The Couple Next Door episode 5 recap: Pete hits boiling point

Pete sits at his desk in The Couple Next Door episode 5
(Image credit: Channel 4)

This article contains spoilers for The Couple Next Door episode 5.

The Couple Next Door piles on more and more drama here! Ever since our two couples, Pete (Alfred Enoch) and Evie (Eleanor Tomlinson) and Danny (Sam Heughan) and Becka (Jessica De Gouw) had their pivotal spa trip, things have only been getting more uncomfortable between the two couples. But Evie and Danny's tryst is far from the only secret that's plagued the two sets of partners, and this penultimate episode sees things leading toward a dangerous conclusion indeed.

In episode five, Pete confronts Evie about her pregnancy, Evie's obsession with Danny deepens even further, Danny and Gary go to retrieve Robbie Spencer's stolen goods, and Becka finally gets to confront Alan for stalking her and exposing her and Danny's intimate videos. Plus, Danny continues to do Robbie Spencer's dirty work, leading up to a disastrous confrontation between him, Pete, and one of Spencer's thugs...

If you need a recap of everything that was revealed, here's a full breakdown of The Couple Next Door episode 5.

Confrontations

Becka confronts Alan in The Couple Next Door episode 5

Becka finally got to confront Alan about the leaked videos. (Image credit: Channel 4)

The episode begins with Danny in bed, waking up from a dream about Evie. Once the title card has disappeared, we hop across the street to Pete and Evie's house. Evie walks into the kitchen and promptly faces questions about her pregnancy from Pete. 

Furious, Pete asks if the baby is his; she assures him that it is and says her excuse for not telling him was simply that she wanted to have some tests to avoid any further heartbreak after their previous failed pregnancies.

Pete storms off to work; when Evie tries to speak to Danny about the baby, he heads off, too. At the office, Pete and Sophie show their boss the photos of Danny hunting for the stolen goods. Their boss asks the pair to find proof that connects the stolen goods and Robbie Spencer and promises to publish the story if they do.

At the police station, Danny gets a call; they've located the address of the person who leaked their videos. He phones Becka, who just so happens to be passing Alan's house on her run.

Incensed, Becka makes her way inside and confronts Alan, assuring him she plans to make him account for what he did to her, as she plans to tell Jean about what he's done. 

Back at the station, Gary tells Danny he's found where Spencer's stolen diamonds had been taken from the CCTV footage. He suggests they could go after the goods themselves, and reluctantly pulls Danny into a plan.

Elsewhere, Pete pays a visit to a fertility clinic, where he's informed he had no viable sperm in his sample, suggesting he couldn't be the father at all. And Evie bumps into Becks at school, telling her she wanted to invite the couple over, as they'd not seen much of one another. After Becka tells her they've been busy, and Danny's pulling a lot of night shifts, Evie gets a text from Pete inviting her out for dinner that evening. 

Pete's ultimatum

Evie at the restaurant on her date with Pete in The Couple Next Door episode 5

Pete blindsides Evie over her pregnancy news. (Image credit: Channel 4)

Evie arrives at the restaurant, expecting a nice dinner date. After some small talk, Pete reveals the news about his fertility test. Furious, he offers an ultimatum: she has two days to get rid of the baby, or they're done. 

After he abandons her at the restaurant, Evie phones Danny. On the phone, Danny tells her they can't continue seeing each other again, and tells her to stay away. She ignores him, heads to the station and seduces him, before letting slip she's pregnant. Evie is shocked when he starts to fret about his family with Becka, rather than being thrilled he's going to be a father to her child. 

Whilst all that's going on, Pete meets Sophie at a concert. The pair have drinks and start making out, but they stop soon after and awkwardly agree what just happened was odd because they're colleagues. 

Jean drops by Becka's house at her behest. Becka begins revealing what Alan has done, and Jean breaks down into tears. She reveals she'd just learned about what he'd been doing, and admits she's disgusted by him, too. 

Jean also offers to help Becka get back on her feet, as she knows a group in need of a yoga teacher. When Danny returns home, there's a frosty atmosphere in the air, but Becka doesn't yet let on she knows about Danny's secret son. 

In the morning, Gloria drops by to check on Alan. Whilst they're chatting downstairs, Jean tears up some of his copied images, and finds a document pointing to a savings account: has Alan also been stealing money from her, perhaps?

On the street, Pete angrily confronts Danny about Robbie Spencer. He demands Danny leak him some hard evidence or threatens to call the station to reveal his illicit activities. Danny doesn't initially believe him, but when Pete starts getting physical, he says he'll need till the end of the day to do so. Pete gives him until 3 pm; after that, he's calling Danny's boss. 

The bank heist

Danny, with gun in hand, and Pete on the street in The Couple Next Door episode 5.

Pete reveals Danny has aided his investigation into Robbie Spencer to one of his thugs. (Image credit: Channel 4)

Danny and Gary disguise themselves as secure transport officers to infiltrate the bank where the gang is keeping Robbie Spencer's diamonds. Danny heads inside and is taken to the security deposit box, and he retrieves everything inside. What he doesn't know is that the owners received a security alert that their box had been opened, and were on their way to the bank.

Gary remains behind to keep watch; when he spots the criminals' SUV arriving on the scene, he alerts Danny and starts to grapple with them on the street. When Danny finally walks outside, Gary urges him to flee the scene without him. 

Meanwhile, Becka pays another visit to Lena. She's so upset that Danny never told her about Ethan. Lena admits she was the one who established contact with him. Shortly thereafter, she introduces Ethan to Becka; she tells Ethan about her son, Olly, and asks whether he'd like to meet his half-brother. 

Whilst Pete waits by his computer, Danny takes the diamonds and all the documents from the deposit box to Robbie Spencer. He asks after Gary, but Robbie offers no sympathy and tells Danny to simply 'have a nice life' when Danny asks if they're all square now. 

Minutes before that 3 o'clock deadline, Pete gets an email; it turns out that Danny photographed everything in the box about Robbie (and his alias of Eddie Smallwood) and sent it along just before he handed them in. Pete reveals his evidence, and his editor asks him and Sophie to write up their report so they can publish it as front-page news. 

After going to press, the two colleagues broach the topic of their kiss; as much as they both wanted things to happen, they agreed to stay friends and co-workers. Their boss tips them off to the news that Spencer is being taken in for questioning, so they speed over to his house to try and intercept him. 

Pete returns home to a note from Evie saying she's gone to her parents' place. Alone, he starts slamming whiskey back and passes out on his sofa, waking up late that night to someone banging on his door. 

One of Spencer's thugs has dropped by to confront him and attacks. Danny had spotted his arrival from across the street and came to Pete's aid, gun in hand. Drunk, Pete says he doesn't need or want Danny's help. Worse, he reveals that Danny was his inside source: while he's distracted, the thug lurches for the gun, disarming Danny. After a short fight, he flees the scene. 

Wounded, Danny gets off the ground and tells Pete he's put a target on his back. He also can't find his gun, and Pete says the thug must have taken it. Danny warns Pete to keep his door locked, and the two men go their separate ways. 

Behind closed doors, we learn that Pete had swiped Danny's gun, and the episode ends with him menacingly holding it up in the mirror: does Pete plan to kill Danny?

The Couple Next Door is available to stream on the Channel 4 website and on Starz in the US. For more shows to enjoy

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Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin was a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produced a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. Now he works for our sister site Tom's Guide in the same role.

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.