After the Flood season 2 ending explained: Heartbreak and redemption

If you enjoyed the first season of the crime and environmental thriller, After the Flood, the second season is even more intense and suspenseful.

The story began with a strange discovery: the bodies of Xav Palmer and Todd Drake, both shot after they had already died. Newly qualified detective Jo was determined to solve this puzzling case.

But that wasn’t the only investigation unfolding.

You know, away from all the public drama, Jo and Pat – they’d split up after I found out Pat was taking bribes as part of Mackie’s dodgy dealings, something he really regretted later – were quietly working together behind the scenes to build a case against the sergeant. It was a tough situation, but they were determined to do the right thing.

Mackie could have ruined both of their lives, and Pat risked up to seven years in jail if his dishonest actions were revealed. However, they continued anyway and seemed to finally achieve a significant advancement.

Mackie wasn’t going to give up easily, and his resistance led to a dramatic and heartbreaking end for Jo.

For a full recap of how After the Flood season 2 wrapped up, read on.

After the Flood ending explained

Is Pat dead?

If you thought Pat would miraculously recover from his harrowing ordeal, you were sadly mistaken.

Once Mackie saw texts on Jo’s phone revealing Pat had found Saskia Bale – a young person Sergeant Bale had fostered and abused for his crimes – and thought they had enough proof to arrest him, he immediately took bold steps.

Mackie tricked Pat into meeting him at a place special to him and his ex-girlfriend, Jo, by sending texts that appeared to be from her. When Pat arrived, Mackie revealed himself and violently attacked him with a baton, then continued the assault by repeatedly hitting him with a rock.

Pat was still alive at that point – but only just.

Driven by revenge, Mackie kicked Pat, who was already unconscious, off the cliff. Pat died instantly upon hitting the rocks below.

Does Mackie get his comeuppance?

After hitting Pat with his baton, Mackie tried to prevent Detective Pat from calling for help by tossing his phone into the bushes. Meanwhile, Mackie went to find a rock to continue the attack.

I was on the edge of my seat when Jo finally managed to find him, and it was heartbreaking to discover Pat had passed away. But honestly, even in that awful situation, it hit me that Pat was a really clever guy – he’d pulled something off, even before all this happened.

He’d also secretly put a tracking device on Mackie’s car, which confirmed the sergeant had been at the scene when Pat died. Even though Mackie denied being there, the information—saved on Pat’s phone—clearly showed he was.

Jo attacked Mackie, but he tried to pull them both off the edge. She fought him off with incredible strength and anger, and police arrived to arrest him.

As paramedics loaded Pat’s body into an ambulance, police took Mackie into custody. The evidence, including tracking data and forensics, strongly suggests he will be convicted of Pat’s murder.

Now that Detective Sergeant Sam Bradley knows about Mackie’s larger scheme, a full investigation is likely. This could encourage people who were previously hesitant, like Saskia, to finally come forward.

Who was DS Sam Bradley really?

Jill Halfpenny played DS Sam Bradley, a detective investigating Jo and Pat for potential corruption in the Waterside area.

The investigation started with Keith, Pat’s brother-in-law, who unintentionally led them to a crucial clue. Keith was involved in a fraud committed by Jack Radcliffe, where they falsely claimed farming equipment had been stolen as part of an insurance scam.

Daniel Eden, the man who was murdered, and Lee Ellison, both of whom Mackie had previously fostered, were in charge of handling the deliveries. Meanwhile, Mackie and Pat worked to prevent any police involvement.

After the operation failed, Keith admitted to falsifying shipping documents, but claimed he was unaware of the true identity of his employer.

By putting the pieces together, investigators found out he was connected to Pat, a detective who worked on major crimes and had access to confidential information, and to Pat’s wife, Jo, who was also a police officer.

The investigation revealed that over seven years, the couple had saved over £23,000 in cash, all deposited by Pat. This raised a significant suspicion that led Sam to secretly investigate.

Who killed Xav Palmer?

Declan – Donna Rower’s son and councillor Tony Rower’s grandson – murdered Xav.

Okay, so the film really dives into Declan’s grief after learning about his grandfather’s cancer. He’s understandably hitting the bottle pretty hard. Then, things get even more complicated when Xav shows up unexpectedly, demanding the return of a shotgun he stashed at the Benson’s place – a stolen one, no less. It’s a tense moment, and you instantly know this is going to escalate quickly.

This happened after Xav hurt his leg while illegally on Geoff Dixon’s property and got away from Jo.

Declan, already on edge and deeply angry with Xav for constantly disrespecting Donna, lost control and stabbed him several times with a screwdriver.

Okay, so here’s where things get really twisted. Apparently, Tony stepped up and claimed responsibility for the shooting, even going so far as to use Benson’s gun on the body. He did all this hoping to tie it back to Todd’s death. The intel? It came from Molly, a fellow councillor, who’d heard it from Jo. It’s a messy web of information and cover-ups, and honestly, it left me reeling!

Who killed Todd Drake?

Todd died in a car accident – but Xav later shot his body.

Xav, along with Todd – a friend he’d made in a grief support group – and Layal, a teacher who swam with a local group, broke into the Aexous chemical plant. They were looking for proof that the plant was illegally dumping chemicals into the river.

Todd had a seizure inside, and they had to leave without anything. While driving away, Todd’s condition got worse, and Xav lost control of the van, causing a crash. Sadly, Todd died instantly.

Afterward, they pulled his body out onto the open moorland. Xav then shot the body with Benson’s shotgun, staging it to appear as a murder.

Who was poisoning the river?

It was Alan Benson all along who was poisoning the river.

Years before, Benson sold some farmland to Geoff Dixon. Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, this land used to be a landfill owned by Benson, and it contained barrels of hazardous waste buried beneath the surface, directly impacting the groundwater. Jack later discovered these barrels.

At first, Jack thought about using this new information to get back the money he lost when his business failed. He tried to convince Benson to pay him off in exchange for keeping quiet about it.

Ultimately, thinking about Molly motivated him to do what was right. He insisted that Benson take public responsibility for his actions and fix the environmental damage he had caused.

After the Floods airs on ITV1 and ITVX.

Authors

Abby RobinsonDrama Editor

Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor at TopMob, where she writes about TV dramas and comedies. Before joining TopMob, she was a TV writer for Digital Spy and a content writer for Mumsnet. She holds a degree and a postgraduate diploma in English Studies.

2026-01-21 19:09