himself roped up in the middle of a road. The pursuer is a woman but not the Gardener. She douses him in kerosene but decides not to go ahead with it. She also warns Noah to tell Wren that the Gardener wants someone to die that night and she is playing “the game” no matter what.

Liam wakes up Antony in the middle of the night and gives him his gaming headset. The stranger asks if “Andrea enjoyed the gift I sent.” He proceeds to insult Antony for his sexual orientation and asks him if he is scared. Antony embraces his perceived shortcomings and the stranger says he will enjoy seeing Antony’s friends die. Antony leaves the house asking Liam to stay locked inside.

A male nurse stares at Taz and utters “Dickhead” as he vanishes behind the staff room door. Taz rushes upstairs to check on Ashley and finds she is not there. The nurse says they got instructions to move her to a different ward but cannot find where. Taz receives a call from Jaya, who is still alive. We see that she was able to escape and has gone to her safe house. She informs Taz that Ashley is in a metal box.

Antony is almost apprehended by a masked person but he finds a trio of drunk girls who agree to accompany him to the hospital. Taz is able to locate Ashley, who is now awake. He kisses her and she smiles. Noah reaches the hospital and so does Antony. Wren is the only one who is not there and we see she has gone to Rick’s house. Suddenly, the television in the room goes off. We see the Red Rose logo and “Daddy Cool” blaring through the speakers. Rick is being held somewhere. When Wren breaks the tv, she receives a call from Roche saying Rick is at Le Mans Crescent.

The Episode Review

Jaya making it out alive was expected, although pretty unreasonable. She is the only one who can crack the code. Such has been the plotting until now that without her, Red Rose will emerge a clear winner. What is up with Rick, by the way? He has been an enigma since episode one. Attempts were made to humanize him through the visits with Wren to Blackpool and involvement at home. But he still remains a person of suspicion.

Taz and Ashley’s arches have finally collided. They had been going back and forth and this episode sealed the deal. The heroics of the group are in stark contrast to the cowardice of the people behind Red Rose. It has become a zero-sum game with the finale poised to happen at Le Mans Crescent. Hopefully this will be a happy ending!