Boy Swallows Universe continues three years later, where a teenage Eli is preparing for his mother's release from prison.
He and Gus seem to have a solid plan involving the money from the drugs, but things soon take a dark turn and there's more drama for the family, especially when they find out who their mother's new boyfriend is.
As the penultimate episode, things are heating up, and we learn about all that has happed in three years, leading to a dramatic final scene.
Here's what went down in Boy Swallows Universe episode 6...
Three years later...
Episode 6 opens with 17-year-old Eli coming out of the sea after a swim, where he's stunned to spot Lyle sitting in a beach hut writing his novel. He tells him he thought he was dead, and Lyle replies "I'll always be part of your life, mate".
This is revealed to be a dream, where Eli wakes at home in bed. In reality, he has no idea what happened to Lyle or where he is, so at this point he is assumed dead after crossing some dangerous criminals.
Eli is still writing letters to his prison pen pal, which he reveals he has been doing for four years by this point in the story. It is through these letters that we're caught up with everything that has happened.
Bich Dang is disabled and was placed in a nursing home and Darren has landed himself in jail. There's good news for the Bell family too as Robert is sober and Frances is set to be released from prison, so the boys will finally be reunited with her mother.
The boys are planning to dig up the money they had buried and buy a new house so that the three of them can have a fresh start. However, Frances drops a bombshell that has Eli seething once they reunite.
Frances reveals that she's fallen in love with Teddy Kallas, the man who betrayed Lyle, unbeknownst to her. Not only that, but she plans to move in with him. Naturally Eli is furious and tries to convince her to live with Robert again, but she refuses.
Unfortunately for Eli, Frances isn't the only one who has gotten on the wrong side of him. He learns that Gus donated all the money to Shelley, Gus' old friend who now suffers from muscular dystrophy after her seizure at school all those years ago.
Angry and with no money, Eli decides to apply for a job at the local newspaper. However, despite his best efforts, he doesn't get the job because the screening is over and he missed the window.
To maintain some stability and to appease Frances, Eli, and Gus eventually agree to live with her and Teddy for a few weeks, so they move in. Meanwhile, journalist Caitlyn meets with Bich asking what happened to Lyle, but she refuses to talk as she is scared someone will kill her. She gives her her business card anyway, hoping she'll change her mind.
Unsurprisingly, things turn frosty and then downright dangerous when Eli starts confronting Teddy about what happened with Lyle. He manages to annoy Teddy by calling him a whistleblower and a "rat", and he even goes on to try and smother Frances, but Eli knocks him out before he can.
The Bell family is now essentially homeless, having no money to buy a new house or to maintain the old property, which is already a risky place to live considering the time they were ambushed which resulted in Eli losing his finger.
As a result, Frances and the boys return to Robert's. But Teddy goes after them with a baseball bat, only to be interrupted by a familiar figure we've seen throughout the series but haven't yet properly met.
The man is revealed to be Alex Bermuda, the man Eli has been writing to in prison all these years, and who knows so much about Eli's life thanks to the letters. He proceeds to beat up Teddy to protect Eli and the kids. But, how did he get there?!
Meanwhile, the episode's dramatic conclusion sees Bich Dang's fears come true when Ivan breaks into her room at the care facility, smothering her with a pillow to make sure she doesn't talk.
