The Cage ending explained: What happens to Leanne and Matty at the end of the BBC thriller?
The heartbreaking reveal in the courtroom changed everything for the the hapless thieves that had everyone rooting for them
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for all episodes of The Cage.
We knew The Cage was going to be something special, and we were correct - over the course of five incredible episodes, Sheridan Smith (Leanne) and Michael Socha (Matty,) took viewers on one of the best televisual rides of their lives.
Article continues belowThe Cage ending explained
The final episode of The Cage picks up where episode four left off, with Matty and Leanne having a shared moment of relief and joy as they drive off with a bag containing £30,000 of stolen money from the casino.
Leanne had managed to throw the cash into a holdall before escaping the fake High Roller event that was actually Gary's desperate attempt to force his employees into counting cash he needed laundering quickly.
As the pair flee the casino in Leanne's car, Gary makes a dash from it on foot, but is quickly apprehended by DS Ning on suspicion of selling Class A narcotics.
He promises to give her "somebody bigger than me," in return for his freedom, alluding to the time they once collaborated to have somebody from his drug dealing empire arrested, as part of Ning's attempts to clean Liverpool up.
What Gary actually did was hand over "a kid" instead of somebody from high up in the ranks - the youngster later took his own life in his cell. Ning's guilt over this had resulted in her having a breakdown at work and being placed on leave.
This ramped up her grudge against Gary and determination to take him down at any cost - including working undercover at the casino and using police resources when she was actually on enforced sick leave.
Leanne and Matty agree to "lay low" while they work out their next steps, and Matty heads home to throw some things in a bag so they can escape somewhere for a few days.
While packing, he gets a voicemail from loan shark Paul, insisting Matty has to drop the drugs he's been holding for him, to Keswick. Unbeknown to Leanne, Matty puts the bag of drugs into the boot of her car along with his clothes, suggesting Keswick as their getaway destination.
Their few days away threaten to descend into farce when Leanne insists on bringing her children Thomas and Ruby, and the recently discharged from hospital Nanna along for the ride.
"I don't believe this, we're going to have to hijack a f***ing bus," says an exasperated Matty, gesturing to the unexpected additions to the car. Things get worse when they enter Cumbria and the car gets a flat tyre, leaving them stranded in a layby in the middle of nowhere.
The pair get out of the car for a big rumination on how they've messed up their lives, before some local police come by to offer assistance.
Some of Matty's drugs fall out of his bag when one of the officers opens the boot to look for a spare tyre, and their paths are then on a collision course for potential disaster as Matty and Leanne are arrested for county lines drug offences.
With everyone who was present at the fake High Roller now arrested, they all refuse to answer questions from the detectives, repeating "no comment" to everything.
That is, everyone except Gary's mum Nancy. Still dressed in her finery for the 'event' she was looking forward to that never happened, she doesn't hold back in telling police her son is "a drug dealer, a thief, and a violent man" who needs help - you tell them, Nancy.
Six months later, Leanne and Matty are awaiting trial. Matty wasn't granted bail and is waiting for his behind bars, while his attempts to rebuild his relationship with daughter Emily using illicit mobiles stashed in his cell, repeatedly fail.
There's to be no trial for Gary as drugs weren't actually found the night he was arrested, and as he points out, there's no case for charging him for having money at the casino because that's what casinos are full of.
There's sad news for Leanne, as Nanna has died. As her trial date draws near, Leanne is holding Nanna's wake.
When Gary arrives at the wake to speak with Leanne, he shows the real ambiguity of his character. He still hopes Leanne will run away to Tenerife with him, confirming he does genuinely have feelings for her.
Viewers would have been wondering whether he was just using her to find out who was robbing from him, and asking whether he faked romantic feelings to get what he wanted.
The displays of violence and rage he'd shown at times, mixed with the total lack of guilt he felt over pushing a young boy to suicide, don't show a man who looks like he could love easily, but he does show Leanne definite tenderness at the wake.
He is genuinely disappointed when she refuses the offer of a new life in Tenerife, probably leaving some people tuning in baffled about the complexity of his motivations.
The day of the trial arrives, and a reluctant Emily is only there to support her dad Matty because "me mum made me." Thomas assures her their respective parents are both good people, and she has a blunt response - "They had a bag full of gear and a load of cash in the car."
As a teen, she's yet to understand that good people can do bad things, and impossible life circumstances can lead people you love to act in ways you'd never imagine when there's simply no alternatives.
The evidence is stacked against them, and it looks like Leanne and Matty are headed for lengthy sentences. That's until Matty stands up to admit, "It was me, I did it all," despite it being Leanne who stole the money.
With Leanne free to go, the reason Matty descended into addiction becomes clear in the most heartbreaking way, in the form of a letter read to the court by his mum.
Do you remember early in the show when Matty needed to collect his bag of drugs from a stream, but couldn't because he was afraid of water?
It turns out that as a nine-year-old, he pretended to be drowning to get his brother to jump into a body of water to 'save' him. His brother Daniel drowned as a result of the prank.
"My Matthew has never recovered," Shelagh says. There won't be a dry eye in any house as Michael Socha puts in an incredible performance here, as a devastated and broken Matty struggles to hold it together.
What happens to Matty?
Matty ends up in prison, which isn't the outcome viewers will want, but offers a strange hopefulness for him.
With Emily now seeing her dad in a new light, the pair have been able to reconnect in the most amazing way, sharing music playlists and having a touching newfound respect for one another.
Leanne visits him, and it seems their friendship is cemented for ever. Matty seems happy and finally has the peace he hasn't been able to find in his life.
Meanwhile, while Gary has a freedom of sorts, and is last seen living alone in Tenerife with nobody around him. No doubt he'll spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, never finding any serenity from his previous actions and anger issues.
What happens to Leanne?
Cleared of all charges, Leanne has been able to get on with life, and is even back working at the casino and living with Nancy, who finally has something resembling the close family she never had.
Nancy is now back in charge of the casino in Gary's absence, and she and Leanne seem to be having an absolute blast working and living together.
In the show's closing moments Leanne is back in the cage. Holding a huge wad of cash, she looks into the camera and gives small smile which is open to interpretation.
Is she about to start robbing again because she loves the thrill of it? Is she setting up viewer suspicions that a second series will follow? Is she just happy because it's all over? You decide.
All episodes of The Cage are currently available to view on BBC iPlayer.
