Mare of Easttown episode five is now available in the UK and the US, and viewers have taken to Twitter to discuss a major moment in the final ten minutes of the episode. Warning, massive spoilers ahead for those who have yet to see the episode!
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In the latest instalment of the hit Kate Winslet drama, Mare and Zabel (Evan Peters) go to investigate the registration plate of a van when they get much more when they bargained for, having accidentally stumbled upon the man who is holding Katie Bailey and Missy captive, who then begin banging pots upstairs to make their presence known.
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In a shocking moment, the perpetrator shoots Zabel in the head before injuring Mare and hunting her around his house, who desperately hides from him and eventually manages to shoot and kill him.
Zabel is played by Evan Peters
Taking to Twitter to discuss the jaw-dropping moment, one person wrote: "My heart was [expletive] RACING during those final ten minutes. Some of the craziest tension since True Detective S1." Another joked: "Me googling “chance of surviving a gunshot wound to the head” #MareOfEasttown #Evanpeters." A third person wrote: "By some TV miracle I hope Zabel comes back from that shot to the head. Amen."
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Speaking about the shocking twist, Evan told EW: "It's incredibly tragic. We wanted to bring a little levity in with him. Originally, we toyed around with the idea of making him overcompensating for his imposter syndrome as a little more cocky. And it just felt, when he dies, you want it to be shocking and tragic.
Were you shocked by the plot twist?
"So we decided to make him a little bit more of a bumpkin, trying to figure it out. He's okay. He's not the best detective. You know, he's good. He gets the job done, but he's not Mare. Mare is an incredible detective. But, it's that arc of him finally getting better. And I think at the end there, he does some really good detective work. He at least got that."
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