Smother final episode review: A farewell full of shocking revelations and macabre violence
Dean Fagan and Dervla Kirwan in the season finale in Smother, on RTÉ.
Finn wants the truth but can he handle the truth? The finale of Smother features Ireland’s freakiest family imploding in a series of shocking revelations and macabre acts of violence.
Family matriarch Val has led the clan in packing away a series of huge secrets in a bid to save face and protect her family.
But when confronted by Val, who now knows he orchestrated the violent break-in at her home, Finn doubles down and insists he’s going nowhere until he knows what really happened to his father.
Val meets Elaine and her daughters and tells them the only way to survive Finn’s onslaught is to reveal everything that really happened on the night of Denis’s death.
She does so after having her suspicions confirmed that Finn has been planning vengeance on her all along.
When she asks Finn why he hates her so much, he blames her for the death of his mother, who he reveals was an addict and started using again when she was cut out of Denis’s life.
“She was my mum. You tore her heart out and in its place you left a cheque. I found her with a needle stuck in her arm. I was seven Val. Seven!”
 Knowing she has run out of road, Val brings Finn to the cliffs where Denis died and they’re met by Elaine and his siblings Before doing so, they have quite a bit of dirty laundry to rinse among themselves. Elaine responds to the news that Anna spiked her drink with a slap across the face.
As Finn discovers the real circumstances of his father’s death, he’s faced with a stark choice by the Ahern women, who all had their issues with Denis - keep the secret, or lose his newfound family.
The Aherns may feel that they’ve succeeded in quenching their secrets by bringing Finn into the fold. However, the truth causes more drama than the lies in this melodramatic yet entertaining finale.
A massive family row results in the shooting of Finn by Elaine’s youngest son. Grace decides she’s done with her drama-loving family and hightails it to London. Before doing so, she calls to her Garda ally Joe - and reveals to him there’s more to Denis’s accident than meets the eye. There’s a lot more trouble for the Aherns coming down the tracks.
- A third series of Smother will begin filming soon
