This City is Ours ending explained: does Michael kill Jamie? (Spoilers)

This City is Ours is an explosive crime drama from the BBC following the organised crime gang led by Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean).

As Ronnie speaks of retirement, he contemplates who he'll hand his empire over to — his son, Jamie, or his right-hand man, Michael. But there's problems that run far deeper throughout the gang as they navigate selling drugs, rats, and rival gangs. All with Liverpool as the backdrop. The eight-part series unfolds the intricate web of lies and deceit, while Michael vies for a better life and dreams of raising a child with his girlfriend, Diana. Spoilers to follow for This City is Ours.

Here's a recap of everything that happened in This City is Ours episode 8.

The final episode opens on Cheryl with Diana at her work. Michael, Banksey, Rachel, Bobby, Jamie and Elaine all arrive. They sit around a table and Michael tells them he wants out. Rachel questions how he can walk away and Michael says that as a group they’ve got enough money to pay for 50 kilos of Lemo, and they’ve got that exact amount arriving tomorrow from Ricardo. But, they need to pay today. He says that Bobby and Banksey should take the delivery and then they can cut it however they want, sell it, use the usual lines, which are now Jamie’s lines. Jamie doesn’t believe it.

Michael says he could’ve killed him if he wanted to, and Jamie says that he did kill Ronnie. Banksey says that Ronnie was a grass and could've been the reason Banksey went to a prison, losing his marriage and missing out on his son growing up. Rachel asks what would happen if they didn’t pay Ricardo for the shipment and Michael replies that he wouldn't be very happy. Rachel can’t believe he wants out, but everyone else seems in agreement that they'll pay and move on. Michael thinks Cheryl should have a lump sum, too. 100K. And Elaine agrees. They raise their glasses and cheers the future with a plan in place that profits them all.

Afterwards, Jamie walks off and tells Melissa he doesn’t believe a word Michael says. She shuts him down. But, when Rachel walks past, Jamie tells her not to do anything until they talk. As Cheryl goes to leave, Jamie hears Diana saying she’s coming round to collect her stuff. Meanwhile, Elaine says she believes Michael. When Banksey asks Michael what they’ll do now, Michael says they’ll pay the money and he'll speak to Ricardo.

Jamie calls Bonehead to tell him what’s going on. He wants him to do something, but doesn't say what. Rachel and Bobby talk about the plan, though Rachel thinks Michael will want back in. She’s angry that it’s Michael’s deal. Rachel meets with Jamie at Elaine's and they both say they don’t believe what Michael is saying, that he'll never really go. Jamie thinks they should do something else on their own. He sends Rachel the bank details for Amsterdam and says they can get 4 kilos for 75k as a sample. If it’s good, they should meet them together. To pay them and not the Amigos, without Michael involved.

As Diana arrives at Cheryl’s house, a taxi pulls up and a man with a balaclava grabs her and takes her inside with another man. Bonehead is driving. As she tries to escape, one of them pulls out a knife and holds it up to her. Meanwhile, Rachel arranges to pay someone, but it’s not clear whether she's going to choose the Amigos or Amsterdam. Elaine brings Bobby a phone from the safe. They get a code to pay. Bobby gives it to Rachel and says she’s done it. Jamie tells his fiancé, Melissa, that they’ve taken Diana and she’s angry at him. He says it’s not over until Michael is gone and she needs to trust him.

Bobby calls Banksey to discuss what they’re going to do with the drugs they’ve now bought. He sees Jamie leave in a hurry and asks Rachel what he’s up to. Bobby calls and asks Jamie and tells him to come back so they can make plans. Jamie says he’s going on a message and hangs up. Bobby then asks Melissa what he’s doing and she pretends she doesn’t know.

Michael goes to meet with Ricardo, but he’s not there yet. At the launderette, Bonehead says he’s going to take Diana inside and if she makes a noise, he’ll cut her fingers off. To this, she goes inside quietly. Meanwhile, Rachel calls Jamie and tells her she’s paid Amsterdam and she hasn’t given a penny to the Amigos. Jamie says they’ll cut their drugs and sell it, then head over to Amsterdam themselves.

Upstairs at the launderette, Diana asks Bonehead what's going to happen next. He says she won’t see Michael anymore. When she asks what he means, he won’t tell her. Elsewhere, Michael gets a call from Cheryl who tells her Diana’s car is outside her house, but Diana is nowhere to be seen. Jamie then goes to see Diana. She tells him that Michael will kill Jamie, but Jamie thinks he won’t. To this, she tells him that Michael killed Ronnie. She tells him that she saw him do it and Jamie says if she’s lying, he’ll kill her. He asks her if his dad saw it coming and she tells him that Ronnie opened his eyes. She tells him he’s got a fiancé and a baby and that he can’t ruin it. He says he won’t, not for him.

Michael goes to see Cheryl. Jamie texts him asking if he’s looking for his bird and Cheryl tells him not to answer. She says he should call Elaine, but then Jamie calls him. He tells him he’s going to send Michael a film. It’s of Diana, confirming they've got her. Cheryl asks if she can help, but she wants to know where Davy is. While he says it's not the time, she says it is because now he knows how she feels. He tells her Davy is in Spain, but that he’s in a hole in the ground at Ronnie’s.

