This article contains spoilers for The Couple Next Door episode 4.
The Couple Next Door is a psychological drama all about two couples and their increasingly entangled lives. Pete (Alfred Enoch) and Evie (Eleanor Tomlinson) quickly forged a friendship with their new neighbors, Danny (Sam Heughan) and Becka (Jessica De Gow) after moving into the area. However, none of them were expecting their lives to be turned upside down after their lives became sexually entangled after a weekend getaway!
The series' fourth episode was full of twists and turns. As well as dealing with the fallout from their encounter on their spa trip in episode 3, more secrets started to come to the forefront. Becka stumbled upon Danny's secret family situation, and Jean started to turn the tables on Alan over his obsession with their neighbor.
Plus, Pete and Sophie uncovered even more info about Robbie Spencer (and are even closer to implicating Danny in the whole situation), and Evie decided to keep her pregnancy a secret from Pete! Here's our full breakdown of what happened in The Couple Next Door episode 4.
Spencer's threat
The episode picks up right after Evie and Danny's encounter in the spa; Evie's keen to carry on, but Danny says he needs to get back to Becka.
When he walks to the other room, he finds Pete with his head in his hands, and Becka is stressed out. She is distraught over the leaked intimate video and photos, but Danny promises he'll track down who posted them.
Back in the neighborhood, Alan is taken away in an ambulance. Jean tells one of the paramedics she'd seen an intruder in the house across the street so sent Alan across the road to check things out, and the paramedic explains that he's suffered a stroke.
After the two couples return home, there's a frosty atmosphere between Pete and Evie. Evie — whose fascination with Danny is only growing more intense — tells Pete he shouldn't beat himself up about the encounter, but it's clear that Pete just wasn't into what happened between the four of them, and he storms off into the garden. Meanwhile, Becka and Danny noticed their back door was open and assumed someone had broken into their house and stole their pictures.
The following morning, Danny finds an envelope on his doorstep containing photos of his son. He gets in the car with Gary, and the pair argue about how to handle the Robbie Spencer situation; Danny doesn't want Rob threatening his family, so Gary tells him they've got to sort out the debt they owe him. Gary also hands over his pistol, with the hope of offering some "peace of mind", but insists they go and have a chat with the big boss.
A new lead
After giving Evie the silent treatment, Pete heads to work, and he spots Danny and Gary arguing. When he arrives at the office, Sophie shows Pete an image from their stakeout that clearly shows one of the cops on the scene was Gary. Since Pete recognized him from that morning, the pair begin to suspect Danny and Gary are the two officers who are working for Spencer.
Their chat is interrupted by Becka's arrival. She's lost all her work in the wake of the leak, and wanted to clear the air with Pete about their trip and hopes they can remain friends. During their chat, she let slip that Evie had assured her both of them were on the same page about trying non-monogamy, much to Pete's surprise.
Danny and Gary head to Spencer's home. Hot-headed Danny immediately tells Robbie Spencer to stay away from his family but Gary steps in to defuse the situation. Reluctantly, they agree to retrieve the stolen diamonds from the convoy hijackers.
That evening, Evie asks if Danny has been avoiding her. He reassures her but says they can't continue to sleep together if both partners aren't explicitly on board, much to her frustration. When Pete returns home, he and Evie argue over the trip; he's angry that she enjoyed sleeping with Danny, and Evie can't seem to understand why Pete didn't enjoy what happened between him and Becka.
In the morning, Pete challenges Danny about the building supplies company, and working for Robbie Spencer. In turn, Danny warns Pete to back away from his story, as he risks getting hurt if he keeps digging.
Across the road, Alan returns from the hospital. Having discovered his secret, Jean begins to taunt her husband about his obsession with Becka and how he is now reliant on her for care and investigates his room upstairs.
Later, Jean produces one of the stolen photos and questions where Alan got it from, whether he stole it or took it himself. Elsewhere, Evie takes a pregnancy test after teaching a class and is delighted when it comes back positive.
Becka learns the truth
Whilst picking her son up from school, Becka is asked to make a school trip payment; she checks their savings account to find most of the money has been moved elsewhere.
Returning home, she asks Danny about the missing cash. He says he sent an amount (he doesn't remember how much) as a deposit for a new kitchen to a contractor. Since her work has dried up, she wants to try and get the money back, but Danny reassures her he'll sort things out.
Outside, Becka overhears Jean and Gloria chatting about how Alan was in their house. Jean offers the same lie about spotting an intruder; she tells Becka Alan had gone over and found the back door open but the person had fled and says it must have been the stress that triggered his stroke. Becka is thankful that Alan was there, and offers to aid Alan's recovery if she can.
Then, she spots Danny heading off on his bike. She follows Danny to Lena's and spots him going inside. Danny takes his other son, Ethan, for a day out, though this grows awkward when Ethan asks to meet Danny's family and he pushes back, saying he needs more time. Becka returns to the address later on and asks who Lena is. She doesn't offer an answer but invites Becka inside.
On Danny's trail
Evie takes a trip to visit her parents for her mother's birthday, and makes her apologies for Pete's absence. Whilst there, she shares her pregnancy news with her sister, who is delighted. Her mother soon lets on that she knows about the baby, and says she was praying for good news for the couple.
Meanwhile, Gary and Danny meet Noddy, an ex-con, in the pub on the hunt for info about the hijackers. He lets slip that the gang members belong to an outfit run by a Belgian man, and their entire MO is intercepting and stealing high-value illicit goods (like uncut, smuggled diamonds) to sell on themselves. He also tells them both where the criminal gang is currently based.
Sophie overhears their conversation and quickly starts recording it on their phone; she texts the location to Pete and follows them to the hideout. Danny heads inside and starts looking for the diamonds, all while Sophie snaps photos of them.
The search is interrupted by the arrival of two gang members; Danny tries to hide, and Sophie rushes outside to meet Pete and explain what she's seen. When the gang members leave again, Danny wrestles open a locked drawer to retrieve the key to a storage unit where the stolen goods are presumably being kept.
Sophie tells Pete she's worried they're potentially interrupting an undercover operation, but Pete's sure that's not the case as he thought Danny was way too guilty-looking earlier on. At that moment, Gary and Danny drive off, and Pete and his neighbor locked eyes...
The episode then ended with Pete phoning Rachel. He was trying to reach Evie, but just missed her as she left home. Rachel then passed on her congratulations; when Pete asked what for, it becomes clear that Evie hadn't told him she'd fallen pregnant!
The Couple Next Door is available to stream on the Channel 4 website and on Starz in the US.
