Episode 5 of Disclaimer shows the plot of Stephen finding results, as the latest episodes of the Apple TV Plus drama sees the walls closing in around Catherine.
V, as the episode is called, was released on Friday, October 25, and it marks the show transitioning from two episodes per week to one.
In this episode we see the culmination of the plan that Stephen has been forging since the first episode, as his plot of vengeance causes Catherine's friends and enemies to turn against her. After what we saw at the end of episode 4 (or IV), we understand his drive in a different way!
As per previous episodes, this entry into Disclaimer's story jumps around a lot in time and between different characters. So to ensure that you don't miss a beat, this Disclaimer episode 5 recap will walk you through what happened, and spoilers ensue of course. If you'd like to watch the show first, sign up for Apple TV Plus in order to check it out.
Fake online friends
Catherine (Cate Blanchett) takes a cab to her mother's house, as she's going to be staying there. At night she confesses her affair to her mother, though as the woman has dementia, she's not sure if she understands.
That day Stephen (Kevin Kline) creates an Instagram profile for Jonathan, uploading all his holiday pictures as though he's still alive.
That night Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) is doing washing up and thinking about Jonathan. Nicholas (Kodi Smit McPhee) is also at home, having moved back in the past episode. He can tell something is going on between his parents, and that evening he sneaks out. We later see that he's gone to buy heroin, which he takes in the dealer's apartment.
Stephen goes to Catherine's office to speak to her assistant, and he confides that Catherine has been harassing and threatening him because of the book. He leaves some copies of the book when he departs.
The next morning Nicholas is sick from the night prior. Catherine calls him and asks what he remembers from the Italy trip, which enrages him. Then he gets a message from Jonathan's Instagram account, and they begin texting. Over time Nicholas gets close to Stephen, who he thinks is Jonathan.
Friends turn against Catherine
Catherine goes to work but her co-workers have been influenced by Stephen; they question her investigation into the man. Catherine gets defensive and eventually leaves, after hitting one peer who tried to physically stop her.
Next she goes to Stephen's house, while the man pretends to be away. She shouts to him through the letter box, and also leaves a message on his phone, and a crowd has formed to watch her ravings as she leaves.
Stephen returns to his messaging, directing Nicholas to The Perfect Stranger which Nicholas has read. Stephen implies that Catherine didn't try to save Nicholas as a child because she preferred Jonathan over him, and then shares pictures of Catherine and Nicholas from the holiday. Eventually Stephen admits that Jonathan is dead, having died saving Nicholas as a boy, and shares with adult Nicholas all the raunchy pictures of his mother.
Catherine (in the modern day) returns to her mother's house, with lots of missed calls from work on her phone.
That evening Stephen gets dinner with Robert, at the latter's invitation. Robert apologizes for Catherine's actions and asks for forgiveness for he and Nicholas. In his inner monologue, Stephen is happy that he's turned everyone against Catherine.
That same evening a distraught Nicholas goes to buy more heroin, and takes it, clearly in a bad state. Later he calls Catherine, crying, but quickly hangs up and ignores when she calls back. He goes to sleep, still in the heroin den.