Elaine calls Jamie. She says Michael just called her and told her what he’s done. Bobby says it was all settled and he says it wasn’t, not until he blows Michael out of the water, and hangs up. Bobby asks Melissa where he would've taken Diana, but she doesn’t know and goes upstairs. Rachel follows her and asks her where Jamie is because she entered into a deal with him. Melissa asks her why she would do that when things were going back to normal, and Rachel says the new plan wasn't going to include her. Melissa says she thought Rachel was smarter than that, and she says she thought she was too.

Meanwhile, Banksey goes to meet Ricardo. He asks Ricardo if he’s been paid and he says no. But, he checks again and says the transaction has gone through. Then, it cuts to Rachel who has just sent it. Banksey wants to talk about the night before when Ricardo detonated an explosive device on his car, but he says to pass it onto Michael. He wants straightforward business, no grey area. The attack was a wake up call. Banksey says his son was in the car, but Ricardo says he keeps his kids at home. Banksey stops himself from saying anything else and leaves.

Jamie comes to speak to Bonehead and tells him that Michael phoned Elaine. Michael calls him and asks him what he wants and Jamie says he wants him gone. Michael says not to touch Diana or he’ll kill them all. He tells Jamie to let her go, but Jamie admits he doesn’t want to lose again. He says for Michael to save Diana, he needs to top himself. A life for a life. Jamie instructs Michael to tell him where and when and he’ll watch. If he does this, Jamie will let her go. He tells Michael that all the lads fancy her, too. Michael tells him that Ronnie would be ashamed of him. But Jamie insists that's what he wants Michael to do, but Michael says he won’t.

To this, Jamie says Michael has until midnight and that Diana told him that Michael killed Ronnie. While Michael says it’s a joke, Jamie says he believes her. Michael insists he wants to speak to Diana on the phone and Jamie hands it over. Michael tells her he’s sorry and that he’ll do whatever Jamie wants to get her out. Diana says he knows Jamie wants Michael dead and that he can't do anything stupid. Michael tells her knows exactly what he’s going to do and then, Diana tells him that she's still pregnant. Jamie takes the phone and congratulates him. Michael begs that he'll walk away, but Jamie doesn't believe him, so he says he'll kill himself and hangs up.

This City is Ours ending explained

Diana asks Bonehead for a water and as he gets it, she grabs a knife off the windowsill and holds it up to them. Bonehead gets a gun out and shoots at the wall. He tells her he’ll shoot her, so she drops the knife. Jamie tells Bonehead he was supposed to get rid of the gun. Meanwhile, Cheryl goes to Elaine’s. She tells them that Diana hasn’t come for her car and that Jamie called Michael. Elaine reassures her that they’re going to sort it. Bobby gets a call from Michael and they ask Cheryl to step out.

He asks if they’re all listening. He tells them that Jamie’s asked him to be gone, permanently. Michael says he just wanted to walk away and so, he asks them to send Jamie a message from him. He says to tell Jamie that he's got his baby. To this, Cheryl gets into the back of his car holding Jamie’s son and they drive away. He tells Cheryl that Diana is pregnant, so this is an eye for an eye. Now, he’s going to find a tall building.

At the top of a car park, Jamie calls him. Michael tells him that he’ll jump with the baby, but he’ll tell Jamie where he is when he wants to. Cheryl asks if he’ll look after the baby and he says he promises he will. She hands him over and leaves, but before she goes, she says she’ll see him in Spain. Michael sends Jamie a video of him and his baby son at the top of a car park. He tells him to bring Diana.

Bonehead drives them there and when they arrive, Michael has the baby in the car and Jamie asks to see him. The car door opens behind Michael and Elaine steps out of the car holding the baby. Michael says that Diana has to walk over first, then Elaine will walk over to Jamie with his son. They agree and Diana makes it to Michael, whilst Elaine and the baby make it to Jamie. But Michael and Jamie won’t get back in their cars.

Jamie asks Michael if he's happy and Michael says that Jamie has no idea what he wants. Elaine begs that it’s all over, but Michael says it should’ve never started. He tells Jamie he’s carrying, but that he doesn’t have the will to use it. Diana keeps pulling him back to the car, but Michael has one last thing to say. He tells Jamie to look in the mirror and try and find a bit of Ronnie. Angry at mentioning his dad, Jamie pulls a gun out of his pocket and holds it up to Michael. Immediately, Diana throws herself over Michael, but he begs her to move. She says she won’t let go. Jamie shoots into the sky, but Diana stays gripped to Michael. Michael tells her to let go or Jamie will kill her. Desperately, Elaine tells Jamie to look at his baby. Jamie tells her that Michael killed Ronnie, but they still haven't heard him say it. Diana says to Michael, “Tell them.”

Suddenly, Michael shouts that it was necessary. He tells them that Ronnie did the same to Davy because of it, but that they were both wrong. Crying, he says he’d bring him back if he could. Elaine begs Jamie to look at his son and he finally drops the gun down and hands it over to Elaine. Jamie takes his son into his arms instead. Then, Elaine walks over to Michael holding the gun, but she hands it over and tells him that he’s lucky she has a grandchild. She finishes by telling him that she'll come to despise him and this won't be the last of it. Elsewhere, Ricardo is seen heading to his car outside his hotel when suddenly a car smashes into him, running him over. It’s Banksey and he rolls over Ricardo's body in the road with his car, smiling.

All episodes of This City is Ours are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now, or released weekly on BBC One.